Philanthropy globally is growing rapidly, but philanthropic resources are highly concentrated and coordination between grantmaking foundations is limited, a study conducted by the Hauser Institute at the Harvard Kennedy School finds.

Funded by Swiss financial services giant UBS, the Global Philanthropy Report (42 pages, PDF) was developed over three years with input from twenty research teams in nineteen countries and Hong Kong. Among its findings, the study estimates that philanthropic institutions worldwide collectively hold $1.5 trillion in assets, but that the world is well short of raising the $5 trillion to $7 trillion in annual investment needed to achieve the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. The report also found that 72 percent of foundations have been established over the past twenty-five years. They are highly concentrated, however, with 60 percent of the more than 260,000 foundations identified by researchers based in Europe and 35 percent in North America. In addition, the lion's share of philanthropic assets is held by foundations based in either the United States (60 percent) or Europe (37 percent), and those resources tend to be highly concentrated in certain sectors, with education the most popular area for philanthropic investment.

The analysis also found that assets held by the typical individual foundation are relatively modest, with more than 90 percent of foundations reporting assets of less than $10 million and nearly 50 percent reporting assets of less than $1 million. Overall, foundation expenditures during the study period topped $150 billion annually, with an average spend rate of 10 percent, although spend rates in China and some European countries appear to be higher.

According to UBS, 58 percent of the foundations identified do not collaborate with other philanthropies. To encourage more collaboration in the sector, in 2015 UBS established the Global Philanthropists Community, today the world's largest private network aimed at facilitating collaboration among philanthropists and social investors.

"At UBS, we work with preeminent philanthropists daily. They are the risk takers and the innovators who are challenging the status quo of traditional development aid. We've spent over a decade partnering with our clients to help them create sustainable impact through their philanthropy," said Josef Stadler, head of ultra-high net worth wealth at UBS Global Management. "This report takes a much-needed step toward understanding global philanthropy so that, collectively, we might shape a more strategic and collaborative future, with philanthropists leading the way toward solving the great challenges of our time."