Nearly 30,000 charities in the United States and internationally received funding by Vanguard Charitable in 2016 through grants totaling $686 million, the national donor-advised fund reported today. More than 7,400 of those charities were first-time grant recipients.

More donors turned to low-cost, high-value Vanguard Charitable for their charitable giving in 2016, with a 31% increase in new accounts from 2015. Vanguard Charitable attributes that growth not only to donors’ personal motivations to give back, but also to positive market conditions and uncertainty around the election results and tax reform. In addition, many donors are increasingly using national donor-advised funds for the opportunity to grow their charitable dollars over the long term, and efficiently and cost-effectively grant them to a wide range of charities.

“We’re incredibly gratified to partner with donors to address nonprofits’ tremendous needs for funding to be able to carry on their missions,” said Jane Greenfield, president of Vanguard Charitable.

Vanguard Charitable, founded in 1997, is celebrating 20 years of serving donors and charities—and the people and causes they serve—through grants of more than $6 billion over that period.

Granting highlights in 2016 include:

  • Vanguard Charitable supported 30,000 charities, 9% more than in 2015. The 7,400 first-time grantee organizations in 2016 represented nearly 10% of all Vanguard Charitable grants for the year.
  • Vanguard Charitable donors recommended 78,000 grants in 2016, a 13% increase over 2015.
  • The average Vanguard Charitable account granted 7.5 times in calendar year 2016 for a total of more than $56,000.
  • Nearly 60% of contributions in 2016 came from non-cash assets, such as highly appreciated assets that would otherwise be subject to capital gains if sold.

Vanguard Charitable is a cause-neutral donor-advised fund, meaning donors can recommend grants to any public IRS-qualified 501(c)(3) charity. Here are some notable donor preferences:

  • The mission composition of Vanguard Charitable’s top 10 grantee organizations shifted in 2016, reflecting a focus on civil rights, refugees and the environment.
  • The top three nonprofit sectors receiving grants were human services, religion and education. Of those, donors recommended more grants to human services and religious organizations in 2016, but fewer dollars. Conversely, they recommended fewer grants to educational organizations, but more dollars.
  • Donors responded generously to humanitarian aid, such as relief efforts for Hurricane Matthew.

Vanguard Charitable donors also provided crucial stability for charities for ongoing operations:

  • Unrestricted giving by donors was up 14% in 2016, a sign that donors recognize the need by charities to spend donations over a wider range of needs than restricted grants would allow.
  • In addition to actively granting at year-end, donors recommended 16% of total 2016 grant dollars during June and July—traditionally a time when nonprofits' funding is most vulnerable.

A donor-advised fund is a charitable giving tool offered by a public charity such as Vanguard Charitable to manage charitable donations on behalf of individuals, families, corporations and other organizations. Donors invest an irrevocable, tax-deductible contribution in an account in the fund, where their assets can grow tax-free. In return for the tax benefits, donors surrender ownership of their assets but retain the right to recommend their grants.

About Vanguard Charitable

Vanguard Charitable is a leading U.S. nonprofit organization that fulfills its mission to increase philanthropic giving by administering a donor-advised fund—a tax-effective way to consolidate, accrue, and grant assets to charity. Since it was founded by Vanguard1 in 1997 as an independent 501(c)(3) organization, Vanguard Charitable has granted more than $6 billion to charity. More information is available at vanguardcharitable.org.

1Although Vanguard provides certain investment management and administrative services to Vanguard Charitable pursuant to a service agreement, Vanguard Charitable is not a program or activity of Vanguard. A majority of Vanguard Charitable’s trustees are independent of Vanguard.