Private foundations continue to distribute more than the required 5 percent of assets in 2014 despite lower asset growth, according to Foundation Source, a provider of services for private foundations.

The Annual Report on Private Foundations released Thursday shows that private foundations with less than $50 million in assets averaged 7.6 percent in charitable distributions in 2014, nearly equal to the 7.5 percent distributed in 2013. Private foundations are required to distribute 5 percent of net assets from the previous year.

The report includes information on foundations with less than $50 million in assets. The report is based on the transactions of 769 Foundation Source clients. Foundations with less than $1 million in assets averaged even higher distributions at 13.2 percent, says the report.

“A common refrain among the general public, and even among philanthropy professionals, is that private foundations only meet the 5 percent minimum distribution requirement each year,” says Robert Chartener, CEO of Foundation Source. “However, we have collected data on the activities of private foundations with assets below $50 million for several years, and this community, which represents 98 percent of all U.S. private foundations, has consistently and significantly exceeded their minimum distribution requirement.”

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