New Study: 69% of Vanguard Charitable grants are recurring and increase in size by 40% over a five-year period

Malvern, Pa., July 15, 2025 – Vanguard Charitable, a leading nonprofit and sponsor of donor-advised funds, reported 69% of donor annual grants are recurring—meaning a gift is repeated to the same charity at least three times—fulfilling the granting preferences for 3 out of 4 charities and creating long-term financial stability so they can work to fulfill their respective missions. These insights come from Vanguard Charitable’s review of more than a decade of donor behavior and were recently published in Why Giving Matters: Recurring giving with a donor-advised fund results in more reliable funding for nonprofits.

Vanguard Charitable’s report also found recurring donors give more over time. Over a five-year period, a typical recurring donor's most recent grant will be 40% greater than their first, and the total recurring grant amount will increase by 8% each year on average.

“We’re attuned to the funding challenges nonprofits face, particularly attracting sustainable streams of income to support their missions and move them forward,” said Ann Gill, Vanguard Charitable Chief Philanthropic Officer. “Our donors demonstrate their commitment to helping charities overcome this hurdle by making recurring gifts with their donor-advised fund, which allows nonprofits to operate today and plan for tomorrow.”

Recurring grants are the type of giving that nonprofits favor, with 3 out of 4 surveyed charities stating they prefer repeated gifts over a one-time gift for the same total amount, according to Vanguard Chartiable’s report.

“Being a recurring donor lets us know you’re committed to our cause for the long term,” said Amber Stott, founder, chief executive officer, and chief food genius at Food Literacy Center located in Sacramento, California, and a recipient of recurring grants from Vanguard Charitable donors. “Nonprofit work can take time to demonstrate results, so longevity matters. Knowing we have a financial commitment we can count on helps us plan for the future.” 

Recurring grants are critical year-round, but especially during slower summer months

According to an industry blog published by CAF America, more than half of American donors give to charity between October and December, despite 72% of surveyed nonprofits saying they prefer to receive donations between January and September. The concentration of funding is especially felt in summer months when donations traditionally drop.

Yet, Vanguard Charitable reports more than 20% of donor-recommended summer giving is recurring, and recurring gifts account for 1 in 4 grants issued in July, bridging the funding gap for many nonprofits.

“Summertime is one of the most important seasons for us to receive recurring gifts, offering financial stability when traditional fundraising tends to slow down,” said Mary Beth Postman, deputy director at Waterkeeper Alliance, a nonprofit that protects and preserves waterways worldwide, and a recipient of recurring grants from Vanguard Charitable donors.

Donors also prefer making recurring grants for their simplicity and efficacy 

“I have been using the recurring grant function since I opened our Vanguard Charitable account many years ago,” one Vanguard Charitable donor said. “This feature is a key reason we created a donor-advised fund. It allows me to approach our giving in an organized way and easily track donations by recipient. It also helps to minimize check writing and offers an easy way to revisit giving decisions periodically and systematically,” the donor added.

Additionally, a recent survey conducted by The Harris Poll* on behalf of Vanguard Charitable revealed that Americans and DAF donors alike believe in the value of recurring granting. The survey found that 58% of Americans, and 67% of DAF donors, believe nonprofits prefer recurring donors (i.e., those giving monetary donations once a year or more often) to one-time donors, and that 69% of DAF donors believe monetary donations from individuals play a vital role in a nonprofit’s advancement and ability to fulfill its mission. More findings from this survey will be released in the coming weeks.   

To access the report and learn more about effective philanthropy, donor-advised funds, and how to maximize your charitable impact, please visit www.vanguardcharitable.org/why-giving-matters-2025.

Source

Why Giving Matters: Recurring giving with a donor-advised fund results in more reliable funding for nonprofits examines recurring grants using 10 years of internal giving data from more than 30,000 accounts, and highlights takeaways based on a survey of 1,700 nonprofit organizations. Overall, the findings reflect how funding from recurring donations affects nonprofits and can even strengthen their relationships with donors.

* Survey method

This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Vanguard Charitable from June 17-20, 2025 among 2,100 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, among whom 141 have a DAF. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval.  For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact Katie Miller at KMiller@gobraithwaite.com
 

About Vanguard Charitable

Vanguard Charitable is a leading U.S. nonprofit organization that fulfills its mission to increase philanthropic giving by administering a donor-advised fund—a tax-effective way to consolidate, accrue, and grant assets to charity. Since it was founded by Vanguard¹ in 1997 as an independent 501(c)(3) organization, Vanguard Charitable has granted more than $22 billion to charity. More information is available at www.vanguardcharitable.org. 
 

Vanguard Charitable: 

Crystal Fountain

888-383-4483
press@vanguardcharitable.org