Schwab Donors Gave 12% More to Charities in Fiscal 2016

Gifts from donor-advised funds continued their rapid rise at Schwab Charitable last year, according to new data from the organization, but most of the wealth being poured into those accounts did not come in the form of cash.

Fifty-nine percent of Schwab Charitable contributions during fiscal year 2016, which ended June 30, came in the form of noncash investments or assets, such as stock or real estate, the organization reported in a statement.

Overall, grants from the funds topped $1.2 billion, up 12 percent from the prior fiscal year. It marked the second year in a row that grants reached the $1 billion mark.

Schwab is the second-largest provider of donor-advised funds and slotted at No. 6 on The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s most recent Philanthropy 400 list of the biggest American charities ranked by private support raised. The largest such fund, Fidelity Charitable, ranked No. 2 on the list.

In its most recent report, Fidelity also indicated that noncash donations are the majority of gifts to its donor-advised funds and are on the rise. Noncash gifts to Fidelity funds were up 18 percent from 2014 to 2015.

When such assets are held for a year or more and then given to a donor-advised fund, they are usually not subject to capital gains tax when sold, resulting in tax savings for the donor.

Schwab’s report did not reveal the total amount of gifts captured by its donor-advised funds in fiscal 2016. The Philanthropy 400 reported that Schwab raised nearly $1.9 billion in private support in fiscal 2014, the most recent year for which figures were available.

Other findings from Schwab’s new report include:

• The organization’s donor-advised funds benefited roughly 56,000 charities.
• About $6.9 million went to nonprofits involved in aiding Syrian refugees, such as Doctors Without Borders, the International Rescue Committee, and Save the Children. In the past fiscal year, Schwab began offering personalized help to donors who want to give money to nonprofits that work overseas.
• The most popular causes among Schwab donors in fiscal 2016 were health, human services, religion, and education.