For over 25 years, National Philanthropic Trust (NPT) has partnered with donors, institutions and charitable organizations to achieve meaningful philanthropic impact. Our donors’ generosity remained steadfast during Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, with over 107,000 grant recommendations to more than 36,000 unique nonprofit organizations and the communities they serve.
Our donors’ commitment to giving is even more notable when considering the period covered in this report—one marked by economic uncertainty, rising inflation and global crises. Donors recommended grants across all philanthropic subsectors, providing sustained support despite these challenges.
NPT’s FY23 grantmaking surpassed $4.5 billion through over 107,000 grants to more than 36,000 unique nonprofit organizations.
This report highlights NPT donors’ engagement and dedication to supporting both emergent issues and long-term solutions to society’s most pressing challenges. I am glad to report that more than half of all grant recommendations were unrestricted, providing nonprofits the flexibility to steer essential general operating support where it is most needed.
I thank NPT’s hard-working Board of Trustees, talented staff, many committed partners and generous donors for advancing our mission to increase philanthropy in society. Since I joined NPT in 1996, donor-advised funds have evolved to become a giving vehicle of choice for so many donors. Today, I am astounded by the scope and breadth of NPT’s grantmaking. I am excited for what the future of giving holds.
Warm Regards,
Eileen R. Heisman
President & CEO
Executive Summary
Since 1996, National Philanthropic Trust has helped individuals, families, foundations and corporations reach their philanthropic goals and maximize their charitable giving. Today, we are the nation’s largest independent public charity that manages donor-advised funds (DAFs). Since NPT’s inception, our donors have recommended more than 640,000 grants totaling over $26 billion to charitable organizations globally.
Our 2023 fiscal year, reflected in this report, began July 1, 2022, and ended June 30, 2023.
Grants supported 36,361 unique nonprofit organizations.
2023 Grantmaking Impact Stories
In FY23, our donors recommended grants to nonprofits large and small, newly established organizations and legacy institutions. The nonprofit organizations collected here represent a small sample of our donors’ total grantmaking recommendations but demonstrate the breadth of their charitable commitments.
The Future of Artificial Intelligence
Girls Who Code: Artificial intelligence has the potential to impact many aspects of our lives, whether at work, at school or in our daily online communications. Donors understand that it will take the next generation of innovators and problem solvers in this ever-expanding field to usher in this new era of technology.
Charitable support, like a $500 grant recommendation from an NPT donor, aids the nonprofit Girls Who Code in closing the gender gap in technology. The organization provides after school clubs, career exploration and summer programs and home-based learning tools to girls and nonbinary students, on topics such as cybersecurity and programming language training.
Access to Clean Water for All
charity:water: Over 700 million people worldwide lack access to clean and safe drinking water. Many spend hours each day walking to collect water—often contaminated—for their families. The labor and associated health risks can keep children out of school and reduce earning potential for parents. Since 2006, charity:water has worked with local partners to build sustainable water projects in rural, landlocked and vulnerable areas. Clean water translates to better health, income and education—especially for women and children.
One donor recommended a grant of $100,000 to support the nonprofit’s work in 29 countries. These partnerships between charity:water and local communities ensure that programming is sustained for years to come thanks to community-driven skill-building, infrastructure maintenance and continued evaluation of needs and successes.
The Fundamentals of Success
Reach Out and Read: With support from a recommended grant totaling $15,000, Reach Out and Read continued to invest in their mission to provide families with the tools and information needed to make reading aloud part of their daily routine. Research has repeatedly shown that reading books to children can have life-changing benefits, including improved academic performance, more robust language and communication skills and deeper familial bonds.
Through initiatives and resources, including working with a network of trained pediatric providers, Reach Out and Read has positively impacted over four million children, with 79% coming from families with lower incomes.
Sustaining Indigenous Cultures
Native Arts and Cultures Foundation: A $44,800 grant helps spark discussions, share new perspectives and promote healing among Indigenous communities and Native peoples through exhibitions, classes and performances, along with education for the general population.
Giving a Voice to Mental Health
Mental Health America: Eliminating the stigma around mental health includes advocacy and data collection to connect people with equitable, accessible and empathetic resources. A grant of $5,000 supports the education, research and services needed to advance the mental health and wellbeing of all people.
The Intersection of Gender Equity and the Climate Crisis
WECAN: A $1,000 grant helps to center Black women, Indigenous women, women from the Global South and women from low-income communities in leading climate change solutions by engaging them in policy, training, movement building and “on the ground” work.
Lifesaving Art Therapy for Veterans
Help Heal Vets: Art therapy is a useful intervention for veterans in treatment for PTSD and traumatic brain injuries. A $10,000 grant helps distribute free therapeutic craft kits to veterans and active-duty U.S. service members in the U.S. and worldwide.
Preserving Animal Welfare
Marine Mammal Center: While wildlife face ongoing threats to their survival, the Marine Mammal Center works tirelessly to rescue and rehabilitate marine mammals, including the endangered Hawaiian monk seal. A $50,000 grant helps maintain their hospital and medical training facilities.
Breaking the Cycle of Poverty
Robin Hood: A $1.5 million grant helps the estimated 14 percent of New Yorkers living below the poverty line receive assistance and support from partnered nonprofits throughout the five boroughs. This assistance is critical to help break the cycle of poverty and start residents on a pathway to economic mobility.
Farming for Food Security
America’s Grow-a-Row: This volunteer-driven nonprofit supports planting, picking and delivering free, fresh produce to those facing food insecurity. A $70,000 grant helps deliver millions of pounds of produce to food banks, food pantries and community kitchens.
Protecting U.S. Democracy
National Constitution Center: A $1,000 grant helps bridge the gap between all generations and backgrounds by encouraging visitors to learn about, celebrate and engage in thoughtful discourse regarding the U.S. Constitution while in the birthplace of the United States: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Expanding Access to HIV and AIDS Treatment
amFAR: A global leader in funding and supporting biomedical and field research, amFAR (The Foundation for AIDS Research) has granted millions to scientists, researchers and advocates. A $1,000 grant helps support advocacy, education and other lifesaving efforts.
Donors Remain Committed to Giving
NPT granted $4.52 billion on behalf of its donors during FY23, granting to every U.S. state and 57 countries. This total represents a 19 percent decrease in grant value compared to FY22. The period covered in this report is marked by significant economic impacts including rising inflation, market uncertainty and a drop in the value of all major indices at the end of 2022, a time when grantmaking is historically at its highest.
Number of Grants Continues to Surpass 100,000
Despite a drop in total grant value, NPT’s grant volume increased at a steady pace. NPT issued 107,385 grants in FY23, an increase of three percent compared to FY22. The number of grants remained above 100,000 for the second year in a row.
Number of Unique Organizations Supported Grows to More Than 36,000
Donors supported 36,361 unique nonprofit organizations with grant recommendations, an increase of five percent compared to FY22. The number of grants to international organizations increased 33 percent over FY22. Concurrently, the value of NPT’s donors’ international grantmaking recommendations increased by 99 percent.
Grantmaking Generosity Continues
NPT’s mission is to increase philanthropy in society, and we achieve that mission by facilitating our donors’ grant recommendations. Following historical trends at NPT, the majority of grants were unrestricted or designated toward general operating support, allowing the recipient organizations the flexibility to allocate funds when and where the need is greatest.
Grant Payments Solution Helps Nonprofits Quickly Address Critical Needs
A cornerstone of NPT’s mission is ensuring that critical funds reach grantees quickly. In August 2022, in partnership with other industry leaders, NPT launched electronic Grant Payments, a digital grantmaking solution.
In the first ten* months of the Grant Payments solution, NPT issued:
Grants
8,310
Totaling
$118M
Of these, more than 50% of grant funds were available to grantees within 24 hours.
Grant Payments leverages the expertise of our staff to deliver funding in a fast and environmentally-friendly method at no additional cost to either donor or nonprofit—allowing grantees to optimize time and resources.
*8/9/2022 to 6/30/2023
Grantmaking Fields of Interest
The IRS uses “major group” categories to classify U.S. charitable organizations by field of interest. NPT’s donors once again supported organizations working in education, human services and public and societal benefit at high levels. Those sectors represented nearly 70% of all grantmaking by grant value. Health, religious and environmental causes, along with international causes, experienced significant growth in grant value.
TOTAL VALUE ($) GRANTS BY FIELD OF INTEREST FY23
TOTAL NUMBER OF GRANTS BY FIELD OF INTEREST FY23 (IN THOUSANDS)
Donors recommended the largest number of grants to the Human Services field, followed by Religion, Education and Health.
How Our Donors Fund Their Philanthropy
NPT’s donors funded their philanthropy through contributions of cash, appreciated securities and complex assets. Donors use their DAF accounts to support charitable missions today, to make sustaining, multi-year recurring grant recommendations and to grow assets for future transformational gifts.
CHARITABLE ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT FY19 – FY23
NPT'S TOTAL ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT AS OF JUNE 30, 2023
Consolidated Statements
Leadership
Board of Trustees (at time of publication)
Linda K. Myers – CHAIR
Jeffrey Armbrister
Lindy Benton-Moreno
Joram Borenstein
Connie Collingsworth
Ann Dugan
Julius Green, CPA, JD
Eileen R. Heisman
Stephen Hopkins
Dirk Jungé
Lisa Pattis
Eric Reeves
Diana L. Sands
Paul Schreiber
Manish Shah
David Wezdenko
Suzanne Yoon
NPT Leadership Team (at time of publication)
Eileen R. Heisman – President and Chief Executive Officer
Christopher Adams – Chief Information Officer
Christopher Blume – Senior Vice President, Operations
Jai Chanda – Chief Development Officer
Joseph Gajewski – Executive Vice President, Premier Donor Fiduciary Services
Oren Gershon – Senior Vice President, Project Management Office
Christina Hack – Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
Andrew W. Hastings – Chief Enterprise Officer
Elizabeth Monahan – Chief Human Resources Officer
Jenna Mulhall-Brereton – Chief Philanthropy Officer
Gil A. Nusbaum – General Counsel
Matthew B. Rovi – Senior Vice President, Institutional Partnerships and Experiences
Andrea Rush – Senior Vice President, Philanthropic Solutions
NPT is not affiliated with any of the organizations described herein, and the inclusion of any organization in this material should not be considered an endorsement by NPT of such organization, or its services or products.
Photographs courtesy: Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, Mental Health America, WECAN, Help Heal Vets, Marine Mammal Center, Robin Hood, America’s Grow-a-Row, National Constitution Center and amFAR. Other photos: iStock/Getty Images.