Few funders make loans, equity investments � Philanthropy North Carolina

Few funders make loans, equity investments � Philanthropy North Carolina: Total investment by foundations in program-related investments such as low-interest loans and equity investments grew to $701 million in 2009 from $139 million in 1990, while the average size of those investments grew steadily to more than $1.5 million in 2009 from just over $660,000 in 2000, says the study by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, which cited IRS data.

Yet over the past 20 years, only about 1 percent of U.S. foundations each year made program-related investments, or PRIs, the report, Leveraging the Power of Foundations, which was sponsored by Mission Throttle.