This report provides an up-to-date analysis of the donoradvised fund market. It is based on data collected during the second and third quarters of 2012 about donor-advised funds and charitable sponsors in fiscal year 2011. National Philanthropic Trust (NPT) studied 652 charitable organizations that administer donor-advised funds. Data in this report come primarily from public information returns (IRS Form 990), which fund sponsors filed with the IRS. Additional data came from audited financial statements, annual reports, organizational websites and news releases.

Estimated charitable contributions in the United States in 2011 totaled $298 billion. Of those contributions, donor-advised fund accounts received $9.64 billion, or 3.2 percent of the total charitable giving for the year. National Charities that sponsor donor-advised funds (National Charities) received an estimated $4.75 billion in contributions in 2011, or 1.6 percent of all charitable giving in the United States. Community Foundations that sponsor donor-advised funds received about $2.39 billion, or 0.8 percent of all charitable giving in the United States in 2011. Single-Issue

Charities that sponsor donor-advised funds (Single-Issue Charities) received $2.5 billion, or 0.8 percent of all charitable contributions in the country in 2011. In turn, grants to charitable organizations from donoradvised fund accounts totaled $7.7 billion. This marks the fifth consecutive year in which grants from donor-advised fund accounts have been more than $6 billion, and the first year ever that the total exceeds $7 billion.