If you’re unable to find your desired charity in our database, you can use the Suggest a Charity feature to submit the organization for review.

1. Search the database by selecting Grants à Discover Charities and search by the charity’s name or EIN (Employer Identification Number). Tip: Use “Advanced Filters” to narrow your results.
2. Can’t find the charity? Click the Suggest a charity that appears below the search bar. Enter the required details of the charity’s legal name and EIN.
   • An EIN is the unique number assigned by the IRS to every U.S. nonprofit. You can often find it on the charity’s website or by contacting the charity directly, using the IRS Exempt Organizations Search, or by searching “Charity Name + EIN” in a search engine.
   • If the EIN does not exist in our system: You’ll be prompted to enter the charity’s mailing address, a contact name, phone number, and/or email address.
   • If the EIN already exists in our system: You’ll see the charity appear in the results and you can proceed to recommend a grant. Note: If the record is for a parent entity (e.g., a national headquarters), you can specify your intended chapter or affiliate in the grant purpose field. Submit a grant recommendation. A grant must be recommended before our due diligence process can begin. 

What happens next? 

• Due diligence typically takes 2–10 business days.
• You can track updates in your Notification Center.
• If the charity is eligible, we’ll begin reviewing your grant recommendation. If it’s not eligible, you’ll receive a notification in your online account explaining why.

We know that sometimes plans change. If they do, it’s simple to manage recurring grants right in your online account. 

To locate your recurring grant schedule you’d like to manage: 

1. Log in to your online account.
2. On the Manage Grants page, click on the Grant Schedules tab to view your schedule activity.
   • Please note that you can only modify schedules with a status of Entered or Active. Schedules with a status of Complete or Canceled indicate that no additional payments will be issued. 

To edit your recurring grant schedule: 

1. Once you’ve located the schedule you would like to edit, click View & Edit on the righthand side.
2. Scroll to the section you would like to edit and click the Edit button. For example, edit the sections Charity, Amount, or Purpose.
3. Once you’ve made your changes, select Next in the lower right corner.
4. Ensure that you accept the disclaimer and click Submit Grant to save your changes. 

To cancel your recurring grant schedule: 

1. Once you’ve located the schedule you would like to cancel, click Cancel on the right-hand side.
   • Please note that this action will only cancel future dated payments with a status of Not Scheduled. 

Learn how to recommend a grant.

Learn how to set up recurring grant schedules.

The quickest way to check a grant’s status is with your online account. 

1. Log in to your account.
2. On the Manage Grants page, grants are automatically sorted by the scheduled date. Locate the grant you’d like to view by using the search bar.
3. In the Status column, see the current status of your entered grant. Unless the grant has a status of Complete or Canceled. 

Learn how to register your Vanguard Charitable account for online access.

You can securely recommend a grant to charity at any time to a charity as long as you have funds available in your account. 

For new accounts, you will not be able to enter your grant recommendation until your contribution has settled and the net proceeds are reflected in your available balance.

To set up a recurring grant schedule online, follow these steps:

1. Log into your fund and navigate to Grants àGive to Charities.
2. Locate your charity using one of the methods below and click Start a Grant.
   • Search the database using the Discover Charities search bar.
   • Explore your personalized lists using the Charities recently supported or Your saved charities tabs.
3. Enter the grant amount and select a purpose to indicate how the charity can use the funds, then click Next.
   • Note: Some grant purposes require acceptance of a related disclaimer before continuing to the next step.
4. Indicate your Grant Recognition preference — this is the donor information the charity receives. Click Next.
   • You can specify additional details in the Additional Attribution and Permission to Publish sections. Click each section to expand the fields.
5. Indicate the payment type, date you wish to initiate the grant, and allocation preference; then Click Next.
   • Grant Allocation refers to how funds will be pulled from your investment options. Weighted percentage maintains your current investment allocation.
6. Review the information to ensure it is correct, check the box to view and accept the disclaimer, then click Submit. 

You can also recommend a grant by downloading and mailing a Recommend a Grant form. 

Please note that there is a minimum of $500 to recommend a grant. Learn more about why this $500 minimum was established to maximize philanthropic impact while reducing administrative burden for charities.  

Learn how to manage recurring grant schedules.

Recurring grants are an easy and effective way to simplify your charitable giving — automating regular gifting to the organizations you love most. It’s simple to establish recurring grants right in your online account. 

To set up a recurring grant schedule online, follow these steps:

1. Log into your fund and navigate to Grants àGive to Charities.
2. Locate your charity using one of the methods below and click Start a Grant.
   • Search the database using the Discover Charities search bar.
   • Explore your personalized lists using the Charities recently supported or Your saved charities tabs.
3. Enter the grant amount and select a purpose to indicate how the charity can use the funds, then click Next.
   • Note: Some grant purposes require acceptance of a related disclaimer before continuing to the next step.
4. Indicate your Grant Recognition preference — this is the donor information the charity receives. Click Next.
   • You can specify additional details in the Additional Attribution and Permission to Publish sections. Click each section to expand the fields.
5. Indicate the payment type by clicking Recurring Grant. Here, you can select all the details of the recurring grant, including frequency and amount. Note that you can edit these details later. Click Next.
   • Grant Allocation refers to how funds will be pulled from your investment options. Weighted percentage maintains your current investment allocation.
6. Review the information to ensure it is correct, check the box to view and accept the disclaimer, then click Submit. 

You can also recommend a grant by downloading and mailing a Recommend a Grant form. 

Please note that there is a minimum of $500 to recommend a grant. Learn more about why this $500 minimum was established to maximize philanthropic impact while reducing administrative burden for charities. 

Learn how to recommend a grant.

Learn how to manage recurring grant schedules.

Our minimum account activity policy requires an account issue at least one grant every three years to remain active. All Vanguard Charitable grants must be at least $500. 

If an account has not granted after 30 months, the account is considered inactive, and we will attempt to contact account advisors to recommend at least one $500 grant. If a grant is still not recommended, Vanguard Charitable reserves the right to issue a grant from the account in accordance with the account’s succession plan, granting history, to The Philanthropic Impact Fund, or to enact the account’s succession plan. 

If you’re looking for charities to give to, log in to your account and visit the Discover Charities page. There you can search for charities by region, interest area, and size, allowing you to find a charity that aligns with your values and interests. 

Learn how to open a Vanguard Charitable donor-advised fund account.

Learn how to recommend a grant.

Read our Policies and Guidelines.

Learn about the Philanthropic Impact Fund.

To contribute to your Vanguard Charitable account, we require you to complete a Make a Contribution form, which you can do online or with a printed form. 

This helps Vanguard Charitable to: 

• Match incoming assets with your account.
• Verify that the assets delivered match your intentions.
• Identify who should be substantiated for tax purposes.
• Indicate how you want the funds invested in your account.
• Provide consent to the unconditional and irrevocable nature of the gift as outlined in our Policies & Guidelines. 

The easiest and most secure way to contribute to your account is to do so online within your account. If you would like to donate assets held at Vanguard, click here. 

1. Log in to your account.
2. Begin by identifying the registration for your gift by selecting an option from the Select Account Type dropdown menu.
   • Where applicable, identify or provide the required information about the joint owner or type of account you will be contributing from. Once you have confirmed the nature of your relationship with this individual or organization, click Next to proceed.
3. Next, scroll to the section that represents your contribution type and click Select.
4. Enter the details of the contribution and click Save to Continue.
   • For gifts of securities, enter the Ticker Symbol and click Search to auto-populate the Security Name.
5. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Next.
6. Select your investment allocation options, then scroll to the bottom of the page and click Next.
7. Review that the details of your contribution are correct, then click Submit at the bottom of the page. 

Once you’ve completed these steps, you’ll need to initiate the transfer of the intended asset. Click here to learn more. 

Learn how to register your Vanguard Charitable account online. 

Download the paper form and paper instructions.

Learn how to make a contribution of assets held at Vanguard.

Create one or multiple succession plans for your Vanguard Charitable account. 

The first step in establishing your succession plan is to be sure you review your options. You can read more about your options here or contact us to discuss your needs. 

To view your existing succession plan: 

1. Log in to your account and navigate to My Account àAccount Details.
2. Scroll down to My Succession Plan and locate your existing plan details directly below the My Account Documents section.
   • It is not uncommon for My Account Documents to list None on File, keep scrolling!
3. Click Show More to review the details of your plan. 

To update your existing plan: 

1. Next to My Succession Plan, click Edit.
2. On the Edit Legacy Options page, scroll to your existing succession plan and click View & Edit.
3. Make the edits you’d like to your plan. Once finished, scroll to the very bottom of the page and click Update. 

To leverage multiple options for your succession plan: 

1. Next to My Succession Plan, click Edit.
2. On the Edit Legacy Options page, scroll to your existing succession plan and click View & Edit.
3. Change the percentage allocated to this option and click Save and Continue.
4. Scroll to your additional option and click View & Edit.
5. Choose the percentage you’d like allocated to this option and fill in the related details.
6. Scroll to the very bottom of the page and click Update. 

To replace your existing plan with a new option: 

1. Next to My Succession Plan, click Edit.
2. On the Edit Legacy Options page, scroll to your existing succession plan where you can remove the original option by clicking Remove.
3. On the Edit Legacy Options page, scroll to preferred option and click Select.
4. Choose the percentage you’d like allocated to this option and fill in the related details.
5. Scroll to the very bottom of the page and click Update. 

Additional tips for updating your succession plan: 

• If you don’t see the edits reflected on your Account Details page, confirm you’ve clicked Update at the bottom of the page after making changes.
• If you’re not able to click Update after making changes, confirm that the total percentages allocated to each option total 100% and that there are no required fields left blank.
• If you’re interested in introducing your Successor Advisor(s) to your Vanguard Charitable account, you can add them as an Interested Party at any time.