Fidelity Charitable Employee Match Program

The contributions allocated to a Giving Account are made by an employee or spouse/domestic partner. Grants from a Giving Account must meet Fidelity Charitable Policy Guidelines.

After an employee qualifies for the match, Fidelity Investments contributes into a Match Account (a sub-account accessed through the employee’s Giving Account). The match is based on the dollar amount the employee or spouse/domestic partner has contributed. Grants from a Match Account must meet Fidelity Charitable Program Guidelines as well as Fidelity's match guidelines.

You or your spouse/domestic partner can make Match-eligible contributions to Fidelity Charitable as long as the contributions are from an account on which the employee is listed as a registered owner (primary or secondary), and the funds were not contributed directly or indirectly by anyone other than you or your spouse/domestic partner.

Fidelity will aggregate each eligible employee's total Fidelity Charitable contribution(s) for the calendar year and provide a corresponding match amount that will be allocated into a Match Account, a sub-account of one of the employee's Giving Accounts.

All full and part-time Fidelity employees are eligible to establish a Giving Account for the $100 minimum to participate in the Match Program. Unfortunately, at this time, contract employees, including Veritude contracts, are not eligible for the employee match, but are welcome to establish a Giving Account with no minimum initial contribution requirement.

No, at this time, the minimum account fee is not assessed to Giving Accounts of current Fidelity employees.

No. Regardless of your employment status at Fidelity, once the funds have been allocated to your Match Account, they will remain there until you've recommended that the balance of the Match Account be granted.

Yes. You can name up to three additional Account Holders on your Giving Account - and they do not need to work at Fidelity. Anyone named on your Giving Account can make grant recommendations, unless they are provided non-transactional access. You may also name individuals to succeed you on your Giving Account, or you may choose to name one or more nonprofit organization(s) as the end beneficiary. The Giving Account is flexible when it comes to creating your charitable legacy.

Early the following year, Fidelity will begin a certification process to ensure you are still an eligible employee and that the contribution you made is eligible to receive a matching gift from Fidelity. In the spring, the match funds will be allocated to your Match Account, a sub-account of your Giving Account. Once the match funds have been allocated, you can begin recommending Match Account grants.

No, balance transfers are not permitted. Once funds are in the Match Account, they cannot be transferred into your Giving Account or vice versa.

No. There is no requirement that you make additional contributions to Fidelity Charitable once your Giving Account has been funded.

Under the pre-clearance policy, you do not need to pre-clear transactions where the securities are being transferred as a gift or donation. Since Fidelity Charitable is an independent public charity, securities contributed to it are charitable contributions and do not need to be pre-cleared. For more information, view the Fidelity Code of Ethics for Personal Investing.

Yes, if you are classified as an Access Person, you need to report any gift/contribution made to Fidelity Charitable from any of your Covered Accounts. You should make the required gift/contribution report by completing your Quarterly Trade Verification (“QTV”). Access Persons complete their QTVs online in the month following the end of each calendar quarter. The QTV has a specific section to enter any gifts/contributions of securities that are either given or received during the reporting period. For more information, view the Fidelity Code of Ethics for Personal Investing.

The Employee Match is a Fidelity Investments employee benefit and, similar to corporate matching programs at many other national companies, Fidelity feels that employees should use personal funds to support their religious interests.

Unfortunately, Fidelity Charitable does not perform due diligence unless it has received a donor's grant recommendation. If Fidelity Charitable is able to make the grant, it will be processed and you will receive a grant confirmation. If the organization you recommended is not eligible for a Match Account grant, you will receive a notification from Fidelity Charitable as to why it is not eligible.

Yes, you do have another option. If a grant was not approved because it was ineligible to receive a Match Account grant, you may request that the same grant be made from your Giving Account balance. Of course, it still must meet all requirements found in the Fidelity Charitable Program Guidelines.

Absolutely—and many of our donors do just this. There is a special section in the grant recommendation process where you will be asked if you want the grant to be made in honor of or in memory of someone. Additionally, you can designate a specific program at the charity for which you would like the grant to be used.