Philanthropists, who are already giving record amounts to charity, are planning to increase their gifts and volunteerism even more in the next three years, according to the “2016 U.S. Trust Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy,” released Tuesday.
According to U.S. Trust, 83 percent of wealthy donors are planning to give as much or more in the next three years as they have in the past, and 90 percent are planning to volunteer as much or more.
Despite the attention being paid to the upcoming election, 45 percent of wealthy donors believe charitable giving has the greatest potential positive impact on society, while 31 percent believe volunteering does. Only 13 percent, by contrast, think voting makes the same impact and only 1 percent believe contributing to a political candidate does.
Still, although charitable giving is increasing, only 44 percent of donors believe their giving is having the impact they intended. This may be partly due to the fact that 78 percent of donors do not monitor or evaluate the impact of their charitable giving, U.S. Trust says.
One reflection of these results is the figures collected by charitable organizations: Both Fidelity Charitable and Schwab Charitable report that philanthropic giving through their donor-advised funds has reached a new high for the first three quarters of 2016 when compared with the same period last year.
Those giving through Schwab Charitable increased their donations by 22 percent as of the end of the third quarter compared with the same period last year.
Schwab Charitable account holders recommended approximately 145,000 grants totaling $830 million compared with 129,000 grants totaling $670 million in the same period last year. This is a promising sign that individual giving may be headed for another record year in 2016, Schwab says.
Several factors have produced this record giving, including the improvement in the economy, says Schwab. Many are donating appreciated assets to offset higher income and capital gains taxes.
Fidelity Charitable donors have given $2.3 billion in donor-recommended grants so far this year, a 15 percent increase compared with last year. The number of grants also increased by 12 percent to more than 489,000, Fidelity Charitable reports.
In July, Fidelity Charitable launched its “$25 billion in 25 years” initiative—a challenge to its donors to help the organization reach the milestone of $25 billion in grants given to charities for its 25th anniversary. As of September 30, Fidelity Charitable had made more than $24 billion in donor-recommended grants since its founding, bringing it close to that milestone.
“Each year,” Fidelity said in a statement, “the world experiences challenges in addressing disaster relief, and 2016 is no exception. Most recently, more than $2.5 million in donor-recommended grants to those suffering from the effects of Hurricane Matthew were made to 180 different charities, with the American Red Cross and Partners in Health the most popular among donors.”