What it costs

The Fidelity Charitable Giving Account has no minimum initial contribution requirement and one of the lowest annual fees of any donor-advised fund. Total fees for a Giving Account typically amount to about 1% of the balance. That's generally less than the operating costs associated with a private foundation or the fees for donating with a credit card.

Initial
contribution

No minimum

Account balance + additional contributions

No minimum

Minimum
grant

$50

We make charitable giving accessible, simple, and effective. That's why we have no minimum to open an account and offer the ability to support as many charities as you'd like. 

Simplified fees

Administrative fee + Investment fee = Total fees

Annual administrative fee

0.60% or $100

The Giving Account is generally assessed an annual administrative fee of 0.60% or $100, whichever is greater. Administrative fees are tiered* according to the balance in your Giving Account and help us provide leading technology and services, such as:

  • Reviewing and issuing donor-recommended grants to charities
  • In-depth grant due diligence
  • Robust online account portal
  • Mobile app to recommend grants on the go
  • Free access to GuideStar Pro
  • Knowledgeable donor support team

Use this calculator to estimate the annual administrative fees for a Fidelity Charitable Giving Account.  Just enter the Giving Account balance you expect to maintain and select Calculate fee.

Review our Program Guidelines for a full explanation of the administrative fees.

Investment fees

0.015% to 0.91%

The ability for your contribution to be invested and potentially grow tax-free is a key benefit of a donor-advised fund. Fidelity Charitable provides a variety of investment pools to choose from, and each is subject to the varying operating and management expenses of the mutual funds that comprise each pool.

 

Total fee examples

See the hypothetical examples below for how the Giving Account administrative fee and fees from the underlying investments are calculated based on the Giving Account balance.

Account balance

Administrative fee*

Investment fee**

Total fee

Hypothetical investment growth***

Account balance

$10,000

Administrative fee*

$100

Investment fee**

$48

Total fee

$148

Hypothetical investment growth***

$664

Account balance

$100,000

Administrative fee*

$600

Investment fee**

$480

Total fee

$1,080

Hypothetical investment growth***

$6,637

Account balance

$250,000

Administrative fee*

$1,500

Investment fee**

$1,200

Total fee

$2,700

Hypothetical investment growth***

$16,592

Account balance

$500,000

Administrative fee*

$3,000

Investment fee**

$2,400

Total fee

$5,400

Hypothetical investment growth***

$33,183

*Additional fees may apply for Giving Accounts enrolled in the Charitable Investment Advisor Program.

**Based on investment in the Conservative Income pool for one year. While the investment fees will vary depending on how the Giving Account balance is allocated, the administrative fee is only based on the balance itself. View all investment options

***Based on the average annual one-year return from the Conservative Income pool for February 29, 2024. 
View all pool performance

The fees in this chart are based on an average annual balance in your Giving Account for one year. If you recommend grants that reduce this amount, the balance in your Giving Account will be assessed accordingly. The administrative fee is assessed by Fidelity Charitable and covers our costs, whereas the investment fee is dependent on the underlying fund(s) in each pool. Additional average annual returns:

 

Additional average annual returns:

Average Annual Returns Conservative Income Pool
Performance of Average annual
1 yr 3 yr 5 yr 10 yr
Performance of Conservative Income Pool 1 Average annual 1 yr 6.64% Average annual 3 yr -0.02% Average annual 5 yr 2.83% Average annual 10 yr 2.60%
Performance of Underlying Fund:
Fidelity Asset Manager 20%
Average annual 1 yr 7.23% Average annual 3 yr 0.60% Average annual 5 yr 3.45% Average annual 10 yr 3.20%

1 Pool created 07/01/2011, therefore historic performance is not available for earlier periods. Pool is 100% invested in the underlying mutual fund displayed beneath the pool. Pool results will include a Fidelity Charitable annual administrative fee as described in the Fidelity Charitable Program Guidelines, and will therefore differ from the results of the underlying mutual fund.