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Account opening
This tutorial guides you in opening a Giving Account on behalf of your client through our advisor platform, GivingCentral. If you have not already done so, you’ll need to register on GivingCentral.
1. To get started, determine whether your client’s Giving Account will be set up through Fidelity Charitable’s investment pools or enrolled in the Charitable Investment Advisor Program (CIAP).
For accounts opened through the Charitable Investment Advisor Program, review responsibilities in the corresponding pop-up box and press “Continue to Set Up.”
If opening a Giving Account enrolled in the Charitable Investment Advisor Program, proceed to the next slide.
We define “primary advisor” as the client’s main contact at your firm. Fidelity Charitable will send your client an email to approve the setup of this Giving Account.
1. Select the name of the primary advisor from the Registered advisor drop-down menu.
If you don’t see the appropriate contact in the drop-down menu, select “Refer a new advisor” and provide the required information.
2. Request the appropriate level of access, as determined by your client.
Review the levels of access and their provisions to guide your client’s decision-making. The client will be approving this after you complete the setup.
3. If your firm custodies with Fidelity Investments, please provide the appropriate G-number.
If opening a Giving Account NOT enrolled in the Charitable Investment Advisor Program, proceed to Step 2 – Primary account holder information.
A nominated advisor is nominated by his or her client as an independent investment advisor to provide investment advisory and management services for Fidelity Charitable assets held in a Giving Account.
1. Select the name of the nominated advisor from the designated drop-down menu if you are not the nominated advisor.
Fidelity Charitable will notify the nominated advisor with a request to review and approve the Giving Account setup after his or her nomination has been approved.
2. If your firm custodies with Fidelity Investments, list the G-numbers associated with your firm to view Giving Account information in WealthScape.
If opening a Giving Account NOT enrolled in the Charitable Investment Advisor Program, proceed to Step 2 – Primary account holder information.
Indicate the investment fee that your firm will assess to the Giving Account..
1. Determine the rate, amount, frequency, billing style, and which balance will be used for fee charges and indicate whether additional fees will be assessed to the account.
2. Indicate how dividends and gains in the advisor-managed portion of the account will be handled and then proceed to Step 2 – Primary account holder information.
1. Provide all relevant information about your client.
It is important to have all client information available prior to getting started, as you cannot save mid-process or proceed to the next step without completing all required fields.
2. Add another account holder.
You may add up to three additional account holders per Giving Account. All account holders have equal privileges.
Tip: Verify all formatting is correct before selecting the “Next” button to avoid having to reenter information.
After entering the basic client information, you will need to provide how your client and the Giving Account should be referred to in all correspondence.
1. Provide the Giving Account name.
This name is used for communications by Fidelity Charitable and will be seen by charities when your client recommends a grant, unless anonymity is selected at the time of granting.
2. Provide the correspondence name for the primary account holder.
Your client’s Giving Account must be established prior to naming a successor. This step serves as a reminder to talk with your client about his or her legacy. Select “Next” to proceed.
Further resources: Guidance around how to name a donor-advised fund. Learn how to set up a successor for your client digitally.
Upon completion of the setup process, you must confirm that all advisor and donor information is correct.
1. Review all information provided in the prior steps.
If any information appears incorrect, use the “Edit” button to insert corrections or navigate back to the appropriate step and revise.
2. Submit to verify information.
Submitting this request includes your acceptance of the Terms and Conditions.
3. The new Giving Account will show on your GivingCentral dashboard as pending until your client completes the approval process. Your client will also receive an email requesting approval of the Giving Account. Upon his or her approval, the Giving Account is officially open.
Tip: You can resend the client approval email from your GivingCentral dashboard at any time.
For Advisors
GivingCentral is an online platform that allows advisors easy access to your client’s Giving Account and streamlines your connection to Fidelity Charitable. If you have not accessed GivingCentral before, the two most common ways to access it are:
The required steps involve working with your firm administrator. That individual should update your entitlements on the G number you use to access Wealthscape so you can access GivingCentral. Below are the steps for your firm administrator to follow:
From the User ID Maintenance tool. They should select:
And either:
If your Firm Administrator cannot see the Fidelity Charitable entitlements in the Wealthscape User ID Maintenance tool, they must submit the User Administration for Additional Entitlements Form to IWS. They can find the form in the Wealthscape forms library located on the Service menu. If you do not know who your Firm Administrator is, please call your IWS service contact.
The fastest way to open a Giving Account for your client is by using GivingCentral.
From GivingCentral, click on the ‘Set Up a Giving Account’ button in the upper right-hand corner. You will be prompted through a series of short steps to open the account. Use this tutorial as a step-by-step guide.
Once you complete the account opening process, an email will be sent to your client for approval of the Giving Account. If, for any reason, your client does not receive the approval email, they can easily access the online approval page.
You will not be able to see the Giving Account fully until your client approves your access request.
If account access is not requested during the account opening process, it can be requested at any time from the GivingCentral dashboard.
Advisors using Wealthscape will have single sign-on links to GivingCentral on the Service and Account menus of Wealthscape. When these links are selected, the advisor will be taken to GivingCentral without having to provide a username or password.
If an advisor selects the Fidelity Charitable link from the Menu tab under Service, they will be taken to an aggregate list of their clients’ Giving Accounts in GivingCentral. By selecting a Giving Account Name, they will be taken directly into that specific Giving Account.