Of 38 foundations that provide the most grants to American Indian causes, only nine said they had any permanent American Indian staff members, according to a new survey presented today at the Council on Foundations conference.

Two of the foundations hired American Indian consultants, interns, or volunteers, and four said they did not collect racial or ethnic data on their employees, according to a draft report on the survey. Eight said they had at least one American Indian on their board.

The survey was conducted by Native Americans in Philanthropy, in Minneapolis, as part of a study on the impact of leadership by American Indians on the level of giving to Indian causes. The group, which works to promote such giving, discussed the draft report at its annual meeting at the council conference.

The survey sought information from the 100 foundations that give the most to causes that benefit American Indians, and got responses from 38. The draft report says the initial findings are too limited to be conclusive, but provide “solid motive for the continuation of this study.”

“There seems to be a loose correlation between each foundation’s level of grant making to native [people] and its level of native representation,” it says.