A donor-advised fund (DAF) is a philanthropic vehicle established at a public charity. To create one, a donor deposits cash, securities, and other assets in a fund then delegates how they are distributed. This is a great way for donors to make a charitable contribution and recommend grants from the fund to causes important to them.
HFOT is pleased to announce that we recently made supporting our mission through a donor-advised fund even more convenient by adding a DAF Direct widget to our website. DAF Direct’s mission is to support nonprofits by providing a cost-efficient and simple way for donors to give, and nonprofits to receive grants. DAF Direct currently facilitates grant recommendations from donors at Fidelity Charitable®, Schwab Charitable®, and the BNY Mellon Charitable Gift Fund®. More national and community foundation DAF sponsoring organizations may be added in the future.
An extremely popular option for philanthropic-minded people, donor advised funds reached a record $23 billion in contributions in 2016. In fact, Fidelity Charitable surpassed the United Way Worldwide as the largest charity in terms of funds raised. Since people can deposit more over time, DAFs offer a way to build up money in a tax-advantaged way, allowing donors to give larger sums when they contribute to charity.
The individuals behind DAF’s are not only putting record amounts into their charitable investment accounts, but spending around 20 percent of it annually on causes that matter to them, according to the Report put out by the National Philanthropic Trust. HFOT received nearly $1 Million in DAF grants in FY17. The ease of moving funds to a DAF, along with ease of making grants from the DAF, has propelled their popularity. Click here to make a contribution from your DAF today.
Please reach out to our Grants team at aamoedo@hfotusa.org with any questions. We look forward to hearing from you!