Got $5 Million? Yale Will Manage It, But You Won’t Get It Back
Top college endowments set up donor-advised funds to attract even more alumni giving.
In this charitable giving season, elite universities are cashing in on the popularity of donor-advised funds by inviting big givers to have their money managed by the same high-powered investors who oversee their endowments. If you have enough cash to give away, Yale, Stanford, Dartmouth, and other schools will look after it for you while you decide where to donate it. Of course, much of it eventually has to go to the college.
Donor-advised funds are investment funds for charitable donations. You deposit money, get a tax deduction, and use the presumably growing balance to fund charities of your choice over time. Donor-advised funds held $110 billion in 2017, compared with $57 billion in 2013, according to the National Philanthropic Trust, a donor-advised fund sponsor. Through their charitable arms, Fidelity, Charles Schwab, and Vanguard rank among the leading managers.