U.S. foundation giving steady in 2010: report

U.S. foundations made $45.7 billion in grants in 2010 and are expected to give away up to 4 percent more this year amid a fragile economic recovery, a top philanthropic research group said on Thursday.

Giving from the country's 76,000 grant-making foundations was almost unchanged last year from 2009, and remained 2.1 percent below a record $46.8 billion in 2008, the Foundation Center said.

Foundation assets grew about 5 percent last year to $621.4 billion, but remain 9 percent below their pre-financial crisis high of $682.2 billion recorded in 2007.

Independent foundations gave $32.5 billion in 2010 and corporate foundations gave $4.7 billion, both down less than 1 percent from 2009, while giving by community foundations fell 2 percent to $4.1 billion.