Favorable economic conditions and legislative uncertainty helped increase giving 41% over last year
Schwab CharitableTM, one of the largest national providers of
donor-advised funds and other philanthropic services, facilitated over
$1.5 billion in grants to charities in 2016, a 41% increase from the
previous year 2015. Schwab Charitable donors supported 61,000 charities
and recommended approximately 273,000 grants, up from 233,000 grants in
2015.
Individuals mobilized support around a range of domestic and
international causes in 2016, including relief efforts for Hurricane
Matthew, flooding in Louisiana, and the global refugee crisis. Schwab
Charitable donors were particularly active during the last three months
of the year when they recommended 128,000 charitable grants totaling
nearly $672 million. The amount granted in the fourth quarter is an
increase of 75% from Q4 2015 and represents almost half (45%) of the
total value of grants in 2016.
“The generosity our donors showed last year was truly remarkable,” notes
Kim Laughton, president of Schwab Charitable. “We are so proud to have
helped them distribute more than $1 billion in grants for the second
year in a row. Many investors turned to charitable giving to offset
higher capital gains and income taxes associated with earnings from a
strong economy and high-performing stock market. Uncertainty over the
new administration’s tax policy also encouraged donors to maximize the
significant benefits of charitable giving under the existing tax code.”
Over two thirds (68%) of contributions into Schwab Charitable
donor-advised fund accounts were non-cash assets last year. Contributing
appreciated non-cash assets to a public charity, including to a
donor-advised fund account, generally allows donors to eliminate capital
gains tax on the sale of those assets and correspondingly increase their
giving by as much as 20%. Non-cash assets should generally be
held for more than one year and may include publicly traded stock as
well as more complex assets, such as restricted stock, privately held
shares (C-Corp, S-Corp, and limited partnership interests), initial
public offerings, real estate, private equity and hedge fund interests.
Learn more about donating
non-cash assets at www.schwabcharitable.org.
By increasing the convenience and tax efficiency of charitable giving,
Schwab Charitable helps individuals maximize the impact of their
philanthropy. 67% of Schwab Charitable donors say they give more than
they otherwise would because they have a donor-advised fund account1,
and more than 90% of contributions into Schwab Charitable accounts are
fully distributed to charity within 10 years.
Schwab Charitable also helps donors achieve greater impact by enabling
them to invest their account balances with the goal of increasing the
amount available for grants to charity over time. Core Schwab Charitable
accounts offer 14
diversified investment pool options, and larger accounts may
recommend registered investment advisors to manage their portfolios2.
Since Schwab Charitable’s inception, investment growth has generated
close to $1 billion in additional funds to support our clients’
philanthropy.
About Schwab Charitable
Schwab Charitable is a donor-advised fund established as a service for
individual investors to help increase their charitable giving. Since its
inception in 1999, Schwab Charitable has facilitated over $6 billion in
grants to approximately 104,000 charities on behalf of its donors.
Schwab Charitable serves a wide range of investors and has been a
pioneer in enabling registered investment advisors to manage the
investments of donor-advised fund accounts2. Schwab
Charitable also offers a private foundation conversion service for
private foundations considering a donor-advised fund as a complementary
or alternative charitable vehicle. For more information, including a
short video describing the benefits of donor-advised funds, visit schwabcharitable.org.
A donor’s ability to claim itemized deductions is subject to a variety
of limitations depending on the donor’s specific tax situation. Consult
your tax advisor for more information.
Schwab Charitable is the name used for the combined programs and
services of Schwab Charitable Fund, an independent nonprofit
organization, which has entered into service agreements with certain
affiliates of The Charles Schwab Corporation.
Schwab Charitable Fund 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 Schwab Charitable Fund are
considered an irrevocable gift and are not refundable. Please be aware
that Schwab Charitable has exclusive legal control over the assets you
have contributed. Although every effort has been made to ensure that the
information provided is correct, Schwab Charitable cannot guarantee its
accuracy. This information is not provided to the IRS.
1. 2016 year-end survey of Schwab Charitable donors
2. Professionally-managed accounts are available only through
independent investment advisors working with Schwab Advisor Services™, a
business segment of The Charles Schwab Corporation serving independent
investment advisors and including the custody, trading and support
services of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Although donors may recommend an
advisor, Schwab Charitable must approve the recommendation. Advisors
must meet certain eligibility requirements and adhere to Schwab
Charitable fee and investment guidelines. You may request a copy of
the investment guidelines by calling (800) 746-6216.
(0117-TMR0)
