Gift Fund Grants Up 26 Percent In Past 12 Months

BOSTON, October 5, 2006 -- In an effort to make the benefits of donor-advised funds accessible to more Americans, the Fidelity^® Charitable Gift Fund^SM today announced it will significantly lower its initial contribution and grant recommendation minimums. The minimum initial contribution to the Gift Fund that will enable an individual to establish a Giving Account^® will be reduced by 50 percent to $5,000¹. The grant recommendation minimum will drop from $250 to $100. Both changes will become effective on October 9, 2006.

"Our donors have expressed interest in having more flexibility to meet their giving goals," said David L. Giunta, president of the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund. "By lowering both of these minimums, we're providing greater flexibility and making the benefits of donor-advised funds accessible to more individuals, enabling them to be more strategic with their charitable giving, whether they are just getting started or have always been an active giver.

Lower Minimums Add to Recent Enhancements

The introduction of a $5,000 initial contribution minimum and reduced grant minimum are the latest in a series of major enhancements recently made by the Gift Fund. Over the past 12 months, the Gift Fund has reduced the administrative fee on most Giving Accounts (by at least 40 percent), added non-Fidelity mutual funds to investment pools, provided new pool choices and instituted the Endowed Giving Program.

In addition, the Gift Fund recently created the Charitable Investment Advisor Program. This program, available to Gift Fund donors with a minimum Giving Account balance of $1 million, allows qualified independent advisors to provide discretionary investment management to the Gift Fund for contributions made by the advisors' clients.

Individuals Can Contribute Appreciated Securities to Establish Giving Account

Some individuals may choose to initially contribute to the Gift Fund appreciated securities held more than one year, rather than, or in addition to, donating cash.² In fact, with 70 percent of contributions to the Gift Fund in the form of securities, Gift Fund donors are clearly taking advantage of the benefits of this opportunity.

The contribution of securities, as part of a giving plan, can allow donors to potentially eliminate capital gains, give more to charity and pay less in taxes. The Gift Fund offers individuals an online tool to help estimate the potential federal income tax savings associated with donating appreciated securities held longer than a year. Individuals can access the Securities Donation Calculator at www.charitablegift.org.

Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Continues to See Giving Increase

Overall grants to charity from the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund are at record levels through August of 2006. Granting surpassed $964million for the 12 months ended August 31, 2006, up 26 percent over the same period a year ago. Contributions to the Gift Fund for the same period were $1.1 billion, up 22 percent year-over-year.

"The Gift Fund has seen tremendous growth in giving this year, and this trend is expected to continue as we head into the giving season," said Giunta. "Many donors will be undertaking year-end reviews of their overall financial plans during the next few months and it is our hope that even more will include charitable giving in those plans."

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 country.³ The Gift Fund was established by Fidelity Investments^® in 1991. 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 39,000 donors have recommended grants totaling more than $6.0 billion to more than 99,000 nonprofit organizations nationwide, as of June 30, 2006. For more information on the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, visit http://www.charitablegift.org.

¹For individual Giving Accounts only. The minimum initial contribution to establish a corporate account will remain at $100,000.

²The Gift Fund will allocate the proceeds of the sale of such securities to the individual's newly established Giving Account.

³Chronicle of Philanthropy Rankings, 2005.

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The Fidelity^® Charitable Gift Fund^SM ("Gift Fund") is an independent public charity with a donor-advised fund program. 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 is a registered service mark, of the Trustees of the Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund. Fidelity and Fidelity Investments are registered service marks of FMR Corp. used by the Gift Fund under license.