Family Foundation Philanthropy 2009

This publication is the second report on family foundation philanthropy written by Pharoah, who is co-director of the ESRC Research Centre for Giving and Philanthropy. It updates and greatly expands the scope of the first edition that was published in 2008. The objectives of the research were to track growth and change in family foundation philanthropy through updating trends in the UK and the US; to provide a better comparative international benchmark through compiling new data on two continental European countries (Germany and Italy); to encourage greater transparency and accessibility of information on family foundation charitable spending by raising awareness of data and highlighting gaps; and to encourage charitable spending through greater access to information and examples. The report contains individual profiles of family foundations in the UK, Germany, Italy and the US, and headline findings include the fact that top family foundations in the countries under study donated a total of £5.5 bn and UK family foundation charitable spending increased by 10% in 2007, which Pharoah attributes to family foundations benefiting from wealth gained just before the global economic downturn.