Philanthropic giving begets more philanthropy for those who have donor-advised funds, Vanguard Charitable said in its latest report on the trends in charitable giving.

Philanthropists who allocated money in response to man-made and natural disasters did not cut back on other causes they gave to on a regular basis, but rather augmented their giving, Vanguard Charitable, a sponsor of donor advised funds, said in the report.

“The study reveals a continued increase in support from all Vanguard Charitable donors, specifically around long-term, expected giving and responsive, unexpected giving. Results suggest donors’ unanticipated, responsive giving to events like natural disasters and humanitarian crises also causes their expected giving to increase as well, resulting in a boost to their total giving,” Vanguard Charitable said.

More than three-quarters of individuals who responded to emergency situations agreed their unexpected giving increased their total giving, rather than displacing the giving they had already planned to do, Vanguard Charitable said. In addition, 46% of nonprofits receiving an unexpected grant from a donor received a second grant from the same donor in the future.

Donors responded to a variety of emergent causes with more than 72% of donors identifying two or more types of events that inspired unexpected giving, “suggesting donors respond to a variety of prompts for giving,” Vanguard Charitable said.

Giving that is planned in advance is the lifeblood for not-for-profit organizations. During the last 10 years, Vanguard Charitable donors’ planned giving grew by 17% per year, while unexpected giving grew by 24% per year, the report said.

Vanguard Charitable donors who use their donor-advised funds to respond to emergencies gave 39% more than those who use their donor advised fund for expected, ongoing giving, the organization said.

"It’s so inspiring to see our donors’ generosity in supporting the causes and charities they care about most,” Rebecca Moffett, president of Vanguard Charitable, said in a statement. “This year’s ‘Why Giving Matters’ report underscores the essential role donor-advised funds play in facilitating, not only long-term planned giving, but unexpected giving as well. That flexibility, combined with our quality investments and low-fee structure, enables more dollars to go to nonprofits in need.”

The latest report is based on information gathered over the past decade from more than 32,000 donor-advised fund accounts, as well as donor survey responses.