Chronicle notes "a strong stock market helped boost the assets last year" of nation's largest foundations (but totals are still below pre-recession levels).
"Among 66 foundations that provided seven years of data, assets in 2013 were still 16.6 percent below the total $223.7-billion reported in 2007. And grant making last year among those organizations was 6.5 percent lower than in 2007. The year-to-year comparisons that foundations provided show reasons for at least some optimism among grant seekers.Assets grew by 7.5 percent from 2012 to 2013 for the 83 grant makers that gave figures for both years, so giving will likely grow in 2014." -- Doug Donovan and Sarah Frostenson, the Chronicle of Philanthropy
