Posted on 24th June 2009
The top 100 family foundations in the UK gave £1.17bn in 2006/07, an increase of 10% in real terms over 2005/06, new research from the Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy at Cass Business School shows.
Over the same period the Family Foundation Philanthropy 2009 report shows a 33.5% increase in giving from the top 100 US family foundations. This was largely due to the major gifts of Warren Buffett to the Gates Foundation; without them the growth would have been 8.4%.
Giving from the top 100 German family foundations was €724.8m (£491m) in 2006/07, although comparative data was not available for previous years. The data for Italy, which was less complete, showed a combined minimum spend of €90m (£61m).
“National differences reflect the various historical, legal and political contexts,” Dame Stephanie Shirley, Giving and Philanthropy Ambassador, said in her foreword to the report. “International similarities underline the vigour of the concept and the ability of family foundations to reinvent themselves.”
The report includes case studies of prominent family foundations such as the Giovanni Agnelli Foundation in Italy, the Robert Bosch Foundation in Germany, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation in the US, and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in the UK.
