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Few foundations can escape any mention of the effects of economy on their grantmaking during the past year. For the Roy A. Hunt Foundation, the economic downturn became the focus of our attention as we looked for ways to mitigate a 25 percent decline in our portfolio’s value. All too aware that the crisis was creating a greater need for our grant dollars than ever before, we determined that the time was right to implement a three year trailing average to calculate our grants budget. Beginning next year, this approach will smooth out the peaks and valleys of our distributions so that, in the future, we (and our grantees) won’t have to weather such precipitous and traumatic drops in our grantmaking budgets.
Of course, like most other foundations, we froze discretionary administrative expenses such as travel, conferences, computer upgrades, and site visits. Our budgeted administrative expenses were thus reduced by five percent. Still, our grants spending bore the brunt of the crunch--a 16 percent reduction from last year’s allocations.
During our 2008-2009 fiscal year, the Roy A. Hunt Foundation paid out $3,190,720 in grants to over 400 organizations. The grant allocations across program areas are illustrated on our website. The proportions are generally consistent with past years’ allocations:
| FY: |
05-06 |
06-07 |
07-08 |
08-09 |
|
| |
19 |
19 |
20 |
19 |
percent to Human Services |
| |
17 |
19 |
13 |
14 |
percent to Arts and Culture |
| |
12 |
12 |
14 |
14 |
percent to Environment |
| |
16 |
15 |
17 |
13 |
percent to Education |
| |
8 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
percent to Public Affairs/Society Benefit |
| |
7 |
9 |
8 |
8 |
percent to Health |
| |
4 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
percent to International Affairs, Development |
| |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
percent to Religion |
Accounting for the remaining 21 percent of our fiscal year 2008-2009 allocations are our special initiatives in Community Development, Environment and Youth Violence Prevention, each at 7 percent.
The average market value of the Foundation’s assets for the 2008-2009 fiscal year was $64,813,909 compared to $86,032,981 the year before. Our administrative expenses, excluding investment expenses and excise taxes, totaled $486,470, or .76 percent of the net value of our assets. Our calculations indicate a 5.7 percent payout for the year.
Agnes Meyer once said, “Fortunate are the people whose roots are deep.” As a family, we represent a range of opinions, viewpoints, and ideologies. We don’t always agree, and on some issues, we must agree to disagree. But we never have far to look for help when we need it. The roots of family offer strength and stability during difficult times, such as this past economically challenging year. And as we give up and of ourselves toward fulfilling our commitment to serving a public trust, we find these roots are deepened.
Susan Hunt Hollingsworth
Chair, Executive Committee
August 2009
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