Schwab Charitable, a national provider of donor-advised funds and other philanthropic services, reported Monday that it had facilitated a record $1.6 billion in grants in fiscal year 2017, ended June 30, a 34% increase from the previous fiscal year.
DAF account holders supported more than 65,000 charities and recommended some 309,000 grants, up 29% from 240,000 grants in FY2016.
Schwab Charitable said that organizations supported by its donors this fiscal year were representative of national trends since the November general election given the political and economic environment.
The top five supported charities were Feeding America, Planned Parenthood, Doctors Without Borders, Salvation Army and ACLU.
Last month, Fidelity Charitable reported that the election had influenced a shift in the charities its donors supported.
"This is the third year in a row in which our generous donors recommended more than $1 billion in charitable grants," Schwab Charitable's president, Kim Laughton, said in a statement.
"In the midst of a sustained market rally and with tax reform on the horizon, donors who value cost, tax efficiency and convenience are using donor-advised funds to maximize their tax benefits and charitable impact simultaneously."
Schwab Charitable noted that tax reform could significantly influence charitable giving in the future. In a survey it conducted in June, 44% of donors and 51% of financial advisors said they expected tax reform to take effect in 2018.
