Grantmakers Information Technology Survey Report 

III. Snapshots by Foundation Size  

D. Small Foundations Snapshot (less than $10 million)

IT Percentage of 

Percentage of

Total Budget (n = 66 who know) Responses 

Less than 1% 

36.5 % 

1%   3% 

36.5 % 

4%   5% 

15 % 

6%   10% 

12 % 

Lastly, we looked at what technology services foundations run in house versus which 

services are outsourced. Most small foundations manage some services in house while 

outsourcing others. A majority of the small foundations manage e mail, database 

administration and desktop support in house, while outsourcing web hosting. This is the 

only foundation size category that reported a lower percentage for desktop support than 

some other services. Small foundations tend to be evenly divided between in house 

management and outsourcing for managing server administration, security and LAN 

administration.  

You will notice that the percentages differ between what foundations reported they 

manage in house versus what they outsource. For example, 60 percent of foundations 

reported that they manage desktop support in house, yet 26 percent reported that they 

outsource desktop support, adding up to a total of 86 percent. The variance is due either 

to different respondents answering the questions or respondents reporting that they 

manage the same function in house and externally.  

Manage In House 

Outsource 

Percentage of 

Percentage of 

Responses 

Responses 

Technical Service 

(n = 65) 

(n = 62) 

Desktop Support 

 60 % 

26 % 

LAN Administration 

 42 % 

29 % 

WAN Administration 

 11 % 

19 % 

Web Hosting 

 23 % 

76 % 

E Mail 

 78 % 

32 % 

Database Administration   91 % 

19 % 

Server Administration 

 32 % 

48 % 

Security 

 46 % 

34 % 

 29