Due to an uncertain tax climate and several years of strong markets, 2012 was a record year for “donor advised” charitable gift funds at Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab and Vanguard Group.

from The Wall Street Journal:

The Boom in Charitable Funds

Schwab opened more than 2,300 new accounts during the six months from July through December, more than twice the number during the same period a year earlier. Contributions to new and existing accounts more than tripled for the same period, from about $500 million to nearly $1.6 billion, according to a company spokesman.

At Vanguard, December contributions of $447 million outpaced year-earlier figures by nearly 50%, and the number of contributions rose by two-thirds, to 2,512 from 1,502 in 2012, according to a spokesman.

A spokesman for Fidelity, which has not published final numbers, said 2012 was a record year both for contributions to and gifts made from its donor-advised funds.