Fidelity Charitable collected contributions of $8.5 billion during the 2017 calendar year, according to new data released by the donor-advised-fund provider.
The organization, which raised more from private sources than any other charity in 2015 and 2016, saw its number of new donors increase 83 percent last year over 2016.
Fidelity raised $4 billion from private sources for its fiscal year that ended in June 2017, outpacing United Way Worldwide, which ranked second in the Chronicle’s Philanthropy 400 list, with $3.5 billion.
The 2017 findings echo those of other big donor-advised-fund providers that have released 2017 figures, both commercial funds and community foundations. Stock-market performance last year, along with December’s passage of new federal tax rules, fueled the rise, fundraisers say.
Unlike private foundations, donor-advised funds — in which donors set aside money for philanthropy, take a tax deduction and then later decide which charities will receive grants — have no legally required payout rate. Such accounts have come under fire for holding onto money that could more immediately benefit charities. But donor-advised-fund proponents say they have a higher payout rate than most foundations. Fidelity’s new data says 38 percent of dollars are donated within one year of contribution to a donor-advised fund and 74 percent within five years.
Donor-advised funds are often thought of as giving vehicles for the very wealthy, but Fidelity’s new data suggest that the accounts are being embraced by middle-income donors, too. Fifty-six percent of all Fidelity accounts in 2017 maintained balances below $25,000.
“In the past year, donor-advised funds have crossed a tipping point, becoming a popular and increasingly mainstream vehicle for charitable giving,” according to a Fidelity statement.
Among other data in the report:
- Fidelity donors made more than $4.5 billion in grants, the most ever, in 2017. The more than 1 million grants benefited nearly 127,000 charities.
- Donors gave bigger grants last year, too: The number of gifts of $1 million or more grew by 25 percent over 2016.
- About $69 million worth of donations came last year in the form of Bitcoin or other digital currencies, nearly 10 times the amount given that way in 2016.
- One in 10 Fidelity accounts supported disaster relief last year. The American Red Cross received the most support from Fidelity donors, followed by Doctors Without Borders USA and the Salvation Army.
