Grantmaking by foundations in Florida reached a record $1.5 billion in 2013, up 15 percent over 2012, a report from the Florida Philanthropic Network finds.

Produced in partnership with Foundation Center, the report, Giving in Florida 2015 (18 pages, PDF), found that the state's more than fifty-three hundred grantmaking foundations held assets totaling $24.8 billion in 2013, a record, and that foundations in Miami-Dade County accounted for the largest share of both foundation assets (28 percent) and foundation giving (25 percent). The report also notes that while Florida foundations saw their combined assets grow 36 percent between 2003 and 2013 (adjusted for inflation), slightly above the national average of 32 percent, foundation giving increased only 19 percent, compared with the national average of 44 percent.

According to the report, Florida foundations directed the largest share of their grant dollars to education (19 percent), followed by health (12 percent) and human services (11 percent), while the largest share of  grant dollars, 32 percent — nearly double the national average — was awarded for general operating support. The report also found that 57 percent of the grant dollars awarded by Florida foundations in 2013 went to recipients located outside the state, including 3 percent to non-U.S. organizations. Among foundation types, independent and family foundations, which account for nearly 94 percent of the state's foundations, awarded 78 percent of total grant dollars, while community foundations, which number only twenty-eight (0.5 percent), awarded 10.4 percent. Of the $16.3 billion in total charitable giving in the state in 2013, foundations accounted for 9 percent, individuals 80 percent, and bequests 11 percent.

"At this time of year when we’re all focused on giving to others, it's particularly inspiring to see that the philanthropic spirit is alive and well in Florida," said Florida Philanthropic Network president and CEO David Biemesderfer. "We're pleased to see that foundation giving in Florida has finally recovered from the Great Recession, following several years of post-recession decline."