Fidelity Charitable Sees Spike in Donations to Fight Ebola

Donor-advised fund Fidelity Charitable, the country’s second-largest charity, has seen gifts earmarked to tackle the Ebola outbreak more than quadruple this month, reports The Boston Globe. The charity arm of Boston-based Fidelity Investments said clients have directed some $3-million toward initiatives to combat the virus in the past three weeks as awareness of the epidemic grew and high-profile donors such as Mark Zuckerberg announced major contributions.

Fidelity customers began making Ebola grants in April and had given a total of $875,000 to the cause as of the end of September. “This is a humanitarian disaster. It’s got a different pace and timing to it” than event-driven emergencies such as hurricanes,” fund President Amy Danforth said. “What we see is a slower build as people become aware of the enormity of it.”

Read Chronicle of Philanthropy articles on Fidelity Charitable’s giving so far this year and on the latest mega-donation to the fight against Ebola.