Vanguard Charitable

What it reported doing in 2024

Vanguard charitable is a leading u.s. Nonprofit organization that fulfills its mission to increase philanthropy and maximize its impact over time by administering a donor-advised fund, a tax-effective way to consolidate, accrue, and grant assets to charity. The unique structure of our personal philanthropic accounts allows donors to be strategic about giving and manage their charitable donations in a tax-effective, flexible, and convenient way. Those attributes, coupled with our low costs and meaningful charitable guidance, help donors maximize their philanthropic impact. Through these philanthropic accounts, we help donors fulfill charitable missions that reflect the people and causes they care about most, and together, we support tens of thousands of nonprofit organizations every year. Outside the immediate benefits, such as a charitable tax deduction that can enable greater generosity, our philanthropic accounts also offer charitable assets the opportunity to grow tax-free through a range of high-quality investment options that span the risk spectrum. Vanguard charitable makes it easier to manage charitable donations by alleviating the administrative burden and time required to invest assets, conduct charity due diligence, and issue grants. Our philanthropic accounts reduce work and streamline costs for donors without sacrificing charitable impact. During this fiscal year, vanguard charitable distributed approximately 13.4% of assets (based on a 5-year rolling average) in grants for charitable purposes, principally to other qualified 501(c)(3) public charities and governmental organizations exclusively for public purposes. Vanguard charitable issued 247,736 grants totaling over $3.5 billion. These grants benefited local, regional, national and global causes. Since its inception in 1997, vanguard charitable has granted more than $22.9 billion to qualified charitable donees.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 59.6%; rating input score 60
• Program expense ratio: 99.6%; rating input score 100
• Fundraising efficiency: $1,444.5 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Pass
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
  • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
  • Requires narrative reports: Fail
  • Conducts field audits: Fail
  • May suspend future funding: Fail
  • Requires financial reports: Fail
  • Conducts site visits: Fail
  • Requires grant agreements: Fail
  • May require repayment: Fail
• Grant itemization coverage: 98.6%; rating input score 99; 36th percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Scored; rating input score 0

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 46.9%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.71; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 0.1%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: Limited
• Revenue growth: Limited
• Asset growth: Limited