Vanguard Charitable, one of the largest charities in the United States and a leading donor-advised fund, granted more than $500 million to charitable causes in 2013, a 15% increase from the previous year.

Vanguard Charitable entered 2013 supporting the philanthropic goals of more than 10,000 accounts and issued more than 50,000 checks to roughly 22,000 unique charities on donors' recommendations.

The increase in grant requests and the diversity of causes supported demonstrates that Vanguard Charitable's donors are active and deeply engaged with supporting charitable causes.

Granting numbers at a glance

  • In 2013, Vanguard Charitable issued 50,563 grants totaling $536,072,259, a 19% and 15% increase, respectively, over grants in 2012.
  • In the fourth quarter, which is traditionally the most active giving time of the year, Vanguard Charitable granted $190 million, 19% more than it granted during the same period in 2012.
  • While Vanguard Charitable donors can recommend grants for as little as $500, the average grant issued in 2013 was $10,500. Vanguard Charitable's largest grant of the year was $18 million to a single charity.
  • As a result of an improving economy, Vanguard Charitable saw an increase in grant recommendations to arts and cultural organizations. Sixteen percent more grants, resulting in 34% more grant dollars, were issued to support culture and art in 2013, as compared to 2012.
  • In 2013, educational causes received 25% more grant dollars from Vanguard Charitable, and historical organizations, which traditionally represent a smaller percentage of Vanguard Charitable grants, saw a 69% increase in dollars.

In addition to recommending grants, donors contributed more than $904 million to Vanguard Charitable in 2013. Nearly 81% of the assets gifted were appreciated securities, illustrating that individuals are making strategic and tax-informed choices with their giving.

"We believe that our donors are making more strategic decisions with their giving every year," said Vanguard Charitable President Ben Pierce. "Our donors not only carefully consider which assets are most effective to contribute, they also very thoughtfully consider how to grant to charity. Year over year, the generosity of our donors continues to astound us--to the benefit of thousands of worthy nonprofit organizations."

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 in 1997 as an independent 501(c)(3) organization, Vanguard Charitable has granted more than $4 billion to charity. As a cause-neutral donor-advised fund, Vanguard Charitable grants to a wide variety of nonprofit organizations every year, including but not limited to health, human services, environmental, and religious charities.

More information is available at vanguardcharitable.org.

Vanguard Charitable
Benjamin Pierce, President
610-503-3483