FROM THE PRESIDENT:
At first glance, 2008 seemed like a normal year. I invite you to review the next two pages, which detail our 2008 grant award actions. As you will see our grant numbers didn't change. Legacy Foundation maintained a consistent percentage of grants to endowment. Grant dollars awarded totaled only slightly more than the Foundation's 10-year annual average. However, the economic climate in 2008 belied these statistics. The Foundation maintained a steady level of giving despite declining economic conditions and a higher percentage of first time requesters than in typical years.
A survey conducted late in 2008 by the Grantmakers Forum of New York indicates that ine out of ten private foundations experienced a decrease in assets from 2007 to 2008, most between 10% and 20%, attributable to the decline in the U.S. equities market in the last months of 2008. The reporting foundations and presumably others will, therefore, have a smaller pool of grant funds in 2009. Legacy Foundation was no exception to this downturn. And although we will continue to budget grants at the same percentage level as iin recent years, simple mathematics shows you that a decrease in assets means that fewer dollars will be available for local distribution. Further, reductions in financial support are forecast not only from private and public foundations, but also from local, state and federal tax revenue sources.
The preponderance of philanthropic and not-for-profit industry writings has focused on the overall impact of fewer dollars available to charitable organizations, and has concluded that both grantors and grantees will have to look for the most efficient use of available revenue. This will require a hard look at organizational structures, mission objectives and collaboration opportunities.
In recent years, the Legacy Foundation Board has become aware of the growing need for local charitable organizations to explore collaborative actions, from sharing administrative functions to assessing mission overlap or duplication. Now, with clear and present economic challenges upon us, we believe even more strongly that our and other local foundation grant support can be more effectively utilized where grantees are willing to entertain collaborative opportunities. In the same spirit, we will continue to be sensitive to opportunities in support of organizational sustainability and capacity building.
In retrospect, 2008 might more accurtately be characterized a transformative year, in which we changed the very nature of how we think about our use of resources and collaboration with other charitable organizations. 2009, too, will probably be a challenging year for all of us; we are confident, however, that both grantors and grantees will work together with a new focus on efficiency, collaboration, and economy, to meet the changing needs of our community.
© 2009 The Legacy Foundation of Tompkins County. All rights reserved. | EMAIL