For the eighth year in a row, the Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund ranked fifth on the Chronicle of Philanthropy's annual ranking of the top fundraising charities, the New York Times reports. The list was topped by the Salvation Army, followed by the YMCA, the American Red Cross, and the American Cancer Society.

Fidelity Investments' Charitable Gift Fund is a donor-advised fund that allows individuals to deposit a sum of at least $10,000 into a gift fund and then allocate the money to the charities and tax-exempt organizations of their choice. In addition, donors who give appreciated stock to the fund get to write off the full value of the shares while avoiding capital gains taxes. The success of fund, which currently has some $2.5 billion in assets and more than 22,000 donors, has encouraged other financial institutions to start charitable funds of their own.

While such funds are attracting new capital to the world of philanthropy, some nonprofit experts worry that the the charitable activities of such funds mask their real purpose.

"I don't think Fidelity should have a tax exemption as a public charity," commented Albert Rodriguez, an attorney who frequently represents nonprofit organizations, "because I don't think they're organized for a charitable purpose. They're organized for a commercial purpose. Basically, they operate to make a profit for Fidelity, not to help their community."

Other experts, however, view donor-advised funds such as Fidelity's as a welcome addition to the world of philanthropy — a way to attract and spark interest in charitable giving.

"The good news is that with all the different choices, donor-advised funds are attracting a lot of new money for philanthropy," said Sara Engelhardt, president of the Foundation Center. "Philanthropy used to be something people did mostly at the end of their life, often in their wills. Now more people are thinking about it at younger ages, as soon as they begin making a lot of money."