Fidelity Charitable just released its 2026 Giving Report, covering 2025 giving trends across its Giving Account donor base. The numbers paint a clear picture: the DAF sector is growing faster, distributing more generously, and operating almost entirely in digital channels.
Here's what stood out—and what it means for nonprofit fundraising strategy.
1. Record-breaking scale: $18.3 billion in grants distributed in 2025
Fidelity Charitable donors set a new giving record in 2025, recommending $18.3 billion in grants—a 23% year-over-year increase. That figure has more than doubled since 2020.
Nearly 395,500 donors made 3 million grant recommendations, a 13.4% jump year over year, supporting a record 226,823 unique nonprofits.
Action item: Share these numbers with your leadership team. For organizations still treating DAF strategy as a secondary priority, this report provides the data to make the case for change.
2. The donor base is growing—and tax law is accelerating it
The number of Fidelity Charitable donor-advised funds grew 13.4% to 246,006 accounts in 2025, as some donors took advantage of strategies like bunching donations ahead of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that takes effect in 2026. The new law was signed in July 2025 and changed the standard deduction and itemization thresholds for 2026.
The total donor count reached 395,515—up 12.3% year over year and 55% compared to 2020. This reflects a structural shift in how donors are organizing their philanthropy, not a seasonal spike. And with the new tax environment now in effect, expect continued interest in DAF strategies that allow donors to give in high-income years and distribute over time.
Action item: Audit your fundraising communications and marketing materials. DAF giving should be featured as a prominent option across email campaigns, SMS, digital ads, and any channel where donors engage with your organization. A growing pool of donors is ready to give this way—the question is whether they see it as an option.
3. Donors are giving more and distributing faster
The average grant size rose 7% to $5,801 in 2025, and is up more than 25% compared to 2020. Grants of $1 million or more increased 9% to 2,141—more than twice the volume in 2020.
Distribution rates are also climbing and deserve more attention. In 2025, 42% of each $100 contributed to Fidelity Charitable was paid out to nonprofits within one year—up from 39% in 2024. The narrative that DAF assets sit idle is not supported by the data.
Action item: Review your organization's website and "Ways to Give" page. Is DAF giving clearly explained and easy to act on? Donors are moving faster—the information and infrastructure to capture that moment should be in place.
4. DAF donors are highly loyal, and the retention numbers back it up
77% of grants went to organizations that donors had previously supported—45% as regranting to a previously supported organization, and 32% via prescheduled or recurring grants.
This pattern aligns with what Chariot and K2D Strategies found in the DAF Fundraising Report: for every 100 DAF donors in 2023, 59 were retained in 2024—compared to just 46 out of 100 non-DAF donors. That 13-point retention gap reflects something important about how DAF donors relate to the organizations they support.
Action item: DAF donors warrant the same depth of stewardship as major gift donors—personal acknowledgment, cultivation, and re-solicitation. The retention numbers suggest that investment pays off.
5. Most DAF grants are not anonymous—and every one warrants deeper research
95% of grants included the account name or the recommending donor's name and address. 80% included the donor's full name and mailing address, while just 5% were fully anonymous.
This finding has been consistent across multiple years of Fidelity's reporting, and it continues to challenge a persistent misconception in the sector.
Action item: Every DAF gift warrants a closer look at the donor behind it. The median Giving Account balance was $27,860 in 2025—up 18% from 2024. This means that if you receive a grant from a Fidelity Charitable donor, there's a 50% chance they have more than $27,860 set aside for charitable giving. A modest grant today often signals significantly greater giving potential. Pull their giving history, look for wealth indicators, and assess capacity.
6. DAF grant-making is almost entirely digital—and communications strategy should reflect that
98% of grant recommendations in 2025 were initiated digitally.
Too often, DAF donors are siloed into direct mail or offline cultivation tracks—in part because the grant check still arrives by mail. But these donors are initiating gifts through apps and digital portals. They are as reachable through email, digital ads, and online content as any other donor segment, and DAF-related messaging belongs in those channels.
Action item: Make sure DAF content isn't being excluded from digital campaigns. Email appeals, social ads, and SMS touchpoints are all appropriate places to feature DAF giving options and educate donors on how to give from their account. DAFpay also ensures that when a donor is inspired to give online, they can complete their DAF gift right at the moment of intent.
7. Electronic grant disbursement is the new standard—with a hard deadline approaching
Today, 67% of Fidelity Charitable grants are distributed via electronic funds transfer, but that means 33% of grants were still mailed as checks in 2025. Fidelity Charitable is moving to electronic-only disbursement in July 2026—a meaningful deadline for organizations that haven't yet registered to receive grants electronically.
For community foundations: this is a moment to proactively educate your grantees about the change so they don't inadvertently miss out on potential gifts.
Action item: If your organization has been reluctant to move away from check-based grant payments, Chariot's report on the rising risks of check payments to nonprofits is worth reviewing with your finance and operations teams before the July deadline.
8. DAF giving skews local
54% of grants supported nonprofits within the donor's home state, totaling $7 billion in 2025.
This finding has been consistent across multiple years of Fidelity's reporting. Community-based organizations are well-represented in this data—and shouldn't assume the DAF donor base is primarily oriented toward national causes.
Action item: If your organization serves a specific geography, lean into that in your DAF messaging. Donors giving locally through their DAF are already predisposed to support community-rooted work—make sure they know you're there and that giving via DAF is easy.
A few additional data points worth noting
Beyond the eight core takeaways, a few additional figures from the report round out the picture:
- Cryptocurrency donations totaled $326 million in 2025—down from $786 million in 2024—though cumulative crypto giving to Fidelity Charitable has now reached $1.6 billion since 2015.
- Corporate DAFs continued to grow, with more than 550 companies recommending $540 million in grants across 26,036 grants in 2025, at an average of $20,732 per grant.
The bottom line
The 2026 Fidelity Charitable Giving Report documents a sector that is larger, faster-moving, and more digitally native than many fundraising teams may assume. Organizations building proactive DAF strategies—ensuring DAF giving is visible across communications, stewarding DAF donors with intention, and removing friction at the moment of giving—are well-positioned to grow with this channel.
Want to make it easier for Fidelity Charitable's 395,000+ donors to support your organization? Learn how DAFpay enables seamless DAF giving directly on your website or donation form.
