Boston Foundation sets records for fundraising and grant making in 2013 fiscal year

Foundation receives $132 million in contributions , led by sharp end-of-2012 rise in Donor Advised Fund gifts

Boston – The Boston Foundation announced today that it had a record-setting year for fundraising in its 2013 fiscal year, receiving gifts and grants totaling $131.7 million between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013. The Foundation also set a record for grants released in the fiscal year, with the Foundation and its donors giving nearly $98 million in grants to nonprofits throughout Greater Boston and beyond.

“Boston Foundation donors have a long history of investing to solve the challenges of Greater Boston, and there is no greater evidence of that than 2013,” said Paul S. Grogan, President and CEO of the Boston Foundation. “This fundraising effort underscores the value donors place in creating funds that can utilize the unique strengths of the Boston Foundation in asset management, research and grant making to change lives.”

Like many community foundations, the Boston Foundation saw a sharp increase in gifts to donor-advised funds at the end of the 2012 calendar year, amid uncertainty over the future of the charitable giving tax deduction. Fundraising remained strong throughout the fiscal year as the improving economy encouraged the opening and expansion of funds held at the Foundation.

Foundation donors also stepped up in the aftermath of the bombings at the Boston Marathon. The Boston Foundation and its donors contributed nearly $1 million to the One Fund, which was distributed those injured in the attack.

The $131.7 million total marks a 26 percent increase over the previous record year for contributions, $104 million in the 2008 fiscal year. The $97.7 million in grants paid out is a slight increase over the record set in the 2012 fiscal year. (See graph and chart at the end of the release for more information.)

Donors to the Boston Foundation invest in a number of giving vehicles to support their philanthropy, through donor-advised funds, field of interest and designated funds. Donors also support the Permanent Fund for Boston, Greater Boston’s only endowment fund, which supports organizations focused on the most pressing needs of the city. As Greater Boston’s community foundation, the Boston Foundation is able to provide unparalleled advisory services, research and customized philanthropic consulting to its donors, whether they choose to focus giving in Greater Boston or elsewhere in the world.

The Boston Foundation will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2015 – over its history, the Foundation has distributed more than $1.1 billion to nonprofit organizations, over half of that in the past decade alone.

Seven-year total: Contributions - $632.1 million; Grant Making - $625.9 million
(figures in millions)

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The Boston Foundation, Greater Boston’s community foundation, is one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the nation, with net assets of nearly $900 million.  In 2012, the Foundation and its donors made $88 million in grants to nonprofit organizations and received gifts of close to $60 million. The Foundation is a partner in philanthropy, with some 900 separate charitable funds established by donors either for the general benefit of the community or for special purposes. 

The Boston Foundation also serves as a major civic leader, provider of information, convener and sponsor of special initiatives that address the region’s most pressing challenges.  The Philanthropic Initiative (TPI), an operating unit of the Foundation, designs and implements custom philanthropic strategies for families, foundations and corporations around the globe. Through its consulting and field-advancing efforts, TPI has influenced billions of dollars in giving worldwide.  For more information about the Boston Foundation and TPI, visit www.tbf.org or call 617-338-1700.