Donor stories

Building community in Austin

After touring an early phase of an Austin, Texas community built for the formerly homeless, Laura and Rex Bohls decided to commit funds to its continued development.

Listening, learning, and leading

Fidelity Charitable donors Emily Nielsen Jones and Ross Jones support women, girls, and faith-driven leaders, embracing “reverse tithing” for impact.

Nourishing New England and the soul

Marci Sindell is helping to fight hunger—and misconceptions of food insecurity—in the face of this record need.

Paving the path to higher education

Zachary and Roshell R. Rinkins are ensuring the future is bright for HBCU student scholars.

Racial equity giving helps save a family business

When 2020 saw an uptick in anti-Asian sentiment, Fidelity Charitable donors like James Liu stepped up.

Millennial, high school teacher—and philanthropist

Our recent look into the future of philanthropy showed a clear trend: Millennials like donor Caroline Vannatta are shaking things up.

Sisters helping the homeless together

"Needs don’t just go away because the virus is out there—they multiply.” For determined volunteers Janet and Judy Fireman, a global pandemic meant the sisters had to get creative in how they helped homeless women. They found a way to cook dinner for 40 women every week—and continued to give.

How one family helped fight COVID-19—fast  

After years of giving together as a family, the Youngers were ready for their next philanthropic challenge: supporting COVID-19 relief efforts as quickly and effectively as possible.

Using social media to help feed children

The Millerberg family used to keep their giving anonymous. But when COVID-19 hit, they decided to share their giving story—and brought their friends and neighbors together to help save a nonprofit and feed more than 1,000 Salt Lake City families.

Helping veterans after personal 9/11 loss 

After Carole O’Hare’s mother was killed in the terrorist attacks of 9/11, O’Hare decided to focus on helping others. It’s what her mom would do.

Millennial helps students grow

After volunteering at a high school, Tiffany Yu saw words—not equations—were a struggle for STEM students. But thanks to her work with Super Stars Literacy, students who were falling behind are not only catching up but getting ahead in reading—and in life.

Shining a light on gender violence

By supporting the creation of a documentary about gender violence in India, Mohamed Hamir hopes to raise awareness for a cause very near to his heart. His own granddaughter was adopted from an orphanage in Kolkata.

Selling everything to help others 

Debra Mailman made a radical lifestyle change for a purpose: travel the world using her Microsoft-honed skills for disaster relief.

Sending foster kids to college

Supporting a program that provided college scholarships and academic and emotional support to former foster children was an easy choice for retired school counselor Karen Long, and the donor-advised fund’s charitable planning advantages made it possible. 

Supporting early learning

Dan Francis was shocked when his sister, a kindergarten teacher, told him how many kids arrived in her classroom already behind. Supporting access to preschool was something he and his wife, Jill, knew they could do. They’ve since helped more than 700 kids.

Tips for impact investing

Sasha Rabsey had been focused on making a difference through her charitable giving, but she began to wonder whether that was thinking too narrowly about how she could have an impact. That’s when she began to explore impact investing.

Gamifying global education

Robert Friedman channels the spirit that helped him launch businesses to fuel charitable endeavors, taking them from local to global. He’s exploring ways to bring affordable internet-based curricula from the world’s top educators to children everywhere.

More than just an education

After building homes for the poor in Guatemala, Bob and Joan Scheel knew they could make another lasting difference through education. So they funded a school that has allowed more than 1,400 kids in Guatemala to receive more than just an education.

Recycling soap for hygiene

Dr. Amir Lakhani and his wife, Dr. Dilshad Sumar-Lakhani, know what it’s like to grow up without the basics of human comfort. So when they heard about a nonprofit sending sanitation supplies to refugees in the Middle East, they saw an opportunity to help.

Finding joy in giving back

When Carl Golub lost his daughter to cancer in 2012, he established a donor-advised memorial fund in her name. Today he continues to honor her legacy by supporting veterans causes, medical research, feeding the hungry and more.

A passion for helping others

When Lynda Fox started volunteering in college, she didn't know it would kick-start a lifelong commitment to giving back. Today, she supports over 40 charities a year with her family's donor-advised fund, and her impact reaches from California to Nepal.