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

She adds that for donors who have longer-term giving interests, “the ability to invest the dollars over time is a benefit because that money grows tax-free and enables them to fund things on a larger-scale basis than they otherwise might have if they hadn’t dedicated the dollars.”

Coinciding with that, Fidelity has had several DAF donors who are approaching retirement discuss “prefunding” their giving for when they are retired, essentially adding to their DAFs now while they’re still working so they can disperse the same amount of money during their retirement that they do today. They’re setting aside greater sums of money now so they can be as philanthropic as they want to be in retirement, Danforth says.