Kevin McCoy

USA TODAY

Donald Trump's and Hillary Clinton's non-profit foundations reflect the presidential challengers' publicly perceived styles — "improvisational" versus "systematized" — a new analysis by a charity watchdog concludes.

The Donald J. Trump Foundation and the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation are both "celebrity" organizations, "seeded by money donated by their founders and also serve as a vehicle for members of the public to demonstrate their support of a prominent person," according to the review issued Wednesday by Jacob Harold, CEO of Guidestar, a leading nonprofit watchdog.

But the similarities end there.

Clinton's foundation is larger, with data from Dec. 31, 2014, showing assets of $354 million compared with $1 million for Trump's non-profit, the analysis said. Additionally, Clinton family tax returns suggest that their foundation accounts for the majority of their charitable giving, the analysis concluded.

Trump has not released his tax returns, so "it is difficult to know the scale of his charitable activities outside the Trump Foundation," the analysis said. The last donation to the foundation by Trump or any of the other trustees was in 2008, the organization's tax returns show. The review also cited Washington Post reports that were unable to validate that Trump actually donated the money he pledged to charities.

"All told, the data at hand would suggest that the Clinton family has — at least over the last several years — donated more money (and at a far higher proportion of their wealth) than the Trump family," the Guidestar analysis concluded.

Clinton critics have argued that fundraising for her family's foundation compromised her role when she served as secretary of State from 2009 to 2013. There appears to be "little evidence to support this claim," the analysis said, noting that the foundation signed a 2008 memorandum of understanding that Clinton would not have a role with the foundation during her Obama administration tenure.

Mothball the Clinton Foundation: Our view

"A fair argument can be made that the Clinton Foundation should have been more aggressive in dealing with the perception of potential conflict," the analysis said. However, the review noted that the organization now shares legal and audit documentation, along with information about its donors — who include Donald and Ivanka Trump.

Clinton's foundation also provided qualitative metrics about the success of the global agricultural and educational programs it supports, thereby winning a "transparency seal" from Guidestar. Trump's foundation did not, leaving the watchdog's analysis to rely on information disclosed in the organization's annual tax returns.

New York attorney general opens inquiry into Trump Foundation

"These forms appear to indicate an unfocused generosity," the analysis said, citing grants of $5,000 to $25,000 issued in 2014 to the Palm Beach Opera, the Police Athletic League and the Ronald McDonald House of New York.

"There is nothing inherently wrong with sprinkling many small grants in unrelated areas," the analysis concluded. "But the Trump Foundation's approach would certainly not meet the standard of focused, proactive grantmaking commonly called 'strategic philanthropy.'"

The Trump and Clinton campaigns did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on the analysis.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Kevin McCoy on Twitter: @kmccoynyc

Guidestar Analysis