Norwalk, Conn. (August 19, 2026) — In a market environment that again proved supportive despite periodic volatility, average annual returns on foundation endowments landed in double-digit positive territory for the third consecutive year among the 285 foundations surveyed in the annual Council on Foundations–Commonfund Study of Investment of Endowments for Private and Community Foundations® (CCSF; the "Study").
The average 2025 calendar year return on these endowed funds for the 171 participating private foundations was 14.1 percent, up from 10.3 percent reported in the 2024 Study. Similarly, for the 114 participating community foundations, the average 2025 return was 14.7 percent, up from 11.0 percent in 2024. This marks the third year in a row that both foundation segments have reported double-digit returns—the longest such streak in Study history—following the lowest average returns on record in 2022. (All return data reported net of fees.)
Strong one-year numbers bolstered longer-term returns, which reflect foundations' ability to finance their missions and program commitments going forward. Ten-year average annual returns increased for both segments: private foundations reported 9.0 percent (up from 7.3 percent in 2024), and community foundations reported 8.6 percent, up from 7.0 percent in 2024.
For the second year that the Study has collected this data, private and community foundations reported 15- and 20-year net annualized returns. Private foundations reported 8.1 percent and 7.2 percent on average for the two time periods, respectively as of December 31, 2025, and community foundations reported 7.9 percent and 7.1 percent—continued improvement from last year's inaugural figures of 7.5 and 6.4 percent and 7.2 and 6.3 percent, respectively.
“Foundations are in a strong position to weather whatever volatility comes next, but the long-term picture stands out most," said Kathleen Enright, President and CEO of the Council on Foundations, and George Suttles, Executive Director of Commonfund Institute, in a joint statement. "With two years of 15- and 20-year data now in hand, we're seeing evidence that foundations are able to sustain their endowments over time which enables them to fund in ways that serve communities now and for decades to come.”
With data reported by 285 private and community foundations, representing $126.9 billion in combined assets, the CCSF remains the most comprehensive annual survey of its kind. The 2025 Study marks the 14th year that the Council on Foundations and Commonfund Institute, two leading organizations in the field of foundation investment and governance policies and practices, have partnered to produce this research. The Study reports data from private and community foundations separately to reflect the differing structures of the two foundation types and, for deeper analysis, also breaks both types into three cohorts segmented by endowment size.