Private foundations: past research and future opportunities

Arthur Allen and Brian McAllister

Chapter 17 in Research Handbook on Nonprofit Accounting, 2023, pp 316-337 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: At the cost of tax benefits provided to donors, private foundations provide substantial societal benefits with payouts of $85 billion in 2018 as well as oversight of public charities. Foundations are a unique organizational form and are self-perpetuating. Compared with public charities, they have less oversight by regulators and donors. Despite their importance and unique nature, private foundations have received relatively little attention by academic researchers. We describe the institutional background of private foundations and their applicable IRS regulations. We discuss the limited data which has been available to prior researchers as well as newly available data sources. Our survey of the literature is organized by the core activities of foundations: donations, investments, payouts, and grantmaking. We also survey literature regarding state regulations. Finally, we discuss additional research needed to help regulators optimize societal benefits and inform boards and managers on improving foundation governance, investment performance and grant effectiveness.

Keywords: Business and Management; Economics and Finance; Research Methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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