Foundation giving expected to drop this year

Only two of the top 100 largest foundations have said they plan to increase giving this year, according to a new report from the Foundations Center. About one-third of the top 100 foundations have made announcements about their giving plans for 2009, the report from the New York based research organization said. Both the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation of Seattle and the John C. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation of Chicago plan to increase giving this year. Six foundations have announced that they will reduce giving. Among them are the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation of Menlo Park, Calif., and David and Lucile Packard Foundation of Los Altos, Calif. Foundations planning to maintain their giving may have to increase their payout rates — or the percentage of total assets that is paid out — since asset bases have plunged with the markets. Ten foundations said they would increase their payout rates this year, the report said. In addition, many of the foundations said they are cutting costs by instituting salary freezes, not filling open positions and reducing benefits. Other foundations are closing altogether, including the Chais Family Foundation of Beverly Hills, Calif., JEHT Foundation of New York, Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation of Salem, Mass. and Picower Foundation of Palm Beach, Fla. — all of which suffered from the Bernard Madoff investment scam, the report said.