Foundation Funding of Humanities Activities
- Out of a total of $22 billion in grants, foundations gave $402 million for humanities-related activities in 2012. The largest portion of foundation funding to the humanities in 2012 was allocated to “museum activities,” which received 23% of grant funds (approximately $92 million) (Indicator IV-16a).
- Among the humanities disciplines, history received the largest allocation of foundation funds, including $87 million for historical activities (a category that extends from commemorative activities to preservation), and another $31 million for grants to support scholarship and programs in history (including archeology). In comparison, grants for art history, languages, and philosophy each amounted to less than $10 million per discipline.
- After increasing 43% from 2002 to 2007 (from $355 million to $509 million in inflation-adjusted value), foundation funding for the humanities experienced a contraction from 2007 to 2012, falling 21% to $402 million, but remaining 13% above the 2002 level (Indicator IV-16b).
- From 2002 to 2007, the amount in grants distributed by foundations for humanities activities increased more rapidly than the total amount of grantmaking. Thus foundation funding for the humanities increased as a share of all giving by such organizations (rising from 1.8% to 2.1%). By 2012, however, the proportion of foundation grant monies going to the humanities had returned to near its 2002 level.
- The number of foundation grants awarded to the humanities increased from 3,038 in 2002 to 3,466 in 2007, but then fell to 3,183 in 2012 (Indicator IV-16c). Humanities awards remained almost constant at almost 2.5% of the total number of foundation grants made, despite the increase in the absolute number of grants between 2002 and 2007. The proportion of humanities grants then fell to 2.1% of the awards given across all fields and activities in 2012.
- On average, foundation grant recipients in the humanities received $126,424 in 2012. The average across all fields and activities was $145,332.
- While “museum activities” received the largest allocation of foundation funds for the humanities in 2012, the category “historical activities” had the largest number of grants (Indicator IV-16d). The $87 million allocated to historical activities was disbursed in 960 grants, as compared to 816 grants for museum activities.
- Only “museum activities” saw an increase in the number of foundation grants received in each of the three years examined here—rising from 685 in 2002 to 793 in 2007 and then increasing slightly to 816 in 2012.
IV-16a: Distribution of Foundation Grant Monies among Humanities Activity Types, 2012 (Millions of Current Dollars)
Source: The Foundation Center, 2014. Based on the Foundation Center’s FC 1000 data set, which includes all grants of $10,000 or more awarded to organizations by a set of 1,000 of the largest U.S. private and community foundations by total giving. For community foundations, only discretionary and donor-advised grants are included. Grants to individuals are not included in the file.
These indicators are based on the Foundation Center’s FC 1000 data set, which includes all grants of $10,000 or more awarded to organizations by a set of 1,000 of the largest U.S. private and community foundations by total giving. For community foundations, only discretionary and donor-advised grants are included. Grants to individuals are not included in the file. For additional information on the activity categories used for this indicator, see the 2004 report from the Foundation Center, Foundation Funding for the Humanities, which describes an earlier American Academy of Arts and Sciences’–sponsored study. The information provided in this indicator is not comparable to the findings in the earlier study due to alterations in the population of organizations included.
Although both private foundations and community foundations are types of not-for-profit organizations eligible for tax exemptions under section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code, they are viewed differently by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Private foundations receive almost all of their income from a narrow group of persons, such as single individuals, families, or corporations. Community foundations, in contrast, receive funds from a wide variety of donors and thus are considered by the IRS to be “public charities” (they must also meet the other criteria specified in section 509(a) of the tax code to be eligible for tax-exempt status). Historical activities, as defined by the Foundation Center, include historical societies, preservation activities, memorials, and commemorations. Museum activities exclude those performed by or within arts museums, unless the museum specialized in ethnic or folk art or the funding went specifically to fund an activity related to a humanities discipline. In contrast, the Humanities Indicators (HI) treats art museums, and thus all activities that occur within them, as humanities-oriented.
For the types of entities treated as humanities organizations for the purposes of the HI, see “Revenues of Not-For-Profit Humanities Organizations” and the accompanying inventory of humanities organization types.
Source: The Foundation Center, 2014. Based on the Foundation Center’s FC 1000 data set, which includes all grants of $10,000 or more awarded to organizations by a set of 1,000 of the largest U.S. private and community foundations by total giving. For community foundations, only discretionary and donor-advised grants are included. Grants to individuals are not included in the file. Funding amounts were adjusted for inflation using the GDP deflators published by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis.
These indicators are based on the Foundation Center’s FC 1000 data set, which includes all grants of $10,000 or more awarded to organizations by a set of 1,000 of the largest U.S. private and community foundations by total giving. For community foundations, only discretionary and donor-advised grants are included. Grants to individuals are not included in the file. For additional information on the activity categories used for this indicator, see the 2004 report from the Foundation Center, Foundation Funding for the Humanities, which describes an earlier American Academy of Arts and Sciences’–sponsored study. The information provided in this indicator is not comparable to the findings in the earlier study due to alterations in the population of organizations included.
Although both private foundations and community foundations are types of not-for-profit organizations eligible for tax exemptions under section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code, they are viewed differently by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Private foundations receive almost all of their income from a narrow group of persons, such as single individuals, families, or corporations. Community foundations, in contrast, receive funds from a wide variety of donors and thus are considered by the IRS to be “public charities” (they must also meet the other criteria specified in section 509(a) of the tax code to be eligible for tax-exempt status). Historical activities, as defined by the Foundation Center, include historical societies, preservation activities, memorials, and commemorations. Museum activities exclude those performed by or within arts museums, unless the museum specialized in ethnic or folk art or the funding went specifically to fund an activity related to a humanities discipline. In contrast, the Humanities Indicators (HI) treats art museums, and thus all activities that occur within them, as humanities-oriented.
For the types of entities treated as humanities organizations for the purposes of the HI, see “Revenues of Not-For-Profit Humanities Organizations” and the accompanying inventory of humanities organization types.
Source: The Foundation Center, 2014. Based on the Foundation Center’s FC 1000 data set, which includes all grants of $10,000 or more awarded to organizations by a set of 1,000 of the largest U.S. private and community foundations by total giving. For community foundations, only discretionary and donor-advised grants are included. Grants to individuals are not included in the file.
These indicators are based on the Foundation Center’s FC 1000 data set, which includes all grants of $10,000 or more awarded to organizations by a set of 1,000 of the largest U.S. private and community foundations by total giving. For community foundations, only discretionary and donor-advised grants are included. Grants to individuals are not included in the file. For additional information on the activity categories used for this indicator, see the 2004 report from the Foundation Center, Foundation Funding for the Humanities, which describes an earlier American Academy of Arts and Sciences’–sponsored study. The information provided in this indicator is not comparable to the findings in the earlier study due to alterations in the population of organizations included.
Although both private foundations and community foundations are types of not-for-profit organizations eligible for tax exemptions under section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code, they are viewed differently by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Private foundations receive almost all of their income from a narrow group of persons, such as single individuals, families, or corporations. Community foundations, in contrast, receive funds from a wide variety of donors and thus are considered by the IRS to be “public charities” (they must also meet the other criteria specified in section 509(a) of the tax code to be eligible for tax-exempt status). Historical activities, as defined by the Foundation Center, include historical societies, preservation activities, memorials, and commemorations. Museum activities exclude those performed by or within arts museums, unless the museum specialized in ethnic or folk art or the funding went specifically to fund an activity related to a humanities discipline. In contrast, the Humanities Indicators (HI) treats art museums, and thus all activities that occur within them, as humanities-oriented.
For the types of entities treated as humanities organizations for the purposes of the HI, see “Revenues of Not-For-Profit Humanities Organizations” and the accompanying inventory of humanities organization types.
IV-16d: Distribution of Foundation Grants among Humanities Activity Types, 2002–2012
Source: The Foundation Center, 2014. Based on the Foundation Center’s FC 1000 data set, which includes all grants of $10,000 or more awarded to organizations by a set of 1,000 of the largest U.S. private and community foundations by total giving. For community foundations, only discretionary and donor-advised grants are included. Grants to individuals are not included in the file.
These indicators are based on the Foundation Center’s FC 1000 data set, which includes all grants of $10,000 or more awarded to organizations by a set of 1,000 of the largest U.S. private and community foundations by total giving. For community foundations, only discretionary and donor-advised grants are included. Grants to individuals are not included in the file. For additional information on the activity categories used for this indicator, see the 2004 report from the Foundation Center, Foundation Funding for the Humanities, which describes an earlier American Academy of Arts and Sciences’–sponsored study. The information provided in this indicator is not comparable to the findings in the earlier study due to alterations in the population of organizations included.
Although both private foundations and community foundations are types of not-for-profit organizations eligible for tax exemptions under section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code, they are viewed differently by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Private foundations receive almost all of their income from a narrow group of persons, such as single individuals, families, or corporations. Community foundations, in contrast, receive funds from a wide variety of donors and thus are considered by the IRS to be “public charities” (they must also meet the other criteria specified in section 509(a) of the tax code to be eligible for tax-exempt status). Historical activities, as defined by the Foundation Center, include historical societies, preservation activities, memorials, and commemorations. Museum activities exclude those performed by or within arts museums, unless the museum specialized in ethnic or folk art or the funding went specifically to fund an activity related to a humanities discipline. In contrast, the Humanities Indicators (HI) treats art museums, and thus all activities that occur within them, as humanities-oriented.
For the types of entities treated as humanities organizations for the purposes of the HI, see “Revenues of Not-For-Profit Humanities Organizations” and the accompanying inventory of humanities organization types.
