According to Giving USA, Americans gave total contributions of $260.28 billion for 2005. Generous by most standards and partly fueled by tax savings.

If you are considering a year-end charitable gift, Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund's Securities Donation Calculator will help you measure the tax savings from selling the securities and contributing the proceeds to charity and paying any associated capital gains tax compared to giving the securities directly to charity and avoiding capital gains tax.

The tax savings from contributing directly can be significant, so if you are inclined to give securities this year, consider giving directly to cut your tax bill.