Donor-Advised Funds: The Source Fundraisers Can't Afford to Ignore

“Donor-advised funds are a planned-giving vehicle that enable donors of more modest means all the way to the highest-net-worth donors to, as we call it, give, grow and grant,” she says.

They are, essentially, charitable savings accounts. Donors can open accounts, get their tax breaks the moment they add money and then invest that money through the DAF provider — fellow nonprofits such as Fidelity Charitable, National Philanthropic Trust, Schwab Charitable and the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation — to “grow their philanthropic dollars and increase their impact over time,” as Danforth says.