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Snapshot of Private Foundation Statistics

Private foundations organized for charitable purposes are exempt from income taxes. They are differentiated from tax-exempt public charities by their narrow bases of control and financial support. Statistics on private foundations are compiled from Form 990-PF, an annual information return that includes data on excise tax liability, charitable distributions, administrative expenditures, as well as income statement and balance sheet information. Data are available for the following types of organizations:

• Operating Foundations—Generally conduct their own charitable activities, e.g., museums
• Nonoperating Foundations—Generally provide charitable support through grants and other financial means to charitable organizations; the majority of foundations are nonoperating
• Section 4947(a)(1) Nonexempt Charitable Trusts—Charitable trusts treated as private foundations for tax purposes; may be operating or nonoperating

For information about selected terms and concepts, a description of the data sources and limitations, and links to recent revisions of Form 990-PF, please visit the Private Foundations Study Metadata page.

Statistical Tables     Publications and Papers     Microdata Files     Other IRS Data

Statistical Tables

The following tables are available as Microsoft Excel® files. A free Excel viewer is available for download, if needed.

NOTE: Statistics for the years denoted by an asterisk (*) include information reported by both domestic and foreign foundations and charitable trusts.

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Publications and Papers

The following are available as PDF files. A free Adobe® reader is available for download, if needed.

• Domestic Private Foundations and Charitable Trusts
  2007     2005–2006     2004     2003     2001     2000     1999     1998     1996–1997     1996*     1995*     1994*     1993*     1991–1992*     1992*     1991*     1990*     1989*     1988*     1986–1987*     1985*     1983*     1982*     1979*
  
  
• A History of the Tax-Exempt Sector: An IRS Perspective
  
  
• Current Research in the Nonprofit Sector
  
  
• Domestic Private Foundations, Tax Years 1993–2002
  
  
• Large Nonoperating Private Foundations Panel Study, 1985–1997
  
  
• Data Interpretation across Sources: A Study of Form 990-PF Information Collected from Multiple Databases
  
  
• Taxing Charity: Linking Income Tax Returns to Samples of Nonexempt Charitable and Charitable Remainder Trust Returns
  
  
• A 20-Year Review of the Nonprofit Sector, 1975–1995
  
  
• Compendium of Studies of Tax-Exempt Organizations
  (Publication 1416)
  

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Other SOI Data on Trusts

Form 5227 is an information return filed by split-interest trusts, those who make distributions to both charitable and noncharitable beneficiaries, while providing tax benefits to their donor. Form 1041 is the income tax return filed by fiduciaries to report income, distributions, and tax liability of estates and trusts.

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Microdata Files

This section contains microdata files for all Forms 990-PF sampled for the annual SOI studies of tax-exempt organizations.

The data are contained in ASCII flat files, Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and Adobe Acrobat PDF. Documentation to assist with the files is included. (Free Adobe Acrobat reader, PKunZip utility, and Microsoft Excel viewer software is available for download, if needed.)

The sample include returns filed by private foundations, exempt under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3), and section 4947(a)(1) nonexempt charitable trusts. The stratified random samples are based on asset size and represent approximately 10 percent of Forms 990-PF filed; sampling rates of 100 percent are applied to large-asset classes. Microdata records contain most financial information from Forms 990-PF, as well as weights (to estimate the population), for each organization.

To access compressed data, click on one of the following links to download a compressed (Zip) file. These files will uncompress the microdata and documentation files simultaneously.

2008    2007    2006    2005    2004    2003    2002    2001    2000    1999    1998    1997    1996    1995    1994    1993    1992 

To access uncompressed data, click on one of the following links to access a page with links to both data and documentation files.

2008    2007    2006    2005    2004    2003    2002    2001   2000   1999

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Other IRS Data and Related Links

For tax administration data on this topic, as well as other types of taxes, choose from the links below.

• Collecting Revenue
• Enforcing Laws
• Issuing Refunds

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