Celebrating 20 years of generosity

It’s our anniversary. Twenty years ago, in June 2000, Raymond James Charitable was established. We are thrilled to celebrate 20 years of incredible generosity, as well as the meaningful impact your donations have made.

Because giving to the causes and organizations you hold dear shouldn’t be complicated, our mission is to provide simple and effective giving solutions. We are honored to support so many charitably minded clients in their philanthropy efforts – to help you shape communities and change lives.

The kickoff event for what was initially called the Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund was held November 28, 2000, at the Tampa Museum of Art. We finished that first calendar year with 51 accounts and $6.9 million in assets.

It was just the beginning.

We now have more than 5,000 accounts and have helped donors support charities with more than $645 million in grants through four programs: donor advised funds, charitable gift annuities, pooled income funds and charity advised accounts.

Our board has expanded from three to five members, with two of the original board members still seated: Frances Neu and current Chairman Thomas Wilkins, whose leadership has been vital to our program’s growth. We started a newsletter, adopted a logo, developed an online interface for accepting grant recommendations and expanded our strategies.

It’s been a marvelous first 20 years.

Whether you’re looking to support the organizations you care about, share your values of stewardship with family or explore tax-efficient giving strategies, we’re here to help. We also appreciate and remember fondly the donors who have entrusted our team to carry out their philanthropic goals beyond their lifetimes through planned gifts.

To all our donors, we thank you for letting Raymond James Charitable be part of your philanthropy.

Raymond James Charitable milestones

2000 – Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund is established and receives nonprofit status with board members Frances Neu, Robert Shuck and Thomas Wilkins; receives first application on October 26; ends first calendar year with 51 accounts and $6.9 million in assets

2002 – Launches Powerful Giving newsletter

2006 – Debuts interface to accept grant recommendations online

Before and after: original logo on the top and redesigned logo at the bottom.

2010 – Reaches 1,000 accounts

2015 – Reaches 2,000 accounts; adopts new logo

2017 – Receives more than $100 million in contributions and reaches 3,000 accounts

2019 – Distributes more than $100 million in grants in a single year

2020– Reaches 5,000 accounts during a record year: more than $328 million in contributions received and $130 million in grants distributed