By Ian Wilhelm

A new study suggests that for most foundation employees, climbing the organizational ladder will rarely lead to the chief executive’s office.

After looking at 440 foundation leaders who entered their positions from 2004 to 2008, the study found that almost 80 percent of them were hired from outside, as opposed to being promoted from within.

The study, by the Council on Foundations, an association of about 2,000 philanthropies, also found that grant makers often hire from outside the foundation world. Sixty-seven percent of the philanthropy leaders surveyed came from charities, businesses, universities, the government, or hospitals.

The Arlington, Va., association said that the findings raise “questions about what search committees, human resources officers, and representatives from search firms look for during the executive search process.”

For example, do foundations place less value on grant-making experience versus other types of experience and are grant makers doing enough to groom leadership from within?

The study also looked at the ethnic and racial diversity of the foundation executives, saying that 80 percent of them were white. According to Census estimates, 34.4 percent of the U.S. population is nonwhite.

The findings seem to reinforce a recent report from Philanthropy New York, a local association of grant makers, and the Foundation Center, a research group in New York.

The report, which was released this month and examined 95 foundations in the New York region, says that the number of ethnic and racial minorities dwindle within the senior ranks of grant makers.

While almost half of the administrative staff members and 43 percent of program officers are nonwhite, 16 percent of chief executives and 18 percent of board members are “people of color.”

The New York report is available free on Philanthropy New York’s Web site. The Council on Foundation’s study is available free on its Web site.