New York – – Members of Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities will meet in New York City November 6th with foundation investment experts for a roundtable discussion on the economic recovery and its impact on foundation portfolios.
The meeting, part of FADICA’s fall board meeting, will discuss the investment lessons learned during the worldwide economic recession of the past year and a half, in which many foundation portfolios tumbled.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy found that assets at the nation’s biggest foundations totaled $163.4 billion at the end of last year, a decline of $50.4 billion in just one year, making 2009 one of the toughest years ever for fund raisers.
The Foundation Center, a research base tracking American philanthropy found in its recent national survey that U.S. foundations expect about a 10-13% anticipated reduction in grants for 2009.
Two thirds of the surveyed foundations reported reductions in their own operational expenses.
The FADICA meeting, which will feature advisors from Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Private Bank, and the Roundtable Investment Partners, will look at economic forecasts for 2010, which are increasingly pointing to a another historically difficult year for foundation grant making.
“We are seeing serious and persistent effects of this sad economic chapter in the nation’s history as our donors attempt to respond to needs, but simply cannot entertain new grant requests” said Francis J. Butler, FADICA’s President.
“In this atmosphere it is more important that ever for grant makers to tap the best investment wisdom, while they work more in partnerships to maximize their philanthropy and solve problems”, Dr. Butler said.
He predicted that grant makers and grant seekers will continue to face tough choices in 2010.
FADICA is a consortium of some fifty private foundations and donor agencies sharing an interest religious philanthropy.
