Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program
Unclaimed70/100 · Good evidence
Public-record listing · US · https://www.vanguardcharitable.org
Unclaimed listing. This firm has not registered or claimed this page. Everything here comes from public records and the firm’s own public website, as of 2026-10-17.
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What they do
Large US donor-advised fund sponsor (public charity). Minimums, tiered administrative fees and policies are published. No litigation naming the organization was found in federal dockets reviewed by caption.
Public-record summary. Category: Donor-advised fund (S03). Fees: Published: $25,000 initial contribution (later contributions $5,000+); admin fee 0.60% on first $500,000, 0.30% next $500,000, 0.11% next $4M, 0.09% next $10M, 0.08% next $15M; $250/yr maintenance fee for accounts under $25,000.
Strategies offered
- Donor-Advised Funds Public record source
Evidence score
70/100 · Good evidence47 of 67 applicable points = 70. Rubric v1.1 (2026-10-17). Retrieved 2026-10-17.
16 points are pending because the item could not be checked from public records. If every pending item were verified, the score could reach up to 94 (limited by caps or by items that don't apply). How this is calculated.
| Category | Points | |
|---|---|---|
| Regulatory record (weight 25) | 12 / 20 | |
| Tax-controversy record (weight 20) | 16 / 20 | |
| Litigation & complaints (weight 15) | 9 / 15 | |
| Transparency (weight 15) | 8 / 8 | |
| Substance & verifiability (weight 15) | 0 / 0 | |
| Structure quality (weight 10) | 2 / 4 |
Red flags
No red flags (RF1-RF13) were triggered by the public evidence reviewed.
Evidence by item
Each line shows the points awarded, how it was checked and a source link where one exists.
Regulatory record · 12 / 20
| Item | Points | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| R1 Registration status verified for firm and soliciting individuals where required (BD/IA/state; insurance producer if relevant) | n/a | Not applicable | Public-charity DAF sponsor; donor contributions are irrevocable gifts, not securities purchases. (Charitable status not re-verified on IRS TEOS in this review.) |
| R2 No SEC/FINRA disciplinary events for the firm (10-yr lookback) | 8 / 8 | VERIFIED (nothing found) | No SEC/FINRA actions against the charity found (IAPD/BrokerCheck searches returned no matching firm; CourtListener RECAP reviewed by caption). source |
| R3 No disciplinary events for principals/control persons (10-yr lookback) | 0 / 6 | UNVERIFIED | Individual-level checks for principals were not performed in this review (principals are not listed on this page). |
| R4 No state securities-regulator or state AG actions against firm/principals | 4 / 4 | VERIFIED (nothing found) | No state AG action found by web search. Not exhaustive. |
| R5 Named licensed professionals (CPA/attorney/EA) in good standing | 0 / 2 | UNVERIFIED | Licensed-professional good standing needs state CPA board / bar lookups for named individuals; not performed in this pilot. |
Tax-controversy record · 16 / 20
| Item | Points | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 Strategy is not a listed transaction / transaction of interest and not a current Dirty Dozen theme | 4 / 8 | VERIFIED | DAF gifts are not listed, but accepting non-cash assets is adjacent to 2026 Dirty Dozen #9 (non-cash charitable schemes) (rubric: 4). source |
| T2 No DOJ Tax Division injunctions / IRC ยงยง6700, 6701 promoter cases against firm or principals | 6 / 6 | VERIFIED (nothing found) | No DOJ promoter case found. source |
| T3 No adverse Tax Court / appellate opinions involving the sponsor's prior deals | 4 / 4 | VERIFIED (nothing found) | No adverse Tax Court opinions on its program found. source |
| T4 Provides clear reportable-transaction disclosure guidance (Form 8886/8918) where applicable | 2 / 2 | VERIFIED | Strategy is not a listed transaction/TOI, so Form 8886/8918 guidance is N/A-justified (rubric: 2 = clear or N/A-justified). source |
Litigation & complaints · 9 / 15
| Item | Points | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| L1 No material civil fraud/misrepresentation litigation (firm, principals, affiliates) | 6 / 6 | VERIFIED (nothing found) | No federal civil case captioned against Vanguard Charitable found (CourtListener RECAP hits reviewed by caption). State courts not searched. source |
| L2 Complaint pattern reasonable (BBB, state AG, CFPB where relevant) | 0 / 4 | UNVERIFIED | Complaint history (BBB / state AG) not checked. |
| L3 No bankruptcy/insolvency pattern among principals or affiliates | 3 / 3 | VERIFIED (nothing found) | No bankruptcy case captioned against the organization found (CourtListener). source |
| L4 Entities in good standing with Secretary of State; legal entity names match marketing | 0 / 2 | UNVERIFIED | Secretary of State good-standing not checked: state portals checked use CAPTCHA (e.g., SC businessfilings.sc.gov); not bypassed. Needs a manual lookup or paid registry pull. |
Transparency · 8 / 8
| Item | Points | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| X1 Fees and total costs published or provided in writing before commitment | 4 / 4 | VERIFIED | Tiered admin fee schedule, minimums and maintenance fee are published (fee schedule PDF dated Aug. 2025). source |
| X2 Offering documents available before commitment; Form D on EDGAR where applicable | 4 / 4 | VERIFIED | Policies and guidelines published (Form D not applicable to charitable gifts). source |
| X3 Names tax counsel / opinion issuer and allows direct verification | n/a | Not applicable | No tax-opinion product; deduction rules come from the Code (Sec. 170). |
| X4 Discloses audit/examination and claim history of prior deals | n/a | Not applicable | Not a transaction sponsor with 'prior deals'. |
Substance & verifiability · 0 / 0
| Item | Points | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| V1 Underlying assets independently verifiable (e.g., interconnection agreements, utility records, deeds, dated site evidence) | n/a | Not applicable | No investment asset sold to donors. |
| V2 Placed-in-service / completion evidence for prior projects | n/a | Not applicable | Not applicable. |
| V3 Appraisals by independent credentialed appraisers (not promoter-selected) | n/a | Not applicable | Qualified appraisals for non-cash gifts are the donor's obligation (Form 8283). |
| V4 Pre-tax economic substance: investment case exists apart from tax benefits | n/a | Not applicable | Charitable gift; no investment return expected. |
Structure quality · 2 / 4
| Item | Points | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 Independent legal opinion (not solely promoter-paid boilerplate) | n/a | Not applicable | Not applicable. |
| Q2 Tax insurance verified directly with named carrier/broker (policy exists, scope understood) | n/a | Not applicable | Not applicable. |
| Q3 Fees reasonable relative to comparable offerings | 0 / 2 | UNVERIFIED | Needs a written fee comparison set of >=3 comparable offerings; not built in this pilot. |
| Q4 No guaranteed outcomes, benefit multiples or 'audit-proof' claims | 2 / 2 | VERIFIED | No guarantee or eliminate-tax language found on the fee and policy pages reviewed. source |
Questions to ask this firm
- Pull Form 990 officers for R3.
- Non-cash gift acceptance safeguards (for T1).
About these scores. Scores reflect only publicly available evidence found as of the retrieval date shown, scored with the same rubric for every firm. They are not an endorsement, rating of quality, accusation or statement about any person. Items we could not check from public records earn no points and are marked Unverified; a firm can supply proof to update them. How we score · Request a correction
Complaints
0 complaints under review · 0 substantiated · 0 with a response from the firm.
Complaints are an allegation until a reviewer decides. We show only the category and status, never the complainant’s identity, the description or any documents. Private complaints are counted but not itemized. The firm can respond by claiming this listing.
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Verification and listing notice
"Verified" means our staff checked the identity, business-registration, and credential details listed against the sources named, on the date shown. It is not an endorsement, rating, or recommendation. Firm- and advisor-reported information is their own statement. Listings are alphabetical; payment never affects order, scores, or warnings.