According to a new report from the Foundation Center, the proportion of foundations issuing publications continues to slip. The report, "Foundation Reporting: Update on Public Reporting Trends of Private and Community Foundations, 2000 Edition," examines changes in the voluntary reporting patterns of U.S. foundations over the past decade.

At the start of the new decade, some 3,419 larger U.S. grantmaking foundations issued annual reports or other publications — a nearly eighty percent (78.6) gain over the 1,914 foundations that issued annual reports or publications in 1990. At the same time, the growth in the number of foundations issuing annual reports or publications in recent years failed to keep pace with the dramatic rise in the number of foundations. Since 1997, the share of larger foundations issuing publications has declined from roughly twenty-five (25.1) percent to less than twenty (18.7) percent.

"Annual reports, program statements, grantmaking guidelines, and other publications are essential resources for understanding the work of grantmaking foundations," noted Loren Renz, vice president for research at the Foundation Center. "The Internal Revenue Service Form 990-PF, filed annually by all private foundations, simply does not supply a comparable level of detail on their funding and other charitable activities." Still, Renz adds, the rapid growth in the number of new and often unstaffed foundations suggests that "it may take several years for voluntary foundation reporting to climb back toward the [twenty-five percent] level seen throughout most of the 1990s. Meanwhile, the Web has become the fastest growing new vehicle for communication."

The report identifies the Internet as an increasingly important tool for foundations to disseminate information on their programs, activities, guidelines, and grantees. In 2000, the Foundation Center identified 840 larger U.S. foundations that provide information to the public through a Web site or presence. Approximately ten (10.4) percent of those used their sites as their sole means of voluntary reporting to the public.

To download highlights from the report, visit: http://fdncenter.org/grantmaker/trends/pdf/found_report_hi.pdf