Understanding Transparency Practices in Private Foundations

Abstract

Despite the increasing attention to transparency among academics and practitioners, researchers face a significant challenge in gaining access to foundation information, which limits their ability to study foundation transparency. This research aims to advance our understanding of foundation transparency by exploring various dimensions of transparency, including public visibility, information disclosure, external relational activities, reporting quality, and the timeliness of information. The study uses IRS Form 990-PF e-file datasets from 2011 to 2016, as well as information collected from foundation websites. Foundations with websites were coded using content analysis, and a transparency index was constructed through principal factor analysis. The findings indicate that only around one percent of foundations maintain a website, and publicly available information is skewed towards administrative information with a lack of financial information and information on external relations-building activities. Additionally, the average time taken to file after the tax deadline was approximately four months, and tax filings were found to have reporting quality issues.