Two More On The Way 'Tis the season for a discussion about charitable giving. And two other studies on foundation spending policies are underway, both due to publish final reports in 2000. The NNG study, conducted by Perry Merhling, chair of Barnard College's economics department, tackles the DeMarche study's findings and methodology head on. When discussing foundation payout, only grants should be counted . This economic payout ratio concept should not be confused with the legal payout ratio concept, which involves total qualifying distributions divided by average assets over the previous five year period.
Social justice means giving more to the poor, now.
NNG's mission is to encourage more giving to social justice. All of the foundations studied have been in existence for the full duration, so the numbers will give a good look at actual, not hypothetical, experience. But it's safe to say that we want to be able to make the case that private foundations should be able to exist in perpetuity if they wish to. Further out on the horizon is a study on spending policies and asset allocation, also based on actual foundation experience, in the process of being launched by Peter Frumkin of the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard. Frumkin plans to publish a framing paper in early 2000 and release the final report by fall 2000.