Fast Track: Head of Fidelity's charity fund has faith.(News)

Byline: Frederick P. Gabriel Jr.

Talk about being in the right place at the wrong time.

Just as growth in philanthropic giving is starting to stagnate, Jon J. Skillman is handed the reins of the nation's best-known donor-advised fund, the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund. With $2.2 billion in assets, it is the second-largest public charity in the country, after the Salvation Army.

Mr. Skillman, 45, joined Boston-based Fidelity Investments in 1994 and has played key roles in developing the company's presence in Germany and Japan.

While he