The Chronicle, 4/28/2005: Growing Assets and Concerns

The Chronicle, 4/28/2005: Growing Assets and Concerns: "Growing Assets and Concerns
Proposed rules could hurt popularity of advised funds
Spurred by a rising stock market, donor-advised funds grew rapidly for the second straight year in 2004,

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STATISTICAL DATA: Donor-Advised Funds: Assets, Awards, and Accounts at a Sampling of Big Providers

TABLE: Percentage of Assets Donor-Advised Funds Distributed




according to The Chronicle's sixth annual survey of gift funds. But dark clouds loom over the funds -- one of the fastest-growing segments of philanthropy -- as the stock market has fallen sharply in recent weeks and members of Congress are considering new rules that some nonprofit officials worry could reduce the popularity of the funds.
Assets of donor-advised funds at the 88 organizations that provided figures for both 2003 and 2004 to The Chronicle grew by a median of nearly 15 percent last year, meaning that the value of half of the funds increased more than that and half climbed less or decreased. The organizations that participated in the survey collectively held $13-billion in assets and distributed $2.6-billion to charities. "