Fidelity Investments Donor Advised Fund: A Comprehensive Guide

Fidelity Investments Donor Advised Fund is a powerful charitable giving tool that can help you make a lasting impact on the causes you care about. You can contribute to a donor advised fund at any time and receive an immediate tax deduction for your gift.

With a Fidelity Investments Donor Advised Fund, you can recommend grants to qualified charitable organizations at any time, but you don't have to distribute the funds immediately. This flexibility allows you to plan your charitable giving strategy over time.

Fidelity Investments has a long history of providing investment services, and their donor advised funds are no exception. They offer a range of investment options to help you grow your charitable assets over time.

By using a Fidelity Investments Donor Advised Fund, you can simplify your charitable giving and make a bigger impact on the causes you care about.

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A donor-advised fund is a great way to support your favorite charities while also benefiting from tax advantages. With a proven track record and expert support, you can make a real difference in the world.

One of the key benefits of a donor-advised fund is the flexibility to contribute a wide range of assets, including non-cash assets like stock, publicly traded securities, and even cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

You can also choose to recommend anonymous grants to charities, or provide grant acknowledgment contact information with your grant recommendations. This flexibility is especially useful if you want to support a specific cause or honor a loved one.

Here are some of the assets you can easily donate to a donor-advised fund:

By leveraging the expertise and support of a donor-advised fund, you can make a lasting impact on the causes you care about.

Contributing a wide range of assets is a great way to make charitable donations. You can give non-cash assets, which is often more tax-advantageous than giving cash or credit cards.

Many charities struggle to accept these types of donations, but a Giving Account makes it simple. In some cases, you can even transfer stock directly from your brokerage account with just a click of a button.

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Assets like restricted stock, publicly traded securities, and private equity interests can be donated. You can also give certain complex assets, such as privately held C corp and S corp shares.

Cash equivalents, like checks and wire transfers, are also accepted. And if you're feeling tech-savvy, you can even donate Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Here are some examples of assets you can donate:

Once you've made a charitable contribution, you can potentially grow your donation for future giving. By donating long-term appreciated securities directly to charity, you can eliminate capital gains tax on those assets, as long as they've been held for more than a year.

You can then take your donation and invest it for tax-free growth. This means that your donation can continue to grow over time, providing you with more dollars to grant to charity in the future.

Many sponsoring organizations offer programs that allow you to nominate your financial advisor to manage the investment of your charitable funds. This can be a great option if you have a financial advisor you trust and want to leverage their expertise to grow your donation.

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Here are some key benefits of investing your donation for tax-free growth:

By taking advantage of these options, you can make the most of your charitable contributions and continue to support the causes you care about over time.

When you're considering a donor-advised fund, one of the most important things to think about is the cost. Donor-advised funds are generally very affordable.

One of the lowest annual fees of any donor-advised fund is found with the Fidelity Charitable Giving Account, which has no minimum initial contribution requirement. This means you can start giving back without breaking the bank.

Total fees for a Giving Account typically amount to about 1% of the balance, which is generally less than the operating costs associated with a private foundation or the fees for donating with a credit card. This can be a significant cost savings for those looking to make a positive impact.

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With a donor-advised fund, you can maximize the potential tax benefits of your charitable giving. Donating long-term appreciated securities directly to charity can help you do this, providing two tax benefits: an income tax deduction of the full fair-market value of the asset, up to 30% of your adjusted gross income, and potentially eliminating capital gains tax on long-term appreciated assets, as long as they've been held for more than a year.

You can also support IRS-qualified public charities with grant recommendations from the donor-advised fund. The public charity sponsoring your account will conduct due diligence to ensure the funds granted go to an IRS-qualified public charity and are used for charitable purposes.

Donor-advised funds offer flexibility in how you make your grant recommendations. You can choose to recommend anonymous grants to charities, or to provide grant acknowledgment contact information with your grant recommendations. While donors choose to provide information about themselves on more than 90% of grants recommended through Fidelity Charitable, this option is available for those who wish to recommend grants privately.

You can also specify a specific use, campaign, or purpose for your grant recommendation. This can be a meaningful way to honor or remember a loved one, and the sponsoring organization will relay this information to the charity.

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With a Fidelity Charitable Giving Account, you can give more and save more. You're eligible for an immediate tax deduction, just like donating to a local charity.

Tax-savings calculators and tools are available to help you add charitable giving to your investment portfolio. You can explore options like stocks, online trading, annuities, life insurance, long-term care planning, small business retirement plans, and 529 plans.

Cash donations can be made via check or wire transfer, and you're generally eligible for an income tax deduction of up to 60% of your adjusted gross income. Donations of long-term appreciated assets can also provide two tax benefits: an income tax deduction of the full fair-market value of the asset, up to 30% of your adjusted gross income, and potentially eliminating capital gains tax on long-term appreciated assets.

A donor-advised fund, like Fidelity Charitable's Giving Account, offers low minimums and fees, expert support and service, easy-to-use tools, and proven experience.

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Here are the key benefits of a donor-advised fund:

With a donor-advised fund, you can make a single donation and support your favorite charities over time. This is a smarter way to give, as it allows you to maximize your tax benefits and make a greater impact on the causes you care about.

A donor-advised fund, or DAF, is like a charitable investment account for the sole purpose of supporting charitable organizations you care about.

You can contribute to a public charity that sponsors a DAF as frequently as you like and then recommend multiple grants to your favorite charities whenever it makes sense for you.

The Fidelity Charitable Giving Account has no minimum initial contribution requirement and a low annual fee, making it a convenient and cost-effective option.

Donor-advised funds are the fastest-growing charitable giving vehicle in the United States because they are one of the easiest and most tax-advantageous ways to give to charity.

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By making a bequest in your will to the DAF sponsor or by making the sponsor a beneficiary of a retirement plan, life insurance policy, or charitable trust, you can incorporate your DAF into estate planning.

You can recommend grants to any eligible IRS-qualified public charity from your DAF, allowing you to support multiple charities with one bequest.

You can incorporate your donor-advised fund into estate planning by making a bequest in your will to the DAF sponsor or by making the sponsor a beneficiary of a retirement plan, life insurance policy, or charitable trust.

By leaving instructions with the DAF sponsor, you can support multiple charities with one bequest. This can also help reduce or eliminate the estate tax burden for your heirs.

54% of sponsoring organizations enable you to create a succession plan for your donor-advised fund, allowing you to pass on the remaining funds in your account to your heirs or your favorite charities.

To pass on your donor-advised fund after your death, nominate an individual, a charity, or a combination of both as the successor for your Giving Account. This is the simplest way to continue the legacy of your Giving Account after your passing.

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You can incorporate your donor-advised fund into estate planning by making a bequest in your will to the DAF sponsor or by making the sponsor a beneficiary of a retirement plan, life insurance policy, or charitable trust.

Many people use donor-advised funds to support multiple charities with one bequest, which can also help reduce or eliminate the estate tax burden for their heirs.

54% of sponsoring organizations enable you to create a succession plan for your donor-advised fund, allowing you to pass on the remaining funds in your account to your heirs or your favorite charities.

Some programs allow you to break the fund up into multiple smaller funds to pass down to different successors, giving you more flexibility in your estate planning.

You can nominate an individual, a charity, or a combination of both as the successor for your donor-advised fund, making it easy to continue the legacy of your giving after your passing.

If a successor is not recommended, any remaining balance will be granted out in accordance with the Fidelity Charitable Trustees’ Initiative.

Of our donors, 54% established a Giving Account to centralize their giving into one hub and prioritize their philanthropy.

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A private foundation is a separate legal entity, established by an individual, family, or corporation.

It's subject to more stringent tax laws and regulations than public charities, which means it's responsible for its own tax filing and recordkeeping.

Private foundations have greater administrative control over assets and grantmaking, allowing them to make grants to organizations other than IRS-qualified, 501(c)(3) public charities.

This level of control can be beneficial for donors who want to make grants to a wider range of organizations.

It takes less than five minutes to learn more about private foundations.

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Fidelity Charitable offers a unique approach to giving, with over 350,000 donors choosing to make their giving simple and more effective.

You can set up a donor-advised fund with Fidelity Charitable in just a few steps, making it one of the most affordable and flexible ways to give.

Their service team is always happy to answer questions and connect you to resources that can help you achieve your charitable giving goals.

Fidelity Charitable has expertise in handling donations of non-publicly traded assets, such as private company stock, restricted stock, real estate, and more.

You can view your Giving Account history and statements online at any time, making bookkeeping easier than ever.

Their mobile capability lets you recommend grants to charities on the go, keeping you connected to the causes you care about.

A donor-advised fund can support nearly 213,000 unique nonprofits in 2024.

Fidelity Charitable donors recommended nearly 2.7 million grants in 2024, a new record high.

Donors can make a tax-deductible donation of $14,877,026,298 in 2024.

Fidelity Charitable allows donations of various assets, including cash, stocks, non-publicly traded assets, cryptocurrency, and private company stock.

Donors can support charities at a pace that is comfortable for them, now or over time.

Supporting charities you love can be a convenient way to donate funds, as a Fidelity Charitable donor noted.