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Benchmark report · 2026
The State of Foundations 2026
United States
US grantmaking foundations report $1.53 trillion in assets on their latest returns, which cover different years, and the 140 largest hold almost half of it. Most follow the calendar year, with 81.9% ending their financial year in December. This report compares your size, payout, calendar and intake with verified benchmarks, each labeled with the year its data describes.
Published October 2026 · 22 verified sources · ~15-minute read
Grantmaking foundation assets
$1.53tn
on latest IRS returns, from mixed years
140 largest hold 49.7%
Financial year-end
81.9%
of grantmaking foundations close in December
Most start 2027 on January 1
Intake, 704 US programs with a visible route
14.3%
start with email, documents or inquiries
74.0% take online applications
Data from
IRS
|
IRS Statistics of Income
|
Giving USA
|
Candid
|
Council on Foundations
|
CECP
|
CEP
|
TAG
|
FoundationMark
|
PKF O'Connor Davies
|
Congress.gov
|
Optimy research
TL;DR
Key findings
1
Grantmaking foundations report $1.53 trillion in assets
In Optimy's October 2026 IRS master file analysis, US grantmaking foundations report $1.53 trillion in assets on their latest returns, which may cover different years.1 Your minimum payout starts from 5% of the fair market value of your noncharitable-use assets.16
2
Almost half the money sits with 140 foundations
The 140 foundations with $1 billion or more in assets hold 49.7% of the assets that grantmaking foundations report on their latest returns.1 Compare yourself with foundations of your own size rather than with a sector average.
3
Most foundations end their year in December
Most grantmaking foundations, 81.9%, close their financial year in December.1 For them, Form 990-PF is due on May 15 of the following year, and the 2025 payout must be made by December 31, 2026.15,16 Plan grant payments and reporting around those two dates.
4
One in seven US programs with a visible route starts with email, a document or an inquiry
Of 704 US grant programs whose route Optimy could see, 14.3% still start with email, a document or an inquiry, not an online form.17 If any of your programs works this way, check whether one online form would make requests easier to compare at review.
5
Foundation giving grew 5.7% in 2025
Giving by foundations grew 5.7% to $117.15 billion in 2025, according to Giving USA 2026, second only to giving by individuals.6 Foundation giving has stayed above $100 billion each year since 2022.7 Check how your own 2025 grants compare with that 5.7% rise.
6
In 2022, median payout ran above the legal minimum
The median payout rate of US private foundations rose to 5.71% for tax year 2022, the latest year in the IRS study.5 The required minimum distribution is 5%.5 Check your own rate against that median as well as against the 5% floor.
7
Corporate gifts face a new 1% floor
For tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, corporations deduct gifts only between 1% and 10% of taxable income.19 At 2025 giving levels, roughly 4 in 5 of CECP's 152 large companies would deduct nothing.13 Corporate foundations should agree 2027 transfers with the company early.
Chapter 1
US grantmaking foundations report $1.53 trillion in assets on their latest returns, filed for different years
In the IRS master file, the official list of tax-exempt organizations, Optimy counts 121,231 private nonoperating foundations, the grantmaking kind, plus 9,573 private operating foundations, as of October 2026.1 Together the grantmaking foundations report $1.53 trillion in assets on their latest returns.1
The master file takes each foundation's assets from its latest filed return, and those returns cover different years.1 The total therefore measures the sector's size but is not a figure for any single year.1
For your own foundation, the figures that matter are your own assets and grants paid, set against peers of your size and against the IRS series below. Your minimum payout starts from 5% of the fair market value of your own noncharitable-use assets, not from the sector total.16 This chapter sets out how large the sector is and how its giving has moved, using official IRS data first.
$1.53tn
assets on grantmaking foundations' latest returns, mixed years
121,231
grantmaking foundations on the IRS master file, October 2026
$108.36bn
private foundation grants, tax year 2022 (IRS estimate)
$117.15bn
foundation giving in 2025, per Giving USA
From 2019 to 2022, IRS data shows grants rising faster than filers
The IRS's Statistics of Income division publishes the official sample study of foundation returns. A calendar-year foundation's return is due by May 15 of the following year, or six months later with an extension, and the study is published after that.15 Its latest full year is therefore tax year 2022, published in February 2026.2
The study estimates 109,351 domestic private foundation returns for that year, up from 103,299 in 2019.2,4 Over the same three years, grants paid rose from $86.40 billion to $108.36 billion, a much faster climb than the number of filers.4,2
Assets moved less smoothly. The same study puts assets at $1.326 trillion for tax year 2022, below the $1.432 trillion of 2021 but above the $1.107 trillion of 2019.2,3,4 Between 2021 and 2022, assets fell while grants paid still rose, from $97.65 billion to $108.36 billion.3,2 Each of these estimates covers one tax year, so none of them can be compared with the $1.53 trillion master file total, which mixes return years.1
In 2025, foundations gave almost one dollar in five
The most recent full-year estimate comes from Giving USA 2026, which reports that giving by foundations grew 5.7% to $117.15 billion in 2025.6 Foundation giving has stayed above $100 billion each year since 2022, so this is a level the sector has held for several years rather than one strong year.7
Giving USA attributes 64% of 2025 charitable giving to individuals, 19% to foundations, 10% to bequests and 7% to corporations, which makes foundations the second largest source of US giving.6 How funders run their grant processes therefore touches almost one dollar in five that US charities receive.
Assets in 2025: a modeled estimate, not a filed total
Tax returns describe past years, so some analysts model more recent values. FoundationMark, a model published on FoundationAdvocate.com, estimates that US foundation assets rose by $150 billion, or 9.1%, in 2025 to $1.786 trillion.8 That figure combines past tax filings with values projected from an investment index. It is a modeled estimate rather than a filed total, so it cannot be compared directly with either IRS figure.
This report uses the IRS figures as its baseline and treats the model as an early signal. If your own assets grew in 2025, plan for a higher minimum payout, because the minimum investment return is 5% of the fair market value of your noncharitable-use assets.16
Takeaway: track your assets and your grants paid as two separate series. Set your grant budget on purpose rather than letting it follow asset values alone. In the IRS study, sector assets fell between tax years 2021 and 2022 while grants paid rose.3,2
Chapter 2
Who gives: 140 foundations hold almost half of the assets grantmaking foundations report
Behind the $1.53 trillion total, which mixes return years, sits a very uneven market. Optimy's analysis of the IRS master file counts 140 foundations with $1 billion or more in assets.1 Together they hold 49.7% of the assets grantmaking foundations report on their latest returns, almost half.1
Widen the group and the share climbs quickly. Among the 111,532 that report assets above zero, the largest 1% hold 70.5% of those assets and the largest 10% hold 91.9%.1
At the other end sits a large number of small funders. Of all grantmaking foundations, 68,251 (56.3%) report some assets but under $1 million and 9,699 (8.0%) report none, while only 11,086 (9.1%) report $10 million or more.1 The IRS study finds a similar concentration in grants: foundations with $100 million or more were 1.5% of returns for tax year 2022 but paid 64.6% of grants.5
49.7%
of reported assets held by the 140 foundations with $1bn or more
91.9%
of reported assets held by the largest 10% of foundations reporting assets
56.3%
of grantmaking foundations report assets above zero but under $1m
64.6%
of grants paid in tax year 2022 came from the 1.5% with $100m or more
Most foundations are small, and the money sits at the top
Source note: the IRS master file figures come from the October 2026 file, which counts registered foundations and takes each one's assets from its latest filed return, so the asset figures mix return years. The IRS Statistics of Income study instead estimates from a sample of returns for one tax year, so the two give different totals and should not be compared.1,2 Candid, using a 2023 file that also includes community foundations, counts 166 foundations above $1 billion, against the 140 in this report's October 2026 analysis.10,1
For a foundation leader, the practical lesson is to compare with peers of your own size rather than with a sector average. A small family foundation and a billion-dollar institution file the same Form 990-PF, but their peers are very different.
Three kinds of grantmaker, three ways of deciding
Almost all private foundations are grantmakers, but two other groups decide in different ways.
- Private foundations. Nonoperating foundations, which mainly fund charitable work through grants, number 121,231 on the October 2026 IRS master file, against 9,573 operating foundations.1 They made up 91.2% of private foundation returns for tax year 2022.5
- Community foundations. In 2024, the community foundations in the Council on Foundations' CF Insights survey, over 400 respondents, held nearly $159 billion in assets, received over $18 billion in gifts and gave over $16.5 billion in grants.11 Donor-advised funds, accounts in which a donor recommends the grants, were the source of 67% of their grant dollars in the FY24 sample.12
- Corporate foundations. CECP (Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose) publishes Giving in Numbers, and its 2026 Edition covers 2025 data from 152 of the world's largest companies.13 In CECP's sample, 84% of companies maintain a foundation, and the median transfer to a foundation was $10 million.13 Among companies with both a foundation and direct cash giving, the foundation administers 56.4% of corporate cash giving on average.14
The type of foundation changes who decides, and so who your process has to serve. In the community foundations surveyed, most grant dollars came from donor-advised funds, where a donor recommends the grant. In a corporate foundation, the budget depends on a transfer from the company, and Chapter 5 covers the 2026 tax change that affects the company's giving.
In grants awarded in 2022, education and health received the largest shares
Causes are concentrated too. Candid's analysis covers grants awarded in 2022 by US private and community foundations that it captured in its databases.10 Among those grants in Candid's data, education received 27% of foundation dollars, health 22% and human services 18%.10 A foundation can set its own portfolio against that mix before its next strategy review.
The same data shows how the money is given. In Candid's data, the largest share of funding went to program support (37%), followed by general support (32%), while 20% of funding was not assigned a strategy.10 Your own split is worth checking, because it shapes what your application and report forms have to collect.
Takeaway: benchmark your foundation against peers of your own size and type, not the sector total, because 140 institutions hold almost half the reported assets. Then check your split between program and general support, since it shapes how much your application and reporting forms must ask of grantees.
Chapter 3
The funding calendar: most US foundations close their year in December
Whatever their size, most US foundations use the calendar year as their financial year. In Optimy's analysis of the IRS master file, 81.9% of grantmaking foundations close their financial year in December, and June is a distant second at 5.4%.1 Larger foundations follow the same pattern: among those with $10 million or more in assets, 81.2% close in December and 6.1% in June.1
For a foundation with a December year-end, the 2027 financial year starts on January 1. If you want your 2027 rounds, award sizes and payout target in place by then, agree them before the year closes. The same holds for a change to how applications are received, if it is to apply from the first round of the new year.
81.9%
of grantmaking foundations close in December
5.4%
close in June, the next most common month
5%
minimum investment return behind the payout
30%
tax on any undistributed portion
Four dates frame the foundation year
The tax calendar adds hard deadlines to the budget cycle, and each one touches grant data.
The payout rule sets a minimum and a deadline, and in 2022 the median foundation exceeded the minimum
The payout rule adds a deadline to that calendar. A nonoperating foundation's minimum investment return is 5% of the fair market value of its noncharitable-use assets, less acquisition debt.16 That return is the starting point for the distributable amount, the sum the foundation must pay out as qualifying distributions.
In practice, the median foundation paid out more than the rule requires. For tax year 2022, the IRS study's latest year, the median payout rate rose to 5.71%, against the 5% minimum, according to the IRS Statistics of Income study.5 For a calendar-year foundation, the payout deadline and the May filing are the two fixed dates that grant payments and reporting have to fit around.
Takeaway: if your year ends in December, agree your 2027 grant budget, round dates and payout target before the year closes. Pay out your 2025 distributable amount by December 31, 2026, and keep grant records exportable for your Form 990-PF, due May 15 for a calendar-year foundation.
Chapter 4
How funders receive applications: where the route is visible, three in four US programs use an online form
How a foundation receives applications is one of its first operational choices, and most US programs in Optimy's research that show a route are already online. Between August and October 2026, Optimy classified the application route of each grant, scholarship and award program on the websites of the funders it studied.17 Of the 704 US programs whose route Optimy could see, 74.0%, about three in four, take applications through an online form or portal.17
The remaining programs split three ways. Invitation-only programs make up 11.6%, 9.8% ask for an inquiry first and 4.5% still take applications by email, document or post.17 Taken together, 14.3%, about one in seven, still start with email, a document or an inquiry rather than an online form.17 A website shows an online form more readily than other routes, so the online share among all US programs may be lower.17
74%
of US programs with a visible route use online forms
14.3%
still start with email, a document or an inquiry
11.6%
work by invitation only
704
US programs with a visible application route
Company giving programs are much less digital
Corporate giving runs on a different model. Optimy could see the request route of 548 company donation, sponsorship and community programs across all the markets it studied.17 Only 34.5% of them use an online form, while 29.6% ask for an inquiry first and 26.1% work by invitation only.17
In the US, 38.8% of 263 company programs use an online form, against 24.2% of 128 in Europe.17 Both are far below the 74.0% of US grant programs with a visible route.17 If your corporate foundation also handles the company's donation and sponsorship requests, check whether those requests reach you through the same online form as your grants.
In 2024, peers were still simplifying applications, reports and payments
Moving online is one half of the work, and keeping the process light is the other. The Technology Association of Grantmakers (TAG) ran an open online survey in 2024 that 355 foundations in North America and beyond answered.18 Among TAG's respondents, 67% were still streamlining applications, 56% were still streamlining reporting and 72% still used paperless payments, practices first prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.18
Because the survey was open to anyone, these shares describe its respondents rather than the whole sector. They show what those respondents were working on in 2024, namely shorter applications, lighter reports and payments without paper checks.
Optimy customer
The OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation manages 200+ active grant programs across 100+ countries with Optimy, and has worked with zero spreadsheets since implementation.
Takeaway: if any of your programs still starts with email, a document or an inquiry, move it to an online form before your 2027 rounds open. Of the US programs whose route Optimy could see, 74.0% already work this way. Keep the form short, and reuse its data for review, payment and reporting.
Chapter 5
What changes in 2026-27: a new floor on corporate deductions, few new foundation rules
For 2026-27, the bigger rule change falls on corporate giving rather than on foundations. In the view of PKF O'Connor Davies, an accounting firm, the 2025 tax law left private foundations largely untouched.20 Roughly five of the original provisions would have directly affected them, and only one survived in the final law.20 That provision widens the excise tax on excess pay above $1 million, and the firm expects it to have minimal impact.20
Four rules to know for 2026-27
- A 1% floor on corporate gifts. Public Law 119-21, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act approved on July 4, 2025, lets corporations deduct charitable contributions only above 1% of taxable income, up to 10%, for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025.19
- An excess compensation tax for any employee paid over $1 million. Section 70416 of the same law widens the section 4960 excise tax, so a covered employee now means any employee of an applicable tax-exempt organization, from the same date.19
- A flat investment income tax. The 2025 Form 990-PF instructions still show a flat 1.39% tax on net investment income for domestic exempt private foundations under section 4940(a).16
- Donor-advised fund rules still pending. Treasury and the IRS proposed donor-advised fund regulations on November 14, 2023, and the Council on Foundations page last updated on May 8, 2026 states they are not yet final.21
1%
floor on corporate charitable deductions, from 2026
4 in 5
of CECP's firms would get no deduction at 2025 levels
42%
of those companies expect 2026 budgets to decline
1.39%
tax on net investment income, 2025 return instructions
Why corporate foundations should watch the 1% floor
The new floor applies to the company's deduction, and a corporate foundation's budget depends on the company's transfer. CECP's Giving in Numbers 2026 Edition, based on 2025 data from 152 of the world's largest companies, puts the companies' median estimated deductible giving at 0.39% of pre-tax profit.13 Under the new floor, roughly 4 in 5 of the companies in CECP's sample would receive no deduction at 2025 giving levels.13
Looking ahead, 42% of CECP's companies expect their 2026 budgets to decline, while only 33% expect an increase.13 Teams are also handling more money with the same people. In CECP's group of the same large, multi-billion-dollar companies tracked over three years, median foundation staffing stayed at four full-time employees while transfers into foundations rose 16%.14
CECP also reports, without stating the comparison period, that recipient organizations per staff member rose 18% and cash managed per person from $1.5 million to $2.0 million.13 If you run a corporate foundation, agree two numbers with the company before 2027 begins, the size of the transfer and the workload each person can carry.
Few foundations expect to give less
In a separate survey, foundations themselves were more confident. In Candid's 2026 Foundation Giving Forecast Survey of 542 foundations, 44.3% expected their giving to increase in 2026 and 46.9% expected it to stay about the same.9 Only 8.8% expected a decrease, although the 8% response rate means the survey reflects the foundations that chose to answer.9
In 2024 and 2025 surveys, AI interest ran ahead of AI rules
The second change is technology, where interest among larger foundations is close to universal. The Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) surveyed 215 leaders of US independent, health conversion and community foundations giving $5 million or more a year, in April and May 2025.22 In CEP's survey, which had a 28% response rate, 94% of these foundations expressed at least some interest in increasing their use of AI.22
A separate survey, run in 2024 with a different sample, shows practice and governance trailing. In TAG's 2024 open online survey, 81% of responding foundations reported some degree of AI usage, yet only 30% reported having an AI policy.18 Just 4% of TAG's respondents used AI across the entire organization.18 If your foundation uses AI without a written policy, start with one page on where AI may support review and reporting.
Takeaway: if you run a corporate foundation, agree your 2027 transfer with the company before year-end. The company's deduction for charitable gifts now has a 1% floor. If you use AI, write a one-page policy on where it may support review and reporting. In TAG's 2024 survey, only 30% of respondents had one.18
Chapter 6
Benchmark yourself: nine questions for your foundation
This chapter turns the five before it into a scorecard for your own operations. Each row ties one question to a number in this report, from your peer group and payout to your intake and AI policy. Give yourself one point for each row where you match or beat the benchmark, then read the band that fits your score.
Your score sorts you into three bands
- 7-9: you are the benchmark. Next, publish your 2027 timetable and criteria before the year starts, so that applicants can plan around your calendar.
- 4-6: you have a solid core, so close the two easiest gaps first. An AI policy fits on one page, and moving one email-based program to an online form is a change you can make before your 2027 rounds open.
- 0-3: start with intake and the calendar. One online form and a budget agreed before your year-end give you the data and the time that every other row needs.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
How many private foundations are there in the US in 2026?
How much do US foundations give each year?
What is the minimum payout for a private foundation?
When does the financial year end for most US foundations?
How do US foundations receive grant applications?
From application to final report, with Optimy
Optimy gives a foundation one platform for its whole grant cycle: one online intake for every program, eligibility screening and scored review, payment tracking for each grant, and grantee reporting in the same record. Private and corporate foundations use it to decide faster and to keep one clean record of every grant, from application to final report.
Methodology & sources
Every statistic in this report comes from the source named below, and we checked each one against that source in October 2026, before publication. Where the data year differs from the publication year, we say so. Figures are reported as published: we made no estimates and filled no gaps. Where a survey covers a narrow or self-selected sample, such as TAG's open online survey or CECP's 152 large companies, the text says so. Charts use the cited figures only.
IRS master file. Counts, assets, concentration, year-end months and states come from Optimy analysis of the IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File extract (all regions), downloaded on October 21, 2026. Private foundations are identified by their foundation code, assets are those reported on each foundation's latest return, and the year-end month comes from each foundation's accounting period. The file is current, but each foundation's latest return may be for a different year, so the $1.53 trillion total mixes return years and is not compared in this report with any single-year figure.
Application routes. Optimy researched the public websites of the funders it studied between August and October 2026 and classified the application route of each grant, scholarship and award program as an online form or portal; email, document or post; an inquiry first; or invitation only. The sample is Optimy's research list, not a random sample of US foundations. Programs whose route was not visible are excluded from the shares: across all markets, 1,438 of the 2,696 programs reviewed (53.3%) did not show one. The US shares rest on 704 programs with a visible route, out of 1,540 US programs reviewed: the other 836 (54.3%) did not show one. Company giving programs are reported separately (548 across all markets, 263 in the US). A route is more likely to be visible when it is an online form, so the online share among these programs may be higher than among all programs.
- IRS, Exempt Organizations Business Master File extract (all regions), downloaded October 21, 2026; Optimy analysis · www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/exempt-organizations-business-master-file-extract-eo-bmf
- IRS Statistics of Income, Domestic Private Foundations Study, Table 1, tax year 2022 (published February 2026; estimates based on a sample) · www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/22pf01ta.xlsx
- IRS Statistics of Income, Domestic Private Foundations Study, Table 1, tax year 2021 (published March 2025) · www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/21pf01ta.xlsx
- IRS Statistics of Income, Domestic Private Foundations Study, Table 1, tax year 2019 (published June 2023) · www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/19pf01ta.xlsx
- IRS Statistics of Income, Publication 5505, Domestic Private Foundations, tax year 2022 (Rev. 3-2026) · www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5505.pdf
- Candid, summary of Giving USA 2026, the annual report on philanthropy (published July 7, 2026) · candid.org/blogs/philanthropy-trends-giving-usa/
- Giving USA Foundation, press release for Giving USA 2026 · givingusa.org/giving-usa-charitable-giving-rose-to-617-20-billion-in-2025-surpassing-the-600-billion-mark-for-the-first-time/
- FoundationMark (Foundation Financial Research), Foundations Add $150 billion in 2025, published on FoundationAdvocate.com (modeled estimate, not a filed total) · www.foundationadvocate.com/fourth-quarter-2025/
- Candid, 2026 Foundation Giving Forecast Survey: Foundation giving is up, but what about the payout rate? (published July 6, 2026; 542 foundations, 8% response rate) · candid.org/blogs/foundation-payout-rate-giving-forecast/
- Candid, Money in the U.S. social sector (calendar year 2023 IRS Business Master File; grants awarded in 2022 captured in Candid's databases) · candid.org/explore-issues/us-social-sector/money
- Council on Foundations, CF Insights Survey Results (FY24, over 400 community foundations) · cof.org/cfinsights/results
- Council on Foundations, Community Philanthropy Update, February 2026 (CF Insights FY24 snapshot) · email.cof.org/community-philanthropy-update-february-2026-nonmembers
- CECP (Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose), Giving in Numbers 2026 Edition, press release of October 15, 2026 (2025 data, 152 of the world's largest companies) · www.3blmedia.com/news/cecps-giving-numbersr-2026-edition-finds-corporate-giving-holding-steady-despite-most
- CECP, Giving in Numbers 2026 Edition, press release of August 20, 2026 (corporate foundation staffing) · www.3blmedia.com/news/new-cecp-research-corporate-foundations-are-managing-more-money-without-more-staff
- IRS, Annual exempt organization return: due date · www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/annual-exempt-organization-return-due-date
- IRS, 2025 Instructions for Form 990-PF · www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i990pf.pdf
- Optimy research of funders' public websites, August to October 2026: application route of each grant, scholarship and award program, classified by Optimy (method in this report) · methodology, above
- Technology Association of Grantmakers (TAG), 2024 State of Philanthropy Tech survey report (open online survey, 355 foundations in North America and beyond) · www.tagtech.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2024-PhilTechSurvey-Final.pdf
- Public Law 119-21 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act, approved July 4, 2025), sections 70416 and 70426 · www.congress.gov/119/plaws/publ21/PLAW-119publ21.htm
- PKF O'Connor Davies, Private foundations emerge largely unscathed (July 8, 2025) · www.pkfod.com/insights/private-foundations-emerge-largely-unscathed/
- Council on Foundations, Proposed Rule: Taxes on Taxable Distributions from Donor Advised Funds under Section 4966 (last updated May 8, 2026) · cof.org/node/20145
- Center for Effective Philanthropy, AI With Purpose: How Foundations and Nonprofits Are Thinking About and Using Artificial Intelligence (2025; 215 US foundation leaders, 28% response rate) · cep.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CEP_AI_Layout_FINAL.pdf
About Optimy
Optimy is the platform that foundations, companies and nonprofits use to run grant, sponsorship and volunteering programs, from application to reporting. The organization featured in chapter 4, the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation, is an Optimy customer, and its figures come from the published Optimy customer story. optimy.com
© 2026 Optimy · You may quote this report with attribution ("Optimy, The State of Foundations 2026: United States") and a link to the source page.