Foundations are active in nearly all fields and disciplines; however, a few areas have consistently received greater support than others. The Foundation Center documents funding trends by analyzing fields of interest—as well as types of recipient organizations—based on breakdowns that closely follow the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE).
- In 2009 education and health benefitted from the largest shares of grant dollars.
- Education received 23.3 percent of grant dollars, followed by health (22.6 percent) and human services (13.1 percent).
- Human services received the largest share of number of grants, followed by education and health.
- For a matched set of 502 grantmakers*, only education and public affairs/society benefit benefited from increased funding between 2008 and 2009. In contrast, all other major subject categories saw double-digit declines in giving.
View chart on Grants by Major Subject Categories, 2009 (PDF)
- Based on type of recipient organization, educational institutions accounted for close to one-third of grant dollars in 2009; these grants spanned a wide range of disciplines and subjects (e.g., health and international affairs).
View chart on Major Field-Specific Recipient Types, 2009 (PDF)
Foundation giving priorities differ substantially from those of individuals. Foundations favor educational institutions and human service agencies, while individuals provide the majority of their funding to religious congregations.
