Grantmakers Information Technology Survey Report 

II.

Results Summary 

Snapshots 

In the eight sections below, we describe what a typical snapshot of a foundation 

technology environment looks like for small, medium, large and very large foundations 

and by foundation type. These snapshots address the overall management issues of 

technology, including staffing and the role of the technology staff, budgeting, technology 

adoption and planning, and what services are provided in house or are outsourced. 

Technology Adoption  

It is no surprise that the survey results vary greatly by foundation size. Generally 

speaking, very large foundations (those with more than $250 million in assets) adopt and 

utilize technology much quicker than their smaller counterparts, with 95 percent of very 

large foundation respondents describing themselves as  leading edge  or  fast follower  

technology adopters, and 5 percent describing themselves as  lags behind  on  in 

trouble  (Table A 3). In contrast, 34 percent of smaller foundations (those with less than 

$10 million in assets) described themselves as  lags behind  or  in trouble  regarding 

technology utilization and adoption. For foundations in the middle sizes, the results were 

between those of the very large and small foundations.  

The survey results also vary by foundation type. In general, independent and corporate 

foundations adopt and utilize technology faster than community and family foundations. 

Independent and corporate foundations also tend to have more technology staff and spend 

more money on technology than do community and family foundations.  

Technology Staffing 

Most survey respondents (65%) had no in house information technology professionals, 

and among the 35 percent (113) that did, most (73 of 113) had only one such person on 

staff (either part time or full time). Only 40 respondents had two or more IT staff (Table 

A 1). Among grantmakers without dedicated technology staff, the finance/administrative 

staff or the executive director/CEO is responsible for the organization's technology 

systems and support (Table A 2). Grantmakers without dedicated IT staff are more likely 

than those with dedicated IT staff to characterize their technology adoption as  lags 

behind  or  in trouble  (29% versus 14%) (Table A 3).  

The number of days of training for IT professionals is insufficient, with 15 percent 

getting no training and 55 percent receiving 1 to 5 days of technical training a year. The 

Technology Affinity Group believes that IT professionals should be going to a minimum 

of 2 weeks of training to keep up their technical skills. 

Technology Spending 

For all foundation sizes and types, the amount of money foundations reported spending 

on technology is surprisingly low, with 34 percent of grantmakers that knew the 

percentage reporting they spend less than 1 percent of their non program budget on 

technology annually and an additional 26 percent reporting spending either 1 percent or 2  

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