Fidelity Charitable donors stepped up their giving in 2020 to address the needs of those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, Fidelity Charitable reported Wednesday.
Along with increasing overall giving, donors increased grants to free food programs by twelve times the amount given in 2019, according to the 2021 Giving Report. The challenging year of 2020 set records for number of donor-recommended grants, charities supported and grant dollars distributed.
Donors recommended two million grants that totaled $9.1 billion to 170,000 charities, which represented 31% more grants overall and a 24% increase in dollars over 2019. As an example of the increased generosity, the total included grants to free food programs that went from $41.5 million in 2019 to $525.1 million last year. three programs in particular, Feeding America, Meals on Wheels and World Central Kitchen, were among the 20 most popular charities supported by Fidelity Charitable donors for the first time last year, the report said.
Donors also stepped up their support for organizations that support equality and justice because of the focus on issues affecting minority communities. Large increases in donations went to organizations such as the NAACP, the Fair Fight Initiative and the Bail Project.
“The issue of racial equity came violently to the forefront of the public consciousness in the summer of 2020. As hundreds of protests and demonstrations in the news and on social media captured donor attention, support surged for myriad organizations working in a variety of ways to end racial injustice and advocate for equality,” the report said.
At the same time that current issues caught donors’ attention, the more than 250,000 donors that have a Fidelity Charitable Giving Account recommended granting to nonprofits they had supported in the past, the report noted.
“The tremendous acceleration in giving last year showed the power of donor-advised funds to offer relief when it’s needed most and help sustain the nonprofit sector in the face of unprecedented adversity,” Pamela Norley, president of Fidelity Charitable, said in a statement. “Notably, three-in-four grants were made to organizations donors had previously supported.”
Grants to the human services sector, which include organizations like food banks and homeless shelters, accounted for nearly a quarter of giving in 2020. Nearly two-thirds of all recommended grants were designated “where it’s needed most”, a great benefit to charities that value the flexibility as they struggled with last year’s demands, the report noted.
Donors increased the number of grants given in 2020, with the average recommending 12.8 grants, compared to 10.8 in 2019. The average grant was $4,614, an increase of about $250 from the previous year.
More than two-thirds of Fidelity Charitable contributions in 2020 were non-cash assets, including publicly traded securities such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds, and non-publicly traded assets such as private stock, restricted stock and limited partnership interests. Giving these assets helps donors take advantage of strong market gains, minimize capital gains taxes, and give more to charity, according to the report.