Thank you to all of the community foundations who participated in the FEG 2024 Community Foundation Survey! Since inception, there have been more than 250 community foundations that have participated in the study. This year, 107 U.S. Community Foundations across 31 states participated, providing a number of key findings on select investment and enterprise topics. First, the survey indicated that the OCIO service model continues to gain traction among community foundations, although the traditional/non-discretionary model remains the most popular. Additionally, spending rates slightly increased this past year, reversing course since the survey’s inception. When asked about hiring diverse asset managers, over 40% of community foundations said they have hired or are considering hiring diverse asset managers, but the topic declined in overall interest this past year. And finally, allocation to Responsive Investing (RI) continues to be supported by 50% of respondents, although donor interest in the strategy declined for a second consecutive year.
The survey was open for responses online from January 16 - March 8, 2024. Participants did not pay to be included in the survey. Participants also had the option to complete as a word document and email the results back to FEG. The data from this survey was grouped into between five and seven categories based on assets of the community foundation, with assets ranging from less than $25 million to greater than $1 billion. The information in this study is based on the responses provided by the participants and is meant for illustration and educational purposes only.
Note: Assets under advisement were self reported by respondents as of September 30, 2023.
