While the current economic crisis may have some donors considering a drop in donations this year, those who have already given to a donor-advised fund may be more likely to maintain previous levels of giving, reports Bloomberg News.

“The advised funds are acting to some extent as a regulator valve — people who made big stock gains in the last few years can take more out of the account than they’re putting in now,’‘ says Robert F. Sharpe, a Memphis, Tenn., lawyer and board member of Giving USA Foundation.

Meanwhile, officials at Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, the largest donor-advised fund in the country, say that while 12 percent more grants have been awarded this year over last year, contributions to the fund are down 35 percent.