What is a Philanthropist? - Fidelity Charitable

A philanthropist is a person who donates time, money, experience, skills or talent to help create a better world. Anyone can be a philanthropist, ... GivingguidanceforthehumanitariancrisisinUkraine GivingguidanceforUkraine × Whatisaphilanthropist? Anyonecanbeaphilanthropistandbemoreeffectiveatmakingadifference.Here’show. Aphilanthropistisapersonwhodonatestime,money,experience,skillsortalenttohelpcreateabetterworld.Anyonecanbeaphilanthropist,regardlessofstatusornetworth. Whatisphilanthropy? GreekplaywrightAeschyluscoinedthetermphilanthropyinthe5thcenturyBCE.Itmeant“loveofhumanity.”Today,philanthropymeansgenerosityinallitsformsandisoftendefinedasgivinggiftsof“time,talentandtreasure”tohelpmakelifebetterforotherpeople. Youcanpracticephilanthropybymakingamonetarygift,suchasadonationtoacauseyoubelievein.Youcanalsopracticephilanthropybygivingyourtime—servinginasoupkitchen,tutoringateenorengaginginanyothervolunteeractivitythataimstoimprovelives.Sotheanswerto“whatisaphilanthropist”isapersonwhoexhibitsthesebehaviors,regardlessofhowmanyresources(orhowfew)thatpersonhas. Whoarefamousphilanthropists? Somephilanthropistsareknownforgivingawaysubstantialsumstoaidsociety—peoplelikeJohnD.RockefellerandWarrenBuffett.Othersareknownfortheirgoodworks,suchasMotherTeresaandPaulFarmer. Butthevastmajorityofphilanthropistsaren’tfamous—andmanypeoplevolunteerinsteadoforinadditiontowhattheycontributefinancially.Accordingtothisstudyonvolunteerism,morethan60percentofcharitabledonorsarealsorecentvolunteers. WantmoreinfobeforeyouopenaGivingAccount? Signuptoreceiveoccasionalnews,informationandtipsthatsupportsmarterphilanthropicimpactthroughadonor-advisedfund. Email: PleaseenteravalidEmail Signup Thankyou!Youareonyourwaytomakingmoreofadifference. Checkyourinboxsoonforusefultipsonhowcharitablegivingcanhelpyousaveontaxesthisyearoroverseveralyears. Whatarethebenefitsofbeingaphilanthropist? Manyphilanthropistsaredrivenbyadeepdesiretosolvesocialproblemsandhelpothers.Inaddition,theU.S.federaltaxcodeincentivizesgivinginavarietyofways,providingdonorswithdeductionsagainstincome,capitalgainsandestatetaxesforcharitablecontributions. Agrowingbodyofscientificevidencealsoshowsthatphilanthropybenefitsthegiveraswellasthereceiverintermsofwell-being.Researchershavefoundthatphilanthropycontributestothefollowingpositiveeffects: Greateroverallhappiness Lowerstresslevels Betterphysicalhealth Heightenedsenseofconnectiontoothers HowcanIbecomeaphilanthropist? Youdon’tneedmillionsofdollarstobeaphilanthropist.Youcansimplydonate“time,talentortreasure”towarddoinggood,butyoucanincreasetheimpactofyourgivingbythinkingstrategically.Educationalresourceslike BoostYourGivingIQ providesworksheetsandothertoolsforthoseinterestedinsmartergiving.Thesetoolscanhelpyoudecide what’simportanttoyou andthencreatean actionplan thatmaximizesyourresources. Additionally,youmaybeabletogivemoretoyourcharitablemissionbyusingspecificfinancialstrategies,suchascontributing long-termappreciatedsecurities insteadofcashorsettingupa donor-advisedfund. Andsomedonorssetup givingcircles,whichbringindividualstogethertopooltheirresourcesaroundacommoncausetohaveagreaterimpact.Therearemanyalternatives,eachwithitsownrequirementsandbenefits. Whatisphilanthropylikeinthe21stcentury? Increasingtransparencyintononprofitoperations,advancesintechnologyandchangingattitudestowardwealthcontinuetoshapethewayindividualsapproachtheirgiving,accordingtoastudyofmorethan3,000donorsonthe2016futureofphilanthropy. Transparency:Manydonorshaveincreasedtheirfocusonresults.Accordingtothereport,41percentofdonorssaytheyhavechangedtheirgivingbecauseofwhattheylearnedaboutnonprofiteffectiveness. Technology:Morethanaquarter(27percent)ofdonorssaythattheyhavechangedtheirapproachtogivingbecausetechnologyhasprovidedtoolsforresearchingandfundingcharitableprojectsandorganizations. Changingattitudes:Somedonorssaythattheyhavechangedtheirgivingbecauseoftrendssuchasdonatingwealthtocharityratherthanpassingitontofamily. Inadditiontochangesinoverallapproachestogiving,donorsarealsochanginghowtheyfinancetheirgiving.Thefollowingstrategiesarebecomingmorepopularandcommon: Impactinvesting:Investingthataimstoachievespecificsocialorenvironmentalbenefitsinadditiontoafinancialreturn.Alsocalledsocialimpactinvesting,itputsmarketstoworkforprofitandglobalgood. Donationsofnon-cashassets:Convertingstocksandsecurities,limitedpartnershipinterests,realestateandothernon-cashassetsintofundsforcharitablegiving. In2021,two-thirdsofcontributionstoFidelityCharitablewerenon-cashassets. Donor-advisedfunds:Aphilanthropicaccountthatallowsdonorstomakeacontributiontoacharity,qualifyforanimmediatetaxdeductionandthenrecommendgrantsovertime.It’sthefastest-growingcharitablegivingvehicleintheUnitedStatesbecauseit’sasimple,flexibleandtax-efficientwaytogivetocharity. HowFidelityCharitablecanhelp Since1991,wehavebeenhelpingdonorslikeyousupporttheirfavoritecharitiesinsmarterways.Wecanhelpyouexplorethedifferentcharitablevehiclesavailableandexplainhowyoucancomplementandmaximizeyourcurrentgivingstrategywithadonor-advisedfund.JoinmorethanaquartermilliondonorswhochooseFidelityCharitabletomaketheirgivingsimpleandmoreeffective. GivingAccountBenefits Readytogetstarted? OpeningaGivingAccountisfastandeasy,andthereisnominimuminitialcontribution. OpenaGivingAccount Orcallusat1-800-262-6039