Grant makers are channeling more money to projects explicitly designed to help black men and boys, but those dollars make up a tiny share of overall giving, according to a new study.

The study, Where Do We Go From Here? Philanthropic Support for Black Men and Boys, was financed by the Open Society Foundations, which last year pledged $30-million to a New York City program dedicated to improving opportunities for black males. The report was based on Foundation Center data and a separate survey of 50 grant makers.

Among the study’s findings:

• Foundation dollars explicitly designated to aid black men and boys rose from $22-million in 2008 to $29-million in 2010. That was about 0.1 percent of total foundation giving.
• Education was the main focus of those dollars, receiving 40 percent of total giving.
• Most foundation money to benefit African-American males (87 percent) was designated for specific programs and projects.
• The Ford Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, and the California Endowment were the biggest donors.
• Morehouse College, a historically black institution, and the Twenty-First Century Foundation, a fund to benefit African-Americans, won the largest share of dollars.