BOSTON – The Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund says its donors gave $1.6 billion to the fund – which supports more than 130,000 nonprofits nationwide – in 2010, up from $1.1 billion a year earlier.
The gift fund, established by the Boston-based mutual fund giant Fidelity Investments in 1991, is the nation’s largest donor-advised fund program and the third largest public charity. Donors to the fund recommended more than 353,000 grants in 2010, a 19 percent increase from 2009. The number of grants and the total granted were the highest in the fund’s history.
“With demands on the nation’s charities as great as they’ve ever been, our donors gave at record levels in 2010 – something we hope is a leading indicator for overall charitable giving in the United States,” said Sarah Libbey, president of the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund. “The level of activity we saw this past year illustrates the growing role of donor-advised funds such as the Gift Fund in charitable giving and also is a clear signal that Americans remain deeply committed to supporting causes they care about.”
Contributions in the form of appreciated securities – one of the most tax-advantaged ways to give – comprised 50 percent of total incoming contributions in 2010, increasing from 44 percent during 2009.
Contributions in the form of non-publicly traded assets, such as privately-held C- and S-Corp stock and real estate, nearly tripled in 2010.
“With the stock market, and merger and acquisition activity up this year, we saw many more of our donors and their advisers take advantage of this smart way to give in 2010,” Libbey said.
Fidelity is optimistic about the future of the gift fund. “Reaching $11 billion in grants since our inception 20 years ago is a truly amazing milestone that reflects Americans’ growing interest in having dedicated Giving Accounts from which to strategically manage their charitable giving,” said Libbey. “Our goal over the next 20 years and beyond is to continue to help donors and their advisers optimize and simplify their giving, as well as integrate charitable giving within their broader financial plans.”
