Schwab Fund for Charitable Giving(R) Surpasses $1 Billion in Charitable Contributions
January 06 2006 - 9:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Fund Reaches Major Milestone with More Than $500 Million in
Donations in 2005 SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
The Schwab Fund for Charitable Giving, one of the country's largest
and fastest growing donor- advised funds, announced total
contributions to its Charitable Gift Accounts have exceeded $1
billion since the Fund's inception. Created in 1999, the Fund
achieved the milestone as it ended its most productive year for
charitable contributions. In 2005, the Fund received more than $510
million, more than doubling the $225 million in contributions
received the previous year. The biggest beneficiaries of the Fund's
grants in 2005 were relief efforts for victims of Hurricane
Katrina, the South Asian tsunami and the Pakistan earthquake. In
2005, the Fund issued more than 1,400 grants for Hurricane Katrina
relief, totaling nearly $3.5 million. Tsunami and earthquake relief
together accounted for more than 2,000 grants and nearly $2.3
million in funds. Since its inception in 1999, the Fund has granted
more than $400 million to 18,000 charities. It currently has
approximately $840 million in assets waiting to be granted. "Fund
donors responded in overwhelming numbers to the natural disasters
of 2005," said Kim Wright-Violich, president of the Schwab Fund for
Charitable Giving. "As the Fund passes the $1 billion mark in total
contributions, our donors will continue to have a significant
impact in supporting future charitable causes." Wright-Violich
attributes much of the Fund's overall success to Charitable Asset
Management -- a philanthropic option available to high net-worth
individuals that allows them to nominate an independent investment
advisor to manage their donated funds. Donors with accounts of at
least $250,000 can have an independent advisor manage account
assets, which can be invested in a wide range of investment
vehicles, including individual stocks, bonds and other securities.
No other leading national donor-advised fund offers this benefit.
"Charitable Asset Management has opened significant doors for
advisors and their clients," said Wright-Violich. "Advisors can
recommend that clients set aside assets for tax-advantaged
charitable giving while simultaneously helping meet other
diversification goals. The process is seamless for both the client
and advisor." Charitable Asset Management attracts affluent
individuals and families who would otherwise need to set up a
private foundation to create a charitable endowment. Donor-advised
funds are simpler to set up and run -- and more private -- than
private foundations. While private foundations must file an annual
tax return which discloses officers, grant amounts, and recipients,
a Charitable Gift Account has no such requirement. No additional
paper or legal work is required after the contribution is made, and
the Fund is responsible for due diligence, recordkeeping, managing
the assets and granting funds. Donors of all income levels can open
a Charitable Gift Account with an initial tax-deductible
contribution of cash or securities valued at $10,000 or more.
Assets are invested for tax-free potential growth and donors can
recommend grants from the account at any time. One of the benefits
of the Charitable Gift Account is that the donor can contribute to
the account when it makes sense for their tax planning, but the
assets are set aside and readily available for grant-making at any
time. Donors who contribute appreciated securities may be able to
deduct their full value as a charitable donation and avoid capital
gains tax. Donations of non-cash assets such as real estate can be
made through a charitable third-party that specializes in such
transactions, and are also tax deductible at fair market value.
Note that contributions of real estate and most other assets made
to private foundations are deductible only at cost basis. For more
information about the Schwab Fund for Charitable Giving and
Charitable Gift Accounts, visit http://www.schwabcharitable.org/.
The Schwab Fund for Charitable Giving, an independent non-profit
organization, has entered into service agreements with certain
affiliates of The Charles Schwab Corporation: Charles Schwab &
Co., Inc. (Member SIPC) and Charles Schwab Investment Management,
Inc. DATASOURCE: Charles Schwab CONTACT: Sondra Harris of Charles
Schwab, +1-415-636-3292, or Web site: http://www.schwab.com/
http://www.schwabcharitable.org/
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