Report
AWMF audited financial statements 2023
Financials
Information about the Foundation’s endowment, social bond framework and financial reports
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation was created in 1969 with $273 million in assets following the consolidation of the Avalon Foundation and the Old Dominion Foundation. The assets of the new organization were augmented with additional funds from the estate of Ailsa Mellon Bruce, and, by 1970, Mellon had assets of $700 million. By 1980, the last year Mellon received a payout from Ailsa Mellon Bruce’s estate, our assets had grown to $880 million.
Mellon’s endowment totaled approximately $7.9 billion at the end of 2023.
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Financials
Growth of the Mellon Foundation’s endowment and its grantmaking
Grants awarded since our founding
From 1969 to 2023, we have awarded ~ $9.1 billion in grants.
Grants awarded by year 1969–2023 (USD millions)
Growth of the Foundation’s endowment over time
Mellon’s endowment totaled approximately $7.9 billion at the end of 2023.
Endowment Growth by year 1969–2023 (USD billions)
Investment portfolio
The goal in managing the portfolio is to preserve and increase its purchasing power, enabling Mellon to provide grants in perpetuity. To achieve this goal, we maintain a portfolio that is well diversified across five asset classes with different risk and return characteristics to generate strong long-term returns.
The portfolio must maintain a certain minimum level of liquidity that is sufficient to fund our grantmaking activity and ongoing expenses, including capital calls, even during periods of market dislocation.
Mellon’s current long-term asset allocation plan
Social Bond Framework
The Mellon Foundation issued $300 million in social bonds in July 2020 under the Mellon Foundation Social Bond Framework. We intend to use the net proceeds of the social bond offering to fund grantmaking and to refinance previous borrowing used to pay grants in 2020.
In response to the COVID-19 global pandemic and its adverse effects on nonprofits, we have undertaken rapid and increased emergency grantmaking. We announced in June 2020 that it would issue an additional $200 million in grants in 2020—on top of the $300 million originally planned for the year—to help shore up arts, humanities, and educational nonprofits devastated by the ongoing public health crisis.