According to a report released by the Foundation Center, investments made by private and community foundations to the US was an estimated USD50.9 billion in 2012. The report was focused primarily on its 2011 survey results of foundations, but also had included the 2012 limited projection. The Foundation Center is a leading source of information about philanthropy all over the world.
In the report, 35% of all investments that were placed in 2011 by some of the country's largest foundations went towards the economically disadvantaged. Almost half of the investments were placed to the health and education sectors. These sectors were reportedly the top priority sectors of the major foundations. For example, Bill and Melinda Gates in 2011 placed USD967 million in five years to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization.
Foundation Center director of research Steven Lawrence, who is the author of 2011 report, said, "The outlook for 2013 is for continued modest growth overall. It may not be the boom years of the late 1990s or mid-2000s, but the good news is that it looks like US foundations will continue to provide a stable source of support for new ideas and ongoing programs that improve lives around the world.
The health sector received USD6.8 billion in aggregate investments, with education coming in second at USD5 billion. Arts and culture, and human services sectors tied at third with USD3.5 billion in investments each.
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