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Charity
First find a charity that supports your giving goals. Need help? Visit the Candid Nonprofit Directory, a free resource provided to help you find a nonprofit 501(c)(3), in good standing with the IRS. If a charity is not found, provide the charity's contact information.
Next, decide the grant amount. Each grant must be a minimum of $500 or more.1 Grant minimums were established to ensure donors make a substantial philanthropic impact without creating an administrative burden for charities.2
Unsure about your grant purpose? Unrestricted giving, which you can select through "general operating expenses" or "unrestricted", is often the preferred granting option by charities.
Once the grant recommendation is approved, you can recommend when the grant should be sent: now, on a later date or on a recurring basis.3 Grant processing time may vary depending on the type of nonprofit organization, however, most grants are reviewed and issued within two business days.
Grants may be sent anonymously, fully attributed or something in between. You choose how you want to be recognized, or not, each time you recommend a grant.
Granting with Vanguard Charitable
Supporting your favorite charities is easy. Once you’ve opened and funded your account, you can recommend grants to support the causes you care about most.
Click the play button to view some of the benefits you have access to when giving through Vanguard Charitable.
We'll get to work.
Once you recommend a grant, our grants team gets to work. The rules and regulations about granting to nonprofits are strict. Our team will research the charity to ensure it's in good standing with the IRS. Once the organization and grant purpose are approved, we process and send the grant.
Due Diligence
When giving directly, donors are expected to research every charity they wish to support. Granting through us lifts that administrative burden. Our grants team researches, reviews and sends the grant for you.
Why is due diligence important?
To protect your tax deduction and philanthropic intentions, due diligence is performed for every grant recommendation you send. As part of this service, we conduct extensive research on the charities selected for grants and evaluate each charity's tax-exempt status, intentional use of the grant, and potential impermissible benefits gained from the grant.
International Granting
We fully understand when your charitable intentions extend beyond U.S. borders. If you decide to recommend grants to international nonprofits, we've developed a process that allows you to literally change the world.
Your charitable interests may extend beyond U.S. borders. If you decide to recommend grants abroad, our international granting services can help you literally change the world. We offer two options:
- Utilize U.S.-based charities. You can recommend international grants through organizations known as intermediaries. These U.S.-based organizations facilitate grants to partner charities located outside the United States. Additional fees may apply.
- Work with our global grantmaking partner. Premier accounts enjoy additional perks in international granting services from our preferred partner and leading expert in global giving, Charities Aid Foundation of America (CAF America). Granting facilitated by CAF America is offered to you at a low cost and comes with customized support including expedited processing, dedicated customer service, and comprehensive due diligence. Additional fees may apply.
Matching Gifts
Does your employer have a matching gifts' policy?
If your employer has a matching gifts' policy, you could double your charitable impact. While we welcome working with matching gifts' programs, we do not complete the required paperwork on behalf of the grantee organization, business or donor. Please coordinate with respective parties to ensure your grants are properly matched. Contact us to learn more.
Charities
As one of the leading grantmakers in the U.S., we grant to thousands of charities each year, giving billions of dollars to nonprofits both in the U.S. and beyond. Our mission is to increase philanthropy and maximize its impact over time.
As a cause-neutral organization, we do not accept grant proposals from nonprofit organizations. We leave the granting recommendations up to our donors, and focus instead on managing the administrative details, growing charitable assets, providing useful donor services and offering resources to help donors with their strategic giving. Learn more.
Footnotes
- Your account must successfully recommend at least one minimum $500 grant every three years. International grants and grants subject to tailored grant agreements may require larger minimum recommendations.
- Account advisors may not claim a charitable tax deduction for a grant made from Vanguard Charitable, even if the charity provides a tax receipt.
- Timing may vary depending on grant purpose and type of organization.
- An intermediary is an organization based in the U.S. that supports international organizations and causes.
- Direct international grants are researched and approved on a case-by-case basis. Contact Vanguard Charitable before recommending an international grant.
Maintenance fee may be applied
Accounts having a balance below $25,000 may be subject to an annual maintenance fee of $250.
You are eligible for special rates
Our premier clients enjoy reduced pricing to further maximize their impact.
Our representatives are happy to guide you through.