Ohio continues to have a strong tradition of charitable giving, and each year, Philanthropy Ohio researches, analyzes and presents the most current foundation giving data in our Ohio Gives report.
Key Findings
This year's analysis examines 2021 IRS data, the most recent available year and the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The data shows that annual foundation giving increased 11% over 2020, totaling $2.15 billion. Last year's report found that giving and assets in 2020 were flat for the first time since 2016. However, giving in 2021 crossed the $2 billion mark and was the highest it's ever been, surpassing the previous high in 2019 of $1.96 billion.
Private foundation giving makes up over half of all foundation giving (56%), and these foundations gave $1.20 billion in 2021, up 15% over the previous year. The vast majority of foundations in Ohio are private foundations, which make up 91% of all Ohio foundations. Meanwhile, community foundation giving makes up almost a third of all foundation giving (30%). The state's local and regional community foundations gave $653 million, up 6%. Corporate foundation giving was up 8%, with corporate funders giving $288 million.
Foundation assets jumped 24% in 2021, totaling $37.4 billion. Foundation assets have increased nearly every year over the last decade. The vast majority of foundations are small to medium (97% have less than $50 million in assets), with over half having less than $1 million in assets. Only 1% of foundations in Ohio have more than $250 million in assets.
The number of Ohio foundations increased 10% in 2021 to 4,336. The breakdown of foundations by type (community, corporate, private and other) has remained essentially the same.
The total gifts that Ohio foundations received were up 52% in 2021 and totaled $2.31 billion. Private foundation gifts saw the most significant increase, up 141%. These gifts totaled $1.1 billion. Community foundations received $919 million in gifts, a 24% increase. Meanwhile, corporate foundations saw a decrease of 22% in gifts received, totaling $217 million.
In addition to foundation giving, the Ohio Gives analysis found that giving by funders like public charity grantmakers, United Ways, federated funds and other charitable giving organizations saw a 6% increase, totaling $458 million in giving. Ohio has a robust network of United Ways that support nonprofits. Giving was down 24% for the 60 local and regional United Ways, totaling $83 million. In addition, the number of United Ways operating in Ohio decreased by 8% in 2021.
About this Report
This year’s snapshot of how Ohio gives relies on 2021 data from a variety of sources to demonstrate the strength of philanthropic giving in the state. Our analysis presents data from the most recent available year, which is 2021 for IRS data. Other sources include Giving USA, Guidestar and the Foundation Center/Candid.
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| Ohio Gives Infographic 2021 (269.87 KB) | 269.87 KB |