Features of a Schwab Charitable™ donor-advised fund account

This is a transcript of unscripted speech, rather than written prose, and therefore should not be relied on for grammatical accuracy. This is not a verbatim transcript. Parts have been slightly modified to improve readability.

How to open an account

Welcome to a simple, efficient, and tax smart way to give. Opening a Schwab Charitable account online takes 15 minutes for most donors.  

Here’s what you need: an address, Social Security number, date of birth, contact information, and signature for each account holder. You must also agree with our Program Policies.  

Let’s review the process step by step, starting on our website, schwabcharitable.org. At the upper right, go to Open an Account, then click Start the Online Application. You can either enter your Schwab login ID and password or select I’m New to Schwab.  

First, you’ll provide your personal information. Next, create your personalized account name and indicate the source of funds for your account contributions. Note that there is no minimum initial contribution to open your account and you can make contributions at any time. 

Want to add others to your account? That’s easy. Select Yes, click Next, and enter secondary account holder details, including email addresses. All account holders must complete the application process before your account is opened.  

At this point, you can choose to receive account documents electronically through email. You can also create a succession plan by naming individuals to take over the account or charities to receive account assets after your lifetime.  

In addition, you may invest your contributions for potential growth that’s tax-free. Choose from a wide range of investment pools based on your specific goals.  

Now, simply review our Terms and Conditions, provide your consent in three areas, and click Submit. Your application is set in motion. Any additional account holders will receive an email and have 10 days to complete their portion of the application using the four-digit PIN you entered. Once your account is open, you and any additional account holders will receive a welcome email.  

Congratulations! You’ve taken the first step toward maximizing the impact of your charitable giving. If you have any questions, just ask. We’re here to help. 

This is a transcript of unscripted speech, rather than written prose, and therefore should not be relied on for grammatical accuracy. This is not a verbatim transcript. Parts have been slightly modified to improve readability.

How to contribute to an account

Once your Schwab Charitable Account is open, you’re ready to contribute assets to it. Remember, any contribution you make is an irrevocable gift to charity.

There are four convenient ways to contribute to your account. You can transfer cash or publicly traded securities from another account. You can contribute non-cash assets that are not publicly traded, such as privately held business interests, real estate, and cryptocurrency. You can send checks or securities through mail, request an electronic funds transfer, or initiate a wire transfer. And you can request a grant from another donor-advised fund account or a private foundation.

Already a Schwab client with a brokerage account? Contributing publicly traded securities or cash from that account is easy. Log in to your Schwab Charitable account. Click Contribute, and select the Schwab account that will be the source of your contribution. Find the shares or lots you wish to contribute. Indicate the number of shares or select Lots and click Next. Last, acknowledge your agreement with the Terms and Conditions and click Submit.

Want to contribute cash or publicly traded securities from outside accounts? Click on the Schwab Charitable Transfer of Assets form. Complete and sign the form, and return it to Schwab Charitable by mail, by fax, or through a secure message while online. And if you want to mail checks or securities, or do an electronic funds transfer or wire transfer, you’ll find instructions at the end of the Transfer of Assets form. Please note that contributions of other non-cash assets are considered by Schwab Charitable on a case-by-case basis.

Whichever way you contribute, you’ll receive notification about your contribution and a receipt that can be used for taxes.

If you have any questions, just ask. We’re here to help.

This is a transcript of unscripted speech, rather than written prose, and therefore should not be relied on for grammatical accuracy. This is not a verbatim transcript. Parts have been slightly modified to improve readability.

How to invest and rebalance

A popular feature of a Schwab Charitable account is the ability to invest contributions for potential growth that’s tax free. Investing means you may have even more to grant to charities.  

You can select from a wide range of investment pools to meet your goals. Or, with an account balance of $250,000 or more, you can appoint an advisor to recommend and manage other investments. 

If you’re selecting investment pools yourself, making your selections or rebalancing account assets among the pools is simple. When logged in to your account, go to Invest. If your current allocation is out of balance with your target allocation, you can easily rebalance to your target allocation with three clicks. Start by clicking Rebalance. You’ll see a new investment pool allocation, or you can enter a different value in any pool’s New Allocation field, making sure the total for all pools equals 100%. To proceed, click Next. Finally, verify your new allocation and click Submit.  

If you’ve chosen to receive emails from Schwab Charitable, you’ll receive an email confirmation for your request.  

If you have any questions, just ask. We’re here to help. 

This is a transcript of unscripted speech, rather than written prose, and therefore should not be relied on for grammatical accuracy. This is not a verbatim transcript. Parts have been slightly modified to improve readability.

How to access giving records

With Schwab Charitable, it’s easy to keep track of your contributions and grants online, and you can access your giving records at any time, including tax season. Here’s how it works.

Once you log in to your Schwab Charitable account, go to Account and click on Statements. Here, you’ll find past quarterly statements of your account activity.

If you go to Account History, you’ll see areas where you can review all past grants and contributions, and view letters for each transaction. Your Contribution History contains contribution receipts, which can be used for tax purposes. And you can look in Account Letters for an annual summary of all contributions and grants.

If you have any questions, just ask. We’re here to help.