SOURCE Vanguard Charitable

Five-year lookback shows Vanguard Charitable's all-in fee dropped 10%, donors granted to 45% more unique charities than 2019, and grants now make it to charities 20% faster

MALVERN, Pa., Feb. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Vanguard Charitable, a leading nonprofit and sponsor of donor-advised funds (DAFs), today announced donors granted $3.1 billion to more than 62,000 nonprofits in 2024. This marks Vanguard Charitable's eighth straight year of record giving. Granting levels in 2024 reflect a near 20% increase in giving from the year prior, and-remarkably-have nearly doubled in dollars to charity in just five years, since 2019.

Over the past five years, grants are now getting to charities faster and total costs have dropped, helping more nonprofit organizations than ever achieve their missions.

"These granting numbers are an incredible testament to our ability to deliver innovative and timely resources for our donors," said Rebecca Moffett, president of Vanguard Charitable. "The world significantly changed five years ago with the COVID-19 pandemic, evoking broader philanthropic giving to decline in the years to follow as a result of economic disruptions. Since then, Vanguard Charitable's technology advancements, fee reductions, and investment solutions have and will continue providing swift responses to charities' growing needs while matching donors' increased granting efforts," Moffett continued.

Expedited granting
Vanguard Charitable continues to amplify donor giving by enabling grants to reach nonprofits faster than ever before. Over the past five years, with investments in enhanced due diligence practices and electronic granting through Grant Payments with PayPal, Vanguard Charitable grants are getting to charities 20% faster in 2024 than in 2019.

For example, the implementation of Grant Payments enables hundreds of charities to receive funds electronically in a matter of hours or days by bypassing other traditional giving methods, like mailing a check donation, which can take weeks. This benefits charities of all types and circumstances, like LEAD with Horses located in Reno, Nevada.

"The grant from Vanguard Charitable was game changing! These funds allowed LEAD with Horses to move forward with a major initiative to establish a new equine assisted services facility and expand our programs. This facility will provide valuable disability services, mental health counseling, and youth development-three critical needs in our community. More people will be able to experience positive change through horses thanks to the seed money from Vanguard Charitable and its donors," said Jeane Spada-Allgood, executive director at LEAD with Horses.

Greater variety of charities supported
Vanguard Charitable donors are passionate and grant generously to a diverse range of nonprofits across cause areas, a trend that has only increased over the past five years.

Compared to 2019, five years ago, Vanguard Charitable donors are now granting to 40% more unique charities in a given year, demonstrating the growing variety of interests and causes supported by donors.

In 2024, the top five nonprofits supported by Vanguard Charitable donors, by number of grants, were:

  • Doctors Without Borders USA
  • World Central Kitchen
  • Samaritan's Purse
  • Planned Parenthood Federation of America
  • St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

The sustainable DAF model allows donors to fund an account and grant to the wide range of nonprofits regularly and generously throughout the year, with nearly three-quarters of grants issued by Vanguard Charitable donors occurring before December 1.1

"While we know most giving happens in the last quarter of the year, Vanguard Charitable donors have shown they engage with their Vanguard Charitable DAF year-round to support the comprehensive set of causes represented in the charitable sector. If our data has demonstrated anything, it's that there is no other giving tool that enables donors to give as flexibly and with such diversity as a DAF," Moffett added.

Costs matter when giving to charity
The more donors pay in fees, the less money is available for grantmaking. In 2024, Vanguard Charitable's average weighed all-in fee, inclusive of administrative and investment fees, was only 0.44%. Five years ago, in 2019, the average weighted all-in fee was 0.49%. This 10% reduction in cost has resulted in roughly $10 million more available for donors to grant.

"Donors are looking to give with partners that help make their charitable dollars go further to better support causes aligned to their personal missions or legacy," said Mark Froelich, chief financial officer at Vanguard Charitable. "Vanguard Charitable's industry-low all-in fees and impressive, curated investment line-up achieves this and is the preferred choice of many donors who want to give more."

The compounding benefits of leveraging Vanguard Charitable's low fees means a greater portion of assets can be reinvested charitably, helping donors extend their philanthropic plan by years or decades.

To learn more about the generosity of Vanguard Charitable donors, please see here for Vanguard Charitable's Annual Report: www.vanguardcharitable.org/2024annualreport.

For more information about Vanguard Charitable or giving through donor-advised funds, please visit www.vanguardcharitable.org.

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 Vanguard2 in 1997 as an independent 501(c)(3) organization, Vanguard Charitable has granted more than $21 billion to charity. More information is available at www.vanguardcharitable.org.

About LEAD with Horses
LEAD with Horses is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that harnesses the healing power of horses to support mental health, resilience, and life skill development for children, teens, and their families. They provide safe space and professional, evidence-based programs to create positive change through horses. The LEAD with Horses' mission is to improve the social, emotional, and behavioral development of children and youth through quality therapeutic and educational equine programs. More information is available at www.leadwithhorses.org.

Footnotes:
1 78% of all grants, by units, issued by Vanguard Charitable donors occurred between 1/1/2024 and 11/30/2024.
2 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.

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