The number of grants recommended from Vanguard Charitable donor-advised accounts to other charities increased sharply in 2010, with nearly 34,000 grants totaling approximately $541 million donated to deserving causes. Grant distributions increased 50%, from $361 million a year earlier, and the average grant amount rose 35% from 2009, to nearly $16,000 per distribution.

Additionally, Vanguard Charitable saw its number of new accounts grow by more than 77% over 2009.

Along with the dramatic growth in new accounts, the organization saw a significant increase in the number of existing donors making additional gifts to their donor-advised accounts – up 30% over the previous year. In addition, the gifting of appreciated securities rebounded strongly with the markets in 2010. Vanguard Charitable saw an increase of 75% in donations of appreciated stocks and a 46% increase in donations of appreciated mutual funds in calendar year 2010. Contributions to Vanguard Charitable in 2010 totaled $490 million, down about 9% from the previous calendar year.