Fidelity Charitable board of trustees elects Lenny Mendonca as chair

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BOSTON, March 2, 2022 – Fidelity Charitable, an independent public charity with the nation’s largest donor-advised fund program, today announced that Lenny Mendonca has been elected chair of its board of trustees.

Mendonca, who has served as a trustee of Fidelity Charitable since 2015, is a lecturer on inequality at the Stanford Business School and a senior partner emeritus of McKinsey & Company. During his time with McKinsey, he founded its U.S. state and local public sector consulting practice. He also oversaw McKinsey’s knowledge development, chairing the McKinsey Global Institute, as well as serving for a decade on the McKinsey Shareholder Council. From February 2019 through April 2020, he served as the chief economic and business advisor to Governor Gavin Newsom of California and chair of the California High Speed Rail Authority.

“Lenny’s long commitment to public service and philanthropy makes him an ideal choice to chair our board at a time when our focus is sharper than ever on ways to expand our already broad donor base and empower all Americans to give more,” said Jacob Pruitt, president of Fidelity Charitable.

Mendonca serves on a number of boards, including Western Governors University, The Educational Results Partnership, The College Futures Foundation, Commonwealth Club, California Emerging Technology Fund, and California Competes. His board service includes time as chair of New America and Children Now, co-chair of California Forward, co-founder and chair of Fusecorps, and vice chair of Common Cause. He is the chair emeritus of the Bay Area Council and their Economic Institute and was vice chair of the Stanford GSB Advisory Council. Mendonca holds an AB, magna cum laude, in economics from Harvard University. He received his MBA and certificate in public management from Stanford University.

“I’m proud to help lead an organization that is allowing more donors to grant more dollars to charity during this time when the importance of supporting the work of the social sector is underscored,” Mendonca said. “I am honored to partner with my colleagues on the board and the leaders of Fidelity Charitable to continue to expand access to smarter and even higher impact giving.”

Mendonca replaces Alfred E. Osborne Jr., Ph.D., who served on the board of Fidelity Charitable for over 13 years, the past five as its chair. Osborne is senior associate dean and professor of global economics, management and entrepreneurship at the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management and is faculty director of the Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

During Osborne’s time as chair, Fidelity Charitable saw a time of unprecedented growth. Annual grants nearly tripled from $3.5 billion in 2016 to over $10 billion in 2021, bringing the charity’s total impact to $61 billion in grants supporting more than 357,000 nonprofits. The number of Giving Account donor-advised funds also nearly doubled from about 90,000 to more than 174,000 by the close of 2021.

“Al provided smart, steady guidance during a period that included both exponential growth and unprecedented global challenges,” Pruitt said. “He served our charity with great distinction and played a key leadership role in broadening the tent of philanthropy to ensure that people from all walks of life are included. We wish him well and we are grateful for his service.”

About Fidelity Charitable

Fidelity Charitable is an independent public charity that has helped donors support more than 357,000 nonprofit organizations with over $61 billion in grants. Established in 1991, Fidelity Charitable launched the first national donor-advised fund program. The mission of the organization is to grow the American tradition of philanthropy by providing programs that make charitable giving accessible, simple, and effective. For more information about Fidelity Charitable, visit  www.fidelitycharitable.org.