Fidelity Charitable recorded record incoming contributions and outgoing grants to nonprofits during the first nine months of 2013, the national donor-advised fund sponsor reported.
Fidelity Charitable took in nearly $1.3 billion in contributions, a 5% increase from the same period in 2012.
It also made some 308,000 grants to charities through September, totaling nearly $1.3 billion, a 20% increase in grant volume and a 33% increase in grant dollars over the same period last year.
"Last year, amid the uncertainty surrounding tax laws for 2013, we saw many donors increase their giving and adopt a donor-advised fund for the first time," Fidelity Charitable's president, Sarah Libbey, said in a statement.
"It's gratifying that our new donors have jumped right into the grantmaking process and, like our established donors, are actively using their charitable account to support the causes that are important to them."
Other potential drivers include greater advisor involvement in charity planning and the improved stock market, Fidelity says.
This donor activity was in line with a trend Fidelity identified in a survey last year.
