Top US-based private foundations investing in development

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You can read more on this topic in these articles:
► Beyond grants: Leading private foundations for development finance
► 3 major grant-making foundations in financial services
► 4 major philanthropic foundations that aren't the Gates Foundation

The rising influence of foundations on the development scene in recent years is undeniable. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s total assets are on par with Bolivia’s gross domestic product; the MacArthur Foundation successfully continues the legacy of its $100 million grant competition every year; and in opposition to Hungarian policies, Open Society Foundations was forced to move its headquarters from Budapest to Berlin.

According to a highly quoted report, “The State of Global Giving by U.S. Foundations 2011-2015,” the international giving by U.S. foundations has only increased in recent years, reaching $9.3 billion in 2015, with an average grant size more than tripling since 2011. These numbers not only indicate that foundations hold a prominent place in both sustaining and shaping ongoing development programming efforts, but also show they are here to stay in the near future.

The report was released in 2018 and points to yet another complexity in the industry — the lack of timely data. The most comprehensive figures for U.S.-based private foundations’ grantmaking figures are still from 2017. 2018 figures are reported in this article where available.

This delay can be largely attributed to the submission process of the so-called 990 forms containing all financial information, which are submitted by all tax-exempt organizations recognized by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. While these forms are to be filed by the fifth month after the end of the organization’s accounting period, extensions result in long gaps between the report and submission years.

While philanthropic foundations have traditionally adopted a nonprofit legal structure, disruption might be underway as many Silicon Valley billionaires and high net worth individuals are experimenting with the adoption of LLC structures, donor-advised funds, and impact investing funds.

Relevant examples are the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative — with annual spending close to $800 million — Good Ventures, or the Omidyar Network. These philanthropy LLCs do not need to report on their giving. Tax-exempt entities do need to report through 990 forms. 

In this analysis, the Devex team, in collaboration with Candid, dives into the 990 forms, looking at the top 10 U.S.-based private foundations, with a focus on grantmaking.

Find open calls from these foundations and more on our funding platform.

1. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Headquarters: Seattle, Washington
Total funding: $3.8 billion (2018); $5 billion (2017)
Total funding for the global south: $2.1 billion (2018), approx. 55% of the overall funding; $4.3 billion (2017)

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which sprung from an idea in 1997, resulting in the merging of the Gates Learning Foundation to form the Gates Foundation in 2000, is now one of the largest donors in the health sector in the world. With three trustees at the helm — Bill and Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett — and newly appointed CEO Mark Suzman, the foundation currently has an endowment of $50 billion.

Operating in more than 100 countries, the Gates Foundation works in five divisions: global health; global development; global growth and opportunity; U.S. program; and global policy and advocacy. Some of the most prominent and well-known investments the Gates Foundation has been making in recent years are related to polio eradication, fighting diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, as well as gender equality, maternal health, and childhood mortality.

More than 1,500 grants were awarded in 2019 and the average value of the Gates Foundation’s grants is higher than that of most other organizations. 63 grants were worth more than $10 million and three of those were worth $50 million or more. They were awarded to the Nigerian government, valued at $75 million, for additional support to its primary health care system;  around $50 million was awarded to The Scripps Research Institute to support its drug development efforts; and $50 million was given to the Islamic Development Bank to fight polio in Pakistan.

Beyond the traditional grant-awarding framework, the Gates Foundation also disburses funds through the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative, which aims to solve the most pressing issues by fostering innovation and applying technology. The recently concluded 23rd round of grants was awarded to 29 researchers working with emerging technologies, demand for vaccinations, and typhoid.    

2. Open Society Foundations

Headquarters: New York City, New York
Total funding: $582.5 million (2017)
Total funding for the global south: $354.6 million (2017), approx. 61% of the overall funding

As the largest private funder of independent groups fighting for justice, democratic governance and human rights across more than 120 countries in the world, the Open Society Foundations has awarded over $15 billion since its establishment. Founded by George Soros in 1979, initially funding scholarships in South Africa for black university students, It has grown into an institution with global influence, even affecting politicians in Soros’ home country Hungary.   

With offices in each region, the foundation works across 23 distinct programs split into both geographic programs, and thematic programs, including anything between the human rights initiative and public health program. There are approximately 2,500 grants awarded annually to groups both big and small, in addition to its continuous awards to individual scholars and fellows, estimated at more than 400 per year.

At any given point, there is at least one grant, scholarship or fellowship open for calls, and in 2019 the overall budget reached $1.1 billion. As of the article’s publication, the grants database only includes grants from 2018 and there are an estimated 60 grants valued at $1 million or more.

Some of the largest grants include a $9.1 million grant to Centro de Estudios de Derecho, Justicia y Sociedad, a Colombia-based research and advocacy organization, for general support and growth between 2018-2022; a $8.2 million general support grant to Natural Resource Governance Institute; and a $8 million grant to BRAC USA to provide humanitarian assistance for Myanmar refugees in Bangladesh.

3. MacArthur Foundation

Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois
Total funding: $490.5 million (2017)
Total funding for the global south: $210.6 million (2017), approx. 43% of the overall funding

The 100&Change competition, enabling a prize award of $100 million, is a well-known invention hosted by the MacArthur Foundation. The last award was granted to Sesame Workshop and the International Rescue Committee for their work in the Middle East with young children displaced by conflict. The next upcoming awardees are to be announced in the fall of 2020.

Beyond the innovative grantmaking channels, the foundation works with justice reform, climate change, nuclear risks and a set of challenges in Nigeria specifically — the so-called “big bets.” It also continues to invest in the role of journalism and its positive impact on democracy.

Out of 18 grants above $1 million awarded in 2019, only two were awarded outside of the United States  —  both in Nigeria. One of them is worth $1.5 million and was awarded to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, whereas the second one, worth $1.45 million was awarded to Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism, which has been receiving funding from the MacArthur Foundation since 2014.

The biggest award overall for 2019, worth $10 million, went to Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors for its climate nexus project, helping local, national and international media recognize climate science in their reporting. The path to awarding $10 million awards started humbly in 1978, when John D. MacArthur died and left his assets of around $1 billion to the foundation. It has since made grants totaling more than $6.8 billion, affecting more than 50 countries.

4. The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation

Headquarters: Omaha, Nebraska
Total funding: $494.3 million (2018); $588.1 million (2017)
Total funding for the global south: $182.5 million (2018), approx. 40% of the overall funding; $217.8 million (2017)

Grantmaking data is not easily available for the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation. The official website makes note of one of its flagship initiatives, which focuses on providing scholarships for university students in Nebraska, U.S. However, a big share, specific figures undisclosed, of the total grantmaking funds is allocated to reproductive health and family planning.

In fact, the foundation is likely one of the largest ones funding abortion and contraceptives in the world and been a keen funder to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. In 2017, Candid has recorded a nearly $50 million grant to Marie Stopes International, a prominent NGO supplying contraception and advocating for safe abortions across 37 countries. Other grants have gone to organizations working with similar thematic areas, such as Population Services International, Ipas, and DKT International.

The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation was established in 1964 by Susan Thompson Buffett, who was a director at Berkshire Hathaway and married to Warren Buffett until her death in 2004. The foundation is part of the Buffett family network of foundations, also including the NoVo Foundation, Sherwood Foundation, and Howard G. Buffett Foundation.    

5. Ford Foundation

Headquarters: New York City, New York
Total funding: $519.6 million (2018); $648.4 million (2017)
Total funding for the global south: $168.8 million (2018), approx. 33% of the overall funding; $203.4 million (2017)

Inequality is at the core of Ford Foundation’s mandate and its work is solely related to fighting it. According to the foundation’s identified five drivers of inequality, it addresses its work across seven distinct, but interconnected, areas: civil engagement and government; creativity and free expression; future of work; gender, racial, and ethnic justice; just cities and regions; natural resources and climate change; and technology and society.

In 2019, 13 grants, valued at more than $1 million, were awarded to countries outside of the U.S. The largest of them, worth $3.6 million, went to the Center for the Study of Law, Justice and Society, active in the Andean Region, but especially Colombia. The vast majority of the remaining 13 grants were tied to the topics of civil and human rights, as well as civic participation in countries such as Brazil and China.  

The Ford Foundation was founded in 1936 by Edsel Ford, son of the founder of the Ford Motor Company. It is one of the oldest foundations in this list and it has grown to one of the largest and most well-known ones, with an endowment of $12 billion and annual $500 million in grants around the world.  

6. Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Headquarters: Mountain View, California
Total funding: $1.9 billion (2017)
Total funding for the global south: $146.5 million (2017), approx. 8% of the overall funding

As one of the largest foundations in terms of total overall dollars awarded and the largest community foundation in the world, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation has awarded $6 billion nationally and internationally since its formation in 2007 to date. Around half of the funds have supported local initiatives around the Bay Area.

The foundation does not list specific focus areas, but encourages giving to a broad array of social issues. The grantmaking happens through a careful due diligence process, after which successful NGOs are added to its global charity database. Donors can then make grants to any NGOs in the database, with the Silicon Valley Community Foundation as an intermediary.

The database currently includes over 1,100 organizations from across 85 countries, sorted by either category or location. Some of the better-known INGOs include Concern Worldwide, CARE International, Human Rights Watch, Médecins Sans Frontières, Oxfam, and World Vision, but the vast majority of organizations are local.  

7. The Rockefeller Foundation

Headquarters: New York City, New York
Total funding: $101 million (2018); $203.9 million (2017)  
Total funding for the global south: $60 million (2018), approx. 60% of the overall funding; $142 million (2017)

The Rockefeller Foundation has to date given $17 billion in grants worldwide, but it all started with a single $100,000 grant to the American Red Cross in 1913. It is the oldest of all foundations and funds affiliated with the Rockefeller family, which has established the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Rockefeller Family Fund.      

Today, the foundation prides itself on being a science-driven philanthropy that works across seven areas: health; food; power; jobs; climate and resilience; innovation; and co-impact. US Fund for UNICEF, New Venture Fund, and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors all received grants over $10 million in the last year for operation purposes across their various initiatives. One of the largest grants with a specific geography and purpose was awarded to All On Partnerships for Energy Access, based in Nigeria, for supporting energy entrepreneurs.

One of the foundation’s flagship programs was 100 Resilient Cities, launched in 2013, which has leveraged over $3 billion to develop more than 50 resilience strategies in cities, such as Dakar, Chennai, Jakarta, and Quito. The project has since closed citing that the model was not financially sustainable and that the foundation will be distancing itself from that particular focus area in general.    

8. Bloomberg Family Foundation Inc

Headquarters: New York City, New York
Total funding: $432.8 million (2017)
Total funding for the global south: $138.6 million (2017), approx. 32% of the overall funding

Also called Bloomberg Philanthropies, the foundation was founded in 1981 by Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City and CEO of Bloomberg. Much of the data-driven approach applied at Bloomberg permeates Bloomberg Family Foundation’s work across its five areas of work: arts, education, environment, government innovation, and public health.

The Vibrant Oceans Initiative is one of the projects undertaken as part of the Bloomberg Family Foundation’s environment work, which ensures continued effort toward clean and sustainable ocean ecosystems. Since its launch in 2014 covering only Brazil, Chile, and the Philippines, it has expanded to ten other countries thanks to a $86 million grant from the foundation in 2018.  

Beyond working across common global health sub-themes, such as prevention of maternal mortality and advocacy for noncommunicable diseases, the foundation engages with unique and underreported issue areas.

In Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Uganda, the Bloomberg Family Foundation supports activities designed to prevent drowning, one of the many causes behind death cases of children in these countries. Since 2015, the foundation has also been supporting an initiative in 10 pilot cities, including Addis Ababa, Bangkok, and Sao Paulo, to reduce road traffic fatalities. Finally, in collaboration with the Australian government and Gates Foundation, the Bloomberg Family Foundation aims to improve data for health — a project that has entered its second phase with expanded geographic and programmatic scope in 2019.       

9. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Headquarters: Menlo Park, California
Total funding: $418.4 million (2018); $411.3 million (2017)
Total funding for the global south: $114.7 million (2018), approx. 27% of the overall funding; $116.1 million (2017)

There are three foundations related to the Hewlett-Packard Company name, a large IT company: the Hewlett Packard Company Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation — which is the largest, with around $9.8 billion in assets as of 2018.

Many of its focus areas lie within the U.S., including education, environment, and performing arts, but it has a distinct section on global development and population. As of 2018, there were 253 active grants, ranging from addressing women’s reproductive and economic choices, enhancing citizen participation, and making policymaking more evidence-based.

Most of the grants are smaller in scale, up to $1 million, but some recent ones exceeded this common roof figure. A $2 million grant to the International Development Research Centre awarded at the end of 2019 aims to conduct extensive research on barriers to women’s economic empowerment and growth in West Africa.

The biggest grant for 2019, worth a whopping $6 million, was awarded to Namati for general support in its work with grassroots legal advocates to amplify access to basic services and rights. The organization convenes the Global Legal Empowerment Network, consisting of more than 6,000 members around the world in joining forces to advance justice locally.  

10. Howard G. Buffett Foundation

Headquarters: Decatur, Illinois
Total funding: $110.9 million (2018); $167.5 million (2017)
Total funding for the global south: $69.1 million (2018), approx. 62% of the overall funding; $110 million (2017)

In contrast to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation provides a clearer mission statement and evidence of committed funds. Established in 1999 by Howard G. Buffett, son to Warren Buffett, the foundation focuses on three distinct areas: food security, conflict mitigation, and public safety.

With prior experience in 85 locations, the foundation now solely works in seven countries as of the writing of the article: Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Rwanda, and the U.S. According to the 2018 annual report, nearly two-thirds of the contributions were allocated internationally versus locally and nationally within the U.S., and all grants are earmarked in nature.

As of 2018, one of the biggest grants in Rwanda was awarded in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources to create the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture. The main role of the institute is to support the growing country’s sustainable and innovative agricultural sector. Other types of grants have been made to the International Justice Mission to strengthen the rule of law in El Salvador, or building shelters for women and children migrating from Mexico to the U.S., in collaboration with the National Institute of Migration.    

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