Donor Advised Fund
A simple, flexible and tax-efficient way to give to your favorite charities.
A donor-advised fund is like a charitable investment account, for the sole purpose of supporting charitable organizations you care about. When you contribute cash, securities or other assets to a donor-advised fund at a public charity, like Fidelity Charitable, you are generally eligible to take an immediate tax deduction. Then those funds can be invested for tax-free growth and you can recommend grants to virtually any IRS-qualified public charity.
When you give, you want your charitable donations to be as effective as possible. 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. Let’s take an in-depth look at how a donor-advised fund works.
How a donor-advised fund works
Make a tax-deductible donation
Donate cash, stocks or non-publicly traded assets such as private business interests, cryptocurrency and private company stock to be eligible for an immediate tax deduction. A contribution to a donor-advised fund is an irrevocable commitment to charity; the funds cannot be returned to the donor or any other individual or used for any purpose other than grant-making to charities.
Grow your donation, tax-free
While you're deciding which charities to support, your donation can potentially grow, making available even more money for charities. Most sponsoring organizations have a variety of investment options from which you can recommend an investment strategy for your charitable dollars.
Support charities you love, now or over time
You can support virtually any IRS-qualified public charity with grant recommendations from the donor-advised fund—from your local homeless shelter to your alma mater or religious institution. The public charity sponsoring your account will conduct due diligence to ensure the funds granted go to an IRS-qualified public charity and will be used for charitable purposes.