Two of the country’s largest sponsors of donor-advised funds have cut off the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Last week, the Justice Department indicted the civil rights nonprofit on charges of committing financial crimes. Many of the center’s supporters immediately went online to donate money to help it fight the federal government.

But Fidelity Charitable told its customers, who have over 350,000 charitable giving accounts that allow them to maximize tax savings while giving money to eligible nonprofits, that they could not donate to the center through the accounts anymore.

“Fidelity Charitable is aware of an ongoing governmental investigation into Southern Poverty Law Center,” according to an email it sent to a donor. “Consistent with our grant-making standards and practices, the organization is not an eligible grant recipient during the ongoing investigation.” Fidelity Charitable shares a parent company with Fidelity Investments.

Vanguard Charitable sent a similar message when denying a grant request: “The organization has had allegations and/or charges brought against them for activities that may call into question their ability to carry out their tax-exempt charitable purpose.”

Donor-advised funds allow people to donate money — including appreciated investments — to a fund that resembles a personal mini-foundation and take a tax deduction that year.

You don’t have to give the money away all at once. You can parcel it out over time, as long as the entity administering the donor-advised fund is willing to push that donation to the nonprofit recipient. Usually, this is a rubber-stamp approval process for legal nonprofits like the S.P.L.C.

But not always. Fidelity Charitable’s program guidelines state that account holders’ grant recommendations “are not binding and are subject to review and approval” by Fidelity Charitable’s trustees. A prudent trustee might choose to avoid many — or any — charities that are under investigation or indictment, even at the risk of offending an account holder.

A spokesman declined to answer questions about how the suspension was applied, aside from pointing to language on its website. There, it lists reasons that a grant recommendation “might” be declined, including if an organization “is being investigated for alleged illegal activities or noncharitable activities, such as terrorism, money laundering, hate crimes or fraud,” or if “other state and federal agencies” are investigating a charitable organization.

In 2023, the S.P.L.C. criticized Fidelity Charitable and other sponsors of donor-advised funds, including Vanguard, for acting as a “consistent and significant source of income for groups peddling a variety of hateful and extremist beliefs.” It specifically mentioned white nationalist, hard right and anti-LGBTQ+ groups.

Updated 

April 29, 2026, 3:40 p.m. ET

In an email, a Vanguard Charitable spokeswoman said that it makes grants “only to organizations that meet I.R.S. eligibility requirements. If we become aware an organization has been charged with a crime by state or federal authorities, we pause grant-making while the matter is pending.”

Ray Madoff, a Boston College law school professor, said in an interview that it is noteworthy that the Fidelity and Vanguard funds acted before any legal or judicial process had played out. For instance, the S.P.L.C. hasn’t lost its nonprofit status, even though it has been indicted.

“If you or I can still make an outright donation on our own, why can’t the funds do so on our behalf?” she said. “My answer is, if we can, then they can.”

Elaine Kenig, the Vanguard Charitable spokeswoman, said in an interview that any criminal indictment from a federal or state entity would trigger a pause for any nonprofit. Vanguard Charitable doesn’t attempt to evaluate the worth of the underlying charges, she said.

Any legal fight between the federal government and the S.P.L.C. is likely to go on for years. It’s unclear if that would impede the S.P.L.C.’s ability to carry out its tax-exempt charitable purpose as it plays out.

Neither Vanguard Charitable nor Fidelity Charitable would provide a list of other nonprofits that they have put on pause.

Daffy, a start-up aiming to expand access to donor-advised funds, is continuing to allow people to donate to the S.P.L.C.

“The I.R.S. is the principal U.S. government agency responsible for determining which organizations qualify as federal tax-exempt organizations, and Daffy generally relies on the I.R.S.’s determination,” it said via an emailed statement. “The Southern Poverty Law Center remains in good standing with the I.R.S., so Daffy members can make donation recommendations to the organization.”

In a recent “60 Minutes” interview, President Trump said, without providing evidence, that the racist rally in “Charlottesville was all funded” by the S.P.L.C. “It was done to make me look bad,” he added.

Last week’s indictment accused the S.P.L.C. of fomenting racism by paying informants who worked for hate groups. The organization responded by saying that the federal government had known about the payments and had used the intelligence provided by informants to enforce the law.

Charles Schwab did not comment about the policies for its affiliated DAFgiving360 funds; as of Wednesday morning, it was still possible for account holders to request a donation to the group.

An S.P.L.C. spokeswoman declined to offer an immediate comment on its donations or whether other funds have taken similar actions.