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Private Foundations Reverse Decline on Assets, Trim Giving

Donations by Orange County’s individual and family foundations fell 9% last year, while total assets rose 4.8%.

The 33 largest private foundations here gave about $110.8 million on an annual basis, according to this week’s Business Journal list.

The foundations on last year’s list were about flat on giving and saw a 19% decline in assets.

The list ranks foundations by the most recent available contribution data. Some entries reflect all of last year and data for a number of them go back to 2009.

Fifteen foundations boosted their giving, while 18 saw declines.

Nationally, foundation giving was nearly flat in 2010. Signs of stabilization nationally reflected factors such as “the beginning of a modest recovery in foundation assets in 2009” and “new gifts and bequests from donors into recently established and existing foundations,” according to the New York-based Foundation Center.

The combined 4.8% asset growth for foundations in Orange County trailed recent national growth of 5.9%.

Several OC foundations saw significant jumps in their giving.

No. 4 Tiger Woods Foundation in Irvine increased contributions by 379.2% to $10.9 million for the year ended September 2009, the most recent data available. That took the foundation up five spots from last year’s list.

The vast majority of the donations went to the Tiger Woods Learning Center, and another significant cash grant went to International Youth Foundation.

The Tiger Woods Foundation saw a 12% increase in its assets.

The Tsao Family Foundation in Corona del Mar, No. 28 on the list, gave $159,300, more than triple its contribution from the previous year. Its largest donations went to the Center for Asian American Media in San Francisco, the University of California, Ir-vine, and Irvine Canaan Christian Community Church.

No. 6 A. Gary Anderson Family Foundation in Irvine more than doubled its contributions to $3 million. The foundation funds a variety of causes, including Chapman University, Hoag Hospital Foundation and Casa Colina Centers for Rehabilitation Foundation.

The two foundations that together give more than half of the total contributions on the list cut back on their giving.

No. 1 Laguna Beach-based Marisla Foundation gave $36.9 million last year, a 13.5% drop from 2009. Marisla, established by oil heiress Anne Getty Earhart, reported an 11% decrease a year earlier.

According to the latest data available, for the year ended 2009, the foundation gave $6 million to The Nature Conservancy for projects in various places including Hawaii, Micronesia and Alaska. It also gave $1.6 million to the Orange County Community Foundation.

No. 2 Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation of Irvine gave $21.3 million for the year ended in August 2010, a 26.2% decline. The previous year, the foundation saw a 2% increase in giving.

The foundation saw its assets inch up 2% to $460.1 million. It focuses on science, education and research, offering support to a roster of schools that includes California Institute of Technology and UC Irvine.

The foundation also gave $5.7 million to the City of Hope in Duarte, home of the Beckman Research Institute.

Nationally, private foundations make up the majority of total foundation giving, while corporate foundations and community foundations each make up about 10%.

Private foundations are required by law to give at least 5% of their assets annually.

Most of the foundations on the Business Journal’s list are grant-giving organizations, while two—No. 21 James E. Downey Foundation and No. 32 Don P. Nichols Foundation—mostly give scholarships.

Other foundations that cut back on giving include No. 11 Henry T. Nicholas III Foundation in Aliso Viejo and No. 22 George T. Pfleger Foundation in Irvine. Both use their funding to support their own charitable programs.

Henry T. Nicholas III Foundation fell six spots on this year’s list as its giving fell by more than $5 million, or 78%, to $1.5 million. The foundation’s assets decreased 16% to $8 million as of December 2009.

The foundation supported its own private youth education program, the Henry T. Nicholas Educational Foundation in Santa Ana, with $1 million.

The George T. Pfleger Foundation reduced giving by 80%, donating $379,625. As of December 2009, its assets increased 5%. The biggest part of its giving went to Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research in Oceanside.


Download the 2011 OC’s LARGEST PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS list (pdf)

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