Fidelity Charitable says relief efforts and social giving drive donations

RELIEF EFFORTS and social giving efforts, such as charity walks, drive donations, according to the 2016 Fidelity Charitable Giving Report released Thursday.
RELIEF EFFORTS and social giving efforts, such as charity walks, drive donations, according to the 2016 Fidelity Charitable Giving Report released Thursday.

BOSTON – Relief efforts and social giving efforts, such as charity walks, help motivate donations, according to the 2016 Fidelity Charitable Giving Report released Thursday.
The fourth annual report, which analyzed the giving behavior of more than 132,000 Fidelity Charitable donors last year, also showed the key differences between charitable donors who use donor-advised funds for their giving compared with a national pool of donors.
The report found that UNICEF and Oxfam America saw 38 percent and 35 percent increases, respectively, in the number of donors supporting them due to their relief efforts for victims of the earthquake in Nepal and the humanitarian crisis in Syria.
The Alzheimer’s Association also saw a 39 percent increase in grants recommended by Fidelity Charitable donors, and the Pan-Mass Challenge, a Massachusetts-based bike-a-thon that raises money for cancer research, saw a 26 percent increase in grants.

“Fidelity Charitable donors support an extraordinary range of organizations, with more than 106,000 nonprofits receiving grants last year,” Amy Danforth, Fidelity Charitable president, said in a statement. “While most who give have organizations and causes that they support year-in and year-out, those who use donor-advised funds have a dedicated account for charitable giving, which enables them not only to provide ongoing support to their favorite charitable causes, but also to more easily and quickly respond to meet new needs as they emerge.”
In Rhode Island, less than 50 percent of donors’ grant dollars were directed to charities in state.
The report also found that 71 percent of Fidelity Charitable donors give more than $10,000 per year, while 42 percent of similar donors who do not use donor-advised funds give the same annual amount. Also, 85 percent of donor-advised fund donors support six or more charities, compared with 36 percent of donors surveyed who do not use donor-advised funds.
Other findings:

  • 82 percent of Fidelity Charitable donors engage others in the decision-making process around their giving compared with 53 percent of similar donors.
  • 62 percent of retired Fidelity Charitable donors feel confident about ability to give in the future. In comparison, only 52 percent of similar retirees have the same confidence.
  • Among retired donors, 70 percent of Fidelity Charitable donors reported that they give $10,000 or more compared with 27 percent among similar retired donors.
  • 92 percent 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 percent in 10 years, from 53,076 to 106,250.

Established in 1991, Fidelity Charitable launched the first national donor-advised fund program. It is an independent public charity that has helped donors support more than 219,000 nonprofit organizations with more than $21 billion in grants.

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