Who We Serve

Individual Donors

"The online experience is great, and I also appreciate the friendly and knowledgeable specialists on the phones."
- Jim and Mary C. (donor since 2007)


Through a donor-advised account, Schwab Charitable Fund can provide individual donors with a tax-smart way to support charities today and build a lasting charitable legacy. Unlike most planned giving alternatives, a donor-advised account has no set-up costs, low ongoing expenses and no additional taxes assessed on income earned by the account.

For larger donors, an account with Schwab Charitable Fund is an attractive alternative to a private foundation or can serve as a strategic complement to an existing foundation, trust, or supporting organization.

Key benefits of a donor-advised account include:
Simple & Efficient
  • Separate end of year tax decisions from charitable giving decisions
  • Submit and view grant recommendations online at any time-no reason to write checks, make copies or save individual receipts from multiple organizations for tax preparation
  • Unlike most other planned giving vehicles, no additional filing requirements are required from the individual account.
Tax-Smart
  • Receive immediate tax deduction for contributions to offset taxable income
  • Avoid capital gains taxes on the contribution of appreciated assets held for more than one year1
  • Remove contributed assets from your taxable estate
  • As compared with private foundations, higher deductibility limits, more favorable treatment for real estate contributions and no excise taxes on investment income.
Customized & Private
  • Create a special name for the account (e.g., "The Roberts Family Fund", "The Jean Smith Fund for the Arts"), and have grants issued on customized letterhead at no additional cost
  • Decide whether to recommend each grant anonymously or with acknowledgment.
  • Unlike private foundations, personal information, charitable recipients, costs and investments are kept private and are not attributed to individual accounts in publicly available IRS returns
Flexible
  • Ease of online grant recommendations, when and where you want
  • Small grant minimums
  • Unlike private foundations, no required minimum distribution requirement2
Establishes Legacy
  • Encourage and establish a tradition of charitable giving in your family
  • Involve members of your family in recommending grants
  • Name successors to the account to ensure a legacy of charitable giving for future generations 
1. Contributions of securities held for one year or longer are fully deductible at fair market value (FMV); securities held for less than one year have the same AGI limits as cash contributions (50%), but the valuation is based on the lesser of the cost basis or FMV. Contributions that exceed AGI limitations may be carried forward and deducted for five years. A donor's ability to claim itemized deductions may be subject to further limitations depending upon the donor's specific tax situation and donors should consult their tax advisors.
2. The minimum for opening a donor-advised account is $5,000 and the minimum for a grant is $50.

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