Malvern, Pa., September 14, 2020 - Vanguard Charitable, a leading nonprofit and sponsor of donor-advised funds (DAFs), announced today a 51 percent increase in grantmaking in fiscal year 2020 (July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020). This increase, a credit to the high engagement of donors, is the result of an active giving season, generous COVID-19 relief efforts, and sustained giving. In addition to an increase in grant dollars, Vanguard Charitable also experienced a 32 percent increase in the number of grants awarded to charities. In total, Vanguard Charitable granted $1.7 billion through more than 165,000 grants to nearly 46,000 different charities. 

“Fiscal year 2020 brought significant societal challenges, and we are proud of the generosity of our donors and their willingness to step up and support the many diverse nonprofits that are transforming lives and communities,” said Jane Greenfield, President, Vanguard Charitable. “Our donors are committed to creating a better world through philanthropy. This year, DAFs are proving again to be a strategic giving vehicle that allows donors to support causes with both immediate and long-term impact.” 

Vanguard Charitable posted a meaningful granting milestone of $10 billion since inception in January, and from there the granting activity continued to crescendo. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic that followed resulted in a 44 percent year-over-year increase in giving between February 1, 2020, and June 30, 2020, to close out the fiscal year. During this period, donors gave more than $669 million in grants to support both COVID-19 related relief efforts and nonprofits that have been left without access to traditional fundraising and revenue channels. 

In a year of unprecedented need, Vanguard Charitable’s donors have supported a wide spectrum of causes. The top charitable causes supported during 2020 included COVID-19 relief, religious organizations, human services, education, and health. With the use of DAFs, donors were able to respond to the charitable causes most in need of their support, while not losing sight of long-term philanthropic goals. Balancing both short- and long-term goals remains critical as the need for COVID-19 recovery and ongoing philanthropic support will continue, and donors who have committed to charitable giving through DAFs are uniquely positioned to continue to support nonprofits even during times of economic uncertainty.

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 Vanguard [1] in 1997 as an independent 501(c)(3) organization, Vanguard Charitable has granted more than $10 billion to charity. More information is available at vanguardcharitable.org.

[1] Although Vanguard provides certain investment management and administrative services to Vanguard Charitable pursuant to a service agreement, Vanguard Charitable is not a program or activity of Vanguard. A majority of Vanguard Charitable’s trustees are independent of Vanguard.