New Endowed Giving Program Helps Donors Plan Gifts

BOSTON, November 16, 2005 - Hurricane relief and a strengthening economy fueled a significant increase in charitable giving in the first 10 months of 2005, according to the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, one of the nation's largest independent public charities¹, indicating a trend that bodes well for the nation's charities as the holiday season approaches.

The Gift Fund recorded a 33 percent increase in contributions, which rose to $467 million from $351 million over the same period in 2004. Gifts of appreciated stock increased by 31 percent and donors have established nearly one-third more new Giving Accounts^®.

Overall grants to nonprofit organizations² from the Gift Fund totaled $629 million during the first ten months of the year, compared to $488 through this period last year - a 29 percent increase.

Relief Agencies Benefit from Quick Response of Gift Fund Donors

The data confirm that donors who planned their giving with contributions to the Gift Fund earlier in the year were able to recommend grants generously and quickly to support disaster relief, but also maintained significant support for other charitable priorities.

Grants recommended specifically to support recovery efforts for the 2004 tsunami and Hurricane Katrina totaled nearly $36 million through October 31. Katrina drove an immediate response among donors, as nearly $10 million was granted in the first week following the hurricane. The average grant size for Katrina recovery to date is $2,300.

"The nation's charities are counting on continued generosity this holiday giving season on top of the tremendous outpouring of financial support we've already witnessed this year," said David Giunta, president, Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund. "With our strongest granting months still to come, we're optimistic that donors will continue to give generously. We've seen how donors plan their giving with a donor-advised fund so they can respond to major events as well as maintain a steady stream of dollars to the causes they support."

New Program Can Help Donors Create Giving Legacy

The Gift Fund has also introduced the Endowed Giving Program³ which allows donors to recommend up to six charities to receive recurring grants upon their death, providing the potential for an ongoing income stream for charities and the causes they support.

This simplified alternative to a traditional endowment program enables donors working directly or with an advisor to establish a charitable legacy without complexity and without taking on burdensome administrative or due diligence responsibilities. Donors may also recommend a name for the account, for themselves or a loved one, creating a charitable legacy beyond their lifetime.

"As wealthy donors prepare to bequeath an estimated $6 trillion over the next half century⁴, the Gift Fund now provides a simplified endowed giving solution for donors to create a lasting legacy and help the nation's public charities continue to receive ongoing financial support," added Giunta.

About Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund

The Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund is one of the nation's largest public charities and has the largest donor-advised fund program in the country⁵. The Gift Fund was established by Fidelity Investments^® in 1992. The mission of the Gift Fund is to further the American tradition of philanthropy by providing programs that make charitable giving simple and effective. Since the Gift Fund's inception, more than 35,000 donors have recommended grants totaling more than $5 billion to more than 91,000 nonprofit organizations nationwide. For more information on the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, visit charitablegift.org.

¹Rankings by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, 2005.

²IRS-qualified public charities.

³The Endowed Giving Program is a program of the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund.

⁴Havens and Schervish, Boston College Social Welfare Institute, January 2003.

⁵Chronicle of Philanthropy Rankings, 2005.

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The Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund is an independent public charity. Various Fidelity companies provide non-discretionary investment management and administrative services to the Gift Fund.

Charitable Gift Fund and the Charitable Gift Fund logo are service marks, and Giving Account, Lifetime Giving, Legacy Giving and Preservation Giving are registered service marks, of the Trustees of the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund. Fidelity Investments is a service mark of FMR Corp. used by the Gift Fund under license.