An independent research project of the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy - Supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts

According to a study conducted by the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy, faith-based social service programs received some $68.8 million dollars in one year from the nation's 50 largest "faith-friendly" private and community foundations.  

The Roundtable study found that the total given to faith-based service providers is nearly 3% of the approximately $2.5 billion in annual philanthropic grants awarded by these 50 foundations. However, a third of the foundations were found to allocate 10% or more of their total annual giving to faith-based programs. The analysis was based on a composite year consisting of data from 1999 and 2000, the latest years for which full grant data were available from the Foundation Center. Only monetary grants of $10,000 or more were included. The study showed that each foundation made an average of 17 grants to faith-based providers during the year, with the average award totaling $75,462. The Roundtable study also found that private foundations often focus on a specific area of interest and frequently dominate giving in a particular category. For instance, in 8 of the 20 service categories, a single foundation accounted for over half the grants.