An analysis of the giving behavior of more than 132,000 Fidelity Charitable donors in the 2016 Fidelity Charitable Giving Report, recently released, reveals that Donor-Advised Funds (DAF) donors provide more support for more charities than their counterparts who do not use donor-advised funds.
The report also uncovered that relief efforts and social giving efforts were key in motivating donors to give last year. The fact that retirees who give with a donor-advised fund feel more assured that they will be able maintain or increase their giving in retirement is other of the findings, with 62% of retired Fidelity Charitable donors who feel confident compared to 52% of retirees surveyed who do not use DAFs. Finally, another conclusion is that compared to donors nationally, Fidelity Charitable donors are significantly more likely to contribute appreciated assets, which may be one key reason they are able to give more.
The report is the fourth annual produced by Fidelity Charitable, an independent public charity with one of the nation’s largest donor-advised fund programs, and the nation’s second largest grantmaker, with cumulative grants of more than $22 billion since its inception 25 years ago.
The report uncovered that DAF donors provide more support for more charities than their counterparts who do not use donor advised funds. Over 70% of Fidelity Charitable donors give more than $10,000 per year, while only 42% of similar donors who do not use DAFs give the same annual amount. Significantly, 85% of DAF donors support six or more charities, compared to 36% of donors surveyed who do not use DAFs.
Fidelity Charitable donors are also significantly more likely to involve other members of their households when making decisions on giving. Sixty-two percent of Fidelity Charitable Giving Accounts have multiple donors with advisory privileges, those permitted to recommend grants. In addition, 82% of DAF donors engage others in their households in their decision making process versus 53% of donors surveyed who do not use DAFs.
“Our finding that donors with donor-advised funds are having more conversations about giving within their households and, ultimately, giving more to charities than donors who do not use donor-advised funds, demonstrates that having dedicated funds for giving encourages a more planned, thoughtful approach to philanthropy,” says Amy Danforth, president of Fidelity Charitable. “Best of all, this results in donors who provide greater and more dependable support to charities.”
Relief efforts and social giving efforts, such as charity walks, were key in motivating donors to give last year. Spikes in support of specific charities on the list included those providing relief to victims of the earthquake in Nepal and the humanitarian crisis in Syria. Reflecting this trend, UNICEF and OXFAM saw 38% and 35% increases, respectively, in the number of donors giving to them.
Findings include:
- 85% of Fidelity Charitable donors support six or more charities, compared to 36% of affluent donors.
- Two-thirds of donor contribution dollars to Fidelity Charitable were non-cash assets, an 18% increase from the previous year.
- 60% of donors contributed appreciated assets to Fidelity Charitable last year, compared to just 19% of affluent donors at any time in their giving history.
- 82% of Fidelity Charitable donors engage others in the decision-making process around their giving versus 53% of similar donors.
- 62% of retired Fidelity Charitable donors feel confident about ability to give in the future. In comparison, only 52% of similar retirees have the same confidence.
- 71% of Fidelity Charitable donors give more than $10,000 per year, while 42% of similar donors overall give the same amount.
- Among retired donors, 70% of Fidelity Charitable donors give $10,000 or more vs. just 27% among similar retired donors.
- 92% of donations allocated to Giving Accounts at Fidelity Charitable are distributed to charities within 10 years of receipt by Fidelity Charitable.
- The number of charities supported by Fidelity Charitable donors increased 100% in 10 years, from 53,076 to 106,250.