Majority of American Donors Plan to Maintain or Increase Their Level of Charitable Giving This Year

Fidelity Charitable^SM Expects Strongest Level of Giving in 20-Year History

BOSTON – Fidelity Charitable ^SM, the nation’s largest donor-advised fund program, today reported that despite continued economic challenges, American donors¹ surveyed this month report they remain committed to charitable giving, planning ahead for it and giving even where there is no expectation or incentive to do so. In addition, the majority of American donors (72 percent) plan to maintain or increase their level of charitable giving this year compared to last year. This number is up from 63 percent in 2010.

In the Fidelity Charitable study of 502 American donors, which explores behaviors and motivations around charitable giving, 72 percent of respondents report that most or all of their giving is planned ahead of time and that more than half (58 percent) of their giving goes to organizations where they do not have an obligation to give, with 42 percent being given at the request of a friend or family member, or where there is an expectation to give. Two-thirds of donors (64 percent) also agree that charitable tax deductions have no impact on their giving.

“Even in challenging times, American donors are making it a priority to support causes they care about,” said Sarah Libbey, president of Fidelity Charitable. “They plan ahead for giving, give because they want to, and to where it’s most important to them.”

In addition to asking respondents about their own behaviors, the Fidelity Charitable survey explores American donor opinion on the impact a limited charitable tax deduction would have on overall giving. The findings showed that, despite their own stated commitment to giving, two in three (69 percent) respondents at least somewhat agreed that if the charitable tax deduction was limited for households in the highest income bracket, it would negatively impact overall giving in the United States.

Social Media and Technology Facilitating Charitable Engagement
A separate part of the survey asks respondents where they go to find information on charitable organizations, and how they are making donations this year. The findings show that social media and technology are facilitating charitable engagement and giving, yet in-person charitable events still play a key role in attracting support.

Forty-two percent of respondents report they use online resources to find information about charitable organizations, citing Internet search engines (31 percent) and social media sites (20 percent) as their top online resources.

Of those using social media sites for charitable giving, nearly nine out of 10 (over 85 percent) cite promoting or communicating about causes they care about, or supporting the causes of friends and family as top activities. Forty-four percent report using social media sites to make donations online.
Of all donors surveyed, 40 percent report they are using some form of technology to make charitable donations this year. One quarter say they are giving through an organization’s website; twenty-one percent report giving through a personal fundraising web page established by a friend or family member; and one in ten cite using “text to give” campaigns, among other vehicles.

While American donors may be turning to technology and the Internet more, half (51 percent) of those surveyed say they will make donations this year by attending, donating to and/or purchasing items at a charitable event.

“Technology and social media are fast becoming a way for donors to connect with and support others, as well as support their own causes. These are powerful mediums and present great opportunity for charities, many of whom are already finding donors online,” said Libbey. “Our findings also show, however, that the traditional in-person event still holds value. Charities that combine the use of technology with the face-to-face event strategies are likely to find themselves at an advantage.”

Fidelity Charitable Expects Strongest Level of Giving in 20-Year History
Continuing the strong pace it has experienced thus far in 2011, Fidelity Charitable reported today that it expects to see its strongest year ever in outgoing grants to charities and incoming contributions. For the first nine months of 2011, Fidelity Charitable donors recommended $832 million in grants to nonprofits nationwide, a 12% increase over the first nine months of 2010. Incoming contributions to Fidelity Charitable were up 23 percent compared with the same period in 2010, resulting in $748 million in new charitable dollars.

“Donors have shown an impressive commitment to charity this year. Despite continued economic uncertainty, our donors are giving in record numbers and planning their giving and recommending grants out earlier in the year. We also continue to see donors being more creative in the types of assets they’re giving,” said Libbey.

“This level of activity and forward thinking is tremendous news for nonprofits and allows donors to make even more of a difference to the causes they care most about.”

Donations of appreciated securities as well as privately held stock, or complex assets, have been an increasing trend this year. Donations in the form of appreciated securities were 56 percent of overall contributions for the first nine months of the year, up from 51 percent during the same period in 2010. Complex asset donations were five times higher year-to-date through September 30th than they were during the same period in 2010.

“The efforts we’ve made over the past few years to increase our capacity to accept donations of complex assets and raise awareness of this charitable giving strategy are paying off,” said Libbey. “Donors and their advisors are turning some of the most highly appreciated assets in their portfolios into dollars available for charity. This is an exciting trend that we believe will continue.”

Survey Methodology
The Fidelity Charitable Giving Season 2011 study was conducted among a national probability sample of 502 adults (people 18 and older) who intend to donate $200 or more to charity in 2011. Interviews were completed by telephone October 13-16 by independent research firm, Opinion Research Corporation (ORC). ORC is not affiliated with Fidelity Investments. The results of this survey may not be representative of all persons meeting the same criteria as those surveyed for this study.

About Fidelity Charitable
Fidelity Charitable is an independent public charity, established in 1991, with the mission to further the American tradition of philanthropy by providing programs that make charitable giving simple and effective. Since its inception, the program has helped donors support more than 140,000 nonprofit organizations with over $11 billion in grants. For more information, visit www.FidelityCharitable.org

1 Those who will donate $200 or more in 2011.

Fidelity Charitable is the brand name for the Fidelity® Charitable Gift Fund, an independent public charity with a donor-advised fund program. Various Fidelity companies provide services to Fidelity Charitable. The Fidelity Charitable name and logo are service marks, and Fidelity is a registered service mark, of FMR LLC, used by Fidelity Charitable under license. Giving Account is a registered service mark of the Trustees of Fidelity Charitable.

597762.1.0