SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DAFgiving360™, formerly Schwab Charitable®, one of the largest national providers of donor-advised funds (DAFs) and other philanthropic resources, reports that its donors increased their giving in fiscal year 2024 (ended June 30, 2024) by 31%, recommending more than $6.6 billion in grants to charity. There were more than 1.1 million individual grants supporting 141,000 charities throughout the year. The total dollar amount granted to charities represents over $1.5 billion more than the prior fiscal year.
“Our donors are continuing to give to charity at unprecedented levels, reflecting an exceptional commitment to supporting a diversity of needs throughout the world. We are immensely grateful for their inspiring generosity as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of our organization,” said Sam Kang, President of DAFgiving360. “The growth in granting we see year over year demonstrates that DAFs can be an effective and efficient solution to help donors increase their commitment to philanthropy and make a lasting impact on the causes that are important to them.”
Last month, Schwab Charitable unveiled its new legal name and brand in concert with its 25th anniversary. The new brand reinforces the organization’s commitment to its mission of increasing charitable giving in the United States and is intended to further engage donors, advisors, charities, and the entire philanthropic community. Additionally, DAFgiving360 is committed to making donor-advised funds synonymous with giving and continuing to provide a holistic giving solution.
25 years of generosity
Since the organization’s inception in 1999, DAFgiving360 donors have recommended over $35 billion to charity through 7 million grants. These donations have supported over 255,000 charities to date.
A DAF account is a simple, tax-smart investment solution for charitable giving. With a DAFgiving360 account, donors can contribute cash, securities, or appreciated assets. Contributing appreciated non-cash assets that have been held more than one year to a donor-advised fund can increase the amount available for charities by as much as 20% by potentially eliminating a donor’s capital gains tax liability on the assets. In fiscal year 2024, about 63% of donor contributions were non-cash assets.
“We started a DAF with Schwab Charitable nearly 15 years ago and have been extremely happy with the results on multiple levels: ease of selecting and managing dozens of contributions each year, minimization of paperwork and record-keeping, direct transfers of highly appreciated shares from our Schwab brokerage account,” said Charles R., a DAFgiving360 donor.
Educational resources and tools empower philanthropy ecosystem
By offering a simple, efficient, and tax-smart giving solution and continuing to invest in innovative technology and giving resources, DAFgiving360 encourages sustained charitable giving. With their donor-advised fund account at their fingertips, DAFgiving360 donors recommended grants 13 times on average throughout the fiscal year, and 35% of grants were set up as automated recurring gifts to charities.
As awareness and use of DAFs grow, financial advisors continue to leverage this efficient tool as a valuable resource to help donors navigate their charitable giving. DAFgiving360’s consultative approach and comprehensive offering empower advisors to help clients incorporate charitable giving into their wealth management and legacy planning to help maximize their charitable impact. DAFgiving360 works with nearly 4,000 advisors, a 15% increase in advisor relationships compared to the previous year. Eighty percent of DAFgiving360’s donor account assets were associated with a professional investment advisor in fiscal year 2024.
In conjunction with offering consultative support, DAFgiving360 provides a host of tools and educational resources to help advisors, donors, and charities embrace the most tax-smart, efficient approach to their philanthropy. Resources offered in fiscal year 2024 include thought leadership articles, tutorials, calculators, award-winning charitable planning resources, an Advisor Resource Center, and stories of impact that feature advisors and their clients.
“I opened a Schwab Charitable account after a recommendation by my financial advisors and I couldn't be happier,” said Kris N., a DAFgiving360 donor. “Schwab [Charitable] makes it easy to direct grants and gifts, and if I could change one thing, I would have opened an account earlier. While the tax advantages are great, the feelings I get from gifting to worthy causes are priceless.”
DAFgiving360 donors sustain support locally and globally
In its fiscal year 2024, DAFgiving360 donors granted to charitable organizations in all 50 states, and 87% of donors recommended grants in their own state, providing 652,000 grants to local causes and organizations. The top five metropolitan areas by number of grants were San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, New York, and Atlanta.
Seventy-two percent of grants in the fiscal year did not specify a purpose, so organizations could use the grants where needed most. Additionally, during the 12-month period, 79% of donors recommended grants to charities they previously supported, and 70% of donors recommended grants to new charities they have not previously supported.
DAFgiving360 is also proud to continue its partnership with The Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) to provide its donors with access to vetted charities supporting both natural and humanitarian disasters as they occur. In fiscal year 2024, donors recommended grants totaling over $170 million to organizations recommended by the CDP that provided critical relief and recovery support for victims of these tragic events.
“Our DAF solution is an efficient, simple, and tax-smart giving tool that has been helping donors recommend billions of dollars in grants each year to causes and communities that rely on their support,” said Fred Kaynor, Managing Director of Relationship Management, Marketing and Strategic Partnerships at DAFgiving360.
“When you look at all the grants our donors recommended in the last fiscal year, it averages out to more than $18 million donated to charity each day, or about three-quarters of a million dollars donated every hour. Because assets are already contributed to donors’ accounts, and because of our efficient DAF interface, it takes just a few clicks to get dollars out to charity when it's needed most,” added Kaynor.
About DAFgiving360, formerly Schwab Charitable
DAFgiving360’s mission is to increase giving in the U.S. with donor-advised funds and philanthropic resources that make charitable giving tax-smart, simple, and efficient.
We offer tools, guidance, and relationships that empower donors to incorporate charitable planning into their everyday lives and make a bigger difference in the world. Since our founding in 1999 as an independent 501(c)(3) public charity, DAFgiving360 donors have recommended more than $35 billion in grants to more than 255,000 charities. Visit SchwabCharitable.org for more information.
Source: DAFgiving360™. All figures, unless marked otherwise, reflect giving activity from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.
Effective June 18, 2024, Schwab Charitable Fund (Schwab Charitable®) is now Donor Advised Charitable Giving, Inc. (DAFgiving360™). Updates to reflect this change are ongoing. References to Schwab Charitable on our website, publications, and forms mean DAFgiving360.
A donor's ability to claim itemized deductions is subject to a variety of limitations depending on the donor's specific tax situation. Consult a tax advisor for more information.
These testimonials, statements, and opinions are given by the individual(s) based solely on the donor’s experience with Donor Advised Charitable Giving, Inc., not with any services offered by a third party, and may not be representative of the experiences of other donors. The testimonials are voluntarily provided and no compensation, free products or services, or any benefits were given in exchange for the testimonials. They are not indicative of future programs, services, performance, or success. Some statements have been edited.
A donor opening a professionally managed account must recommend an independent investment advisor, who, if approved by DAFgiving360, will manage the assets contributed to the account. Advisors must meet certain eligibility requirements, including working with Schwab Advisor Services™, a business segment of The Charles Schwab Corporation, and agree to the Investment Advisory Agreement, which is available on schwabcharitable.org.
Contributions of certain real estate, private equity, or other illiquid assets may be accepted via a charitable intermediary, with proceeds transferred to a DAFgiving360 donor-advised account upon liquidation. Call DAFgiving360 for more information at 800-746-6216.
Donor Advised Charitable Giving, Inc. is recognized as a tax-exempt public charity as described in Sections 501(c)(3), 509(a)(1), and 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions made to Donor Advised Charitable Giving, Inc. are considered an irrevocable gift and are not refundable. Once contributed, DAFgiving360 has exclusive legal control over the contributed assets.
DAFgiving360 does not provide legal or tax advice. Please consult a qualified legal or tax advisor where such advice is necessary or appropriate.
DAFgiving360™ is the name used for the combined programs and services of Donor Advised Charitable Giving, Inc., an independent nonprofit organization. Donor Advised Charitable Giving, Inc. has entered into service agreements with certain subsidiaries of The Charles Schwab Corporation.
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