Fidelity Charitable, an independent public charity with a donor-advised fund program, set new records for total contributions and for grants for 2012, Fidelity announced today.
Donors contributed $3.6 billion to Fidelity Charitable for 2012, a 24 percent increase over the previous year. Donors also recommended 428,000 grants totaling $1.6 billion, which was also a 24 percent increase in the dollar amount over 2011.
2012 marks the fourth year contributions have set a record high.
The average grant size of $3,773 was a 10 percent increase over 2011. The number of new accounts opened rose 32 percent to more than 5,900 last year.
“Throughout 2012, donors took advantage of the improved stock market and economic conditions to contribute more to their charitable accounts and in turn better support the causes they care about,” says Sarah Libbey, Fidelity Charitable president.
“We also saw many donors discover the benefits of using a donor-advised fund for the first time as the uncertain tax environment prompted more discussions about philanthropy between advisors and clients,” she adds.
Fidelity made several enhancements to its donor advised funds, including releasing an app that enables donors to recommend grants using an iPhone, enhancing the Web site’s charity search tool and extending business hours, says Fidelity.