Many grantmakers have lost nearly a third of their assets in the recent stock market plunge, according to a Chronicle of Philanthropy survey. For the 57 grantmakers that provided financial data for 2007 and 2008, endowments declined a median of 29 per cent. Some, with investments in bankrupt or hard-hit companies, have fared much worse. The New York-based Starr Foundation, which held a significant portion of its portfolio in American International Group stock, lost $1.7 billion – almost 57 per cent of its assets.