9 Ways to Raise More From Donor-Advised Funds

Fundraisers can’t afford to overlook donor-advised funds. These accounts hold more than $228 billion in assets that have been set aside for charitable giving, and contributions to DAFs keep growing despite a decline in overall giving. In fact, big donors are now contributing to DAFs more than to private foundations.

But it can be hard to identify and cultivate wealthy donors with DAFs, especially those who give anonymously.

To help you figure out how best to weave DAFs into your fundraising and maximize results, the Chronicle spoke with several insiders — fundraising executives at two nonprofits, a community-foundation leader, and a philanthropic adviser — who shared insights and advice from their experience. Here are nine key takeaways you can apply right away.

Don’t wait until December to focus on DAF gifts.

Distributions from DAFs can take two to four weeks to arrive, especially from larger financial institutions, says Cinira Baldi, chief development and communications officer at Project HOPE, an international-aid nonprofit. So, if you wait until December to start asking donors to make a DAF gift, you might not get the money by the end of the year.

Over the past few years, Project HOPE has worked to attract more gifts through DAFs. Last year the organization raised more than $2 million from these accounts. One tactic that contributed to its success was a year-end social media campaign that asked donors, “Have you done a health check on your DAF lately?” and mentioned DAFs in fundraising appeals to donors at all levels.

This year, Project HOPE plans to run the campaign again but get an earlier start, Baldi says, ideally at the beginning of the giving season, rather than the end. The organization also plans to start calling major and midlevel donors in November; plus, it will be highlighting DAFs in cultivation materials all year long.

Remind DAF donors to ask for a distribution.

A key message Project HOPE includes in its marketing materials and conversations with donors: DAF account holders must take action to trigger a donation, Baldi says. The group noticed a trend among supporters who thought their DAF provider automatically made distributions to charities each year, she says, and were surprised to learn that their gift never reached Project HOPE. “I don’t think that it’s top of mind for people, and I don’t think necessarily that everyone really understands that it’s not kind of ‘set it and forget it,’” Baldi says.

Many DAFs offer the option to make automatic distributions, such as monthly, quarterly, or annual gifts, says Stephanie Buckley, head of trust philanthropic services for wealth and investment management at Wells Fargo. So, you could suggest that opportunity as a way to make giving easier for donors while securing recurring income for your nonprofit.

Make the most of your data.

DAF gifts to Year Up, a nonprofit that provides career training and mentorship for low-income adults, have quadrupled since 2020, according to Susan Murray, national director of corporate engagement, development, and revenue operations. While the growing popularity of DAFs has helped fuel this increase, she says, Murray also attributes the growth to a few new tactics the organization has employed.

For starters, Year Up became disciplined about gathering as much data as possible on DAF gifts and analyzing reports regularly, Murray says. It looked for patterns, such as fund providers that made a high volume of distributions to Year Up, and advisers or other employees at those institutions who were involved, which helped inform Year Up’s outreach strategies.

For example, when the group understood where gifts were coming from, they researched the last day of the calendar year when distributions would have to be made to arrive at Year Up by the end of its fiscal year. The nonprofit created a one-pager with this information and shares it internally each year, so fundraisers know the deadlines for confirming their donors’ intent to give.

Treat DAF supporters like potential big donors.

Year Up also looks at data on gift amounts and renewal rates of DAF donors to gain insights into their giving capacity and to determine how best to engage them, Murray says. The group usually assumes that donors who give through a DAF probably have the potential to give more, she says. So, if a first-time supporter makes a $100 gift through a DAF, for example, the group treats them as if they had given at a higher level. This special attention has helped increase giving from individuals with DAFs, Murray says.

Try to learn more about anonymous donors.

Any time Year Up gets an anonymous DAF gift, the employee who processes it calls the sponsoring organization, to say thanks and verify that there is no additional information about the donor that Year Up could use to steward them, Murray says.

The nonprofit added this step to its gift-processing workflow to keep it from becoming an administrative burden or something a senior fundraiser had to remember to do, Murray says — and it’s paid off. “It’s really not rocket science, but we’ve put that in our processes because we often did get more information, which is kind of surprising.”

Year Up also does this detective work as part of its follow-up with DAF sponsors it’s close to, Murray says. For example, the group sometimes shares back with representatives at the sponsoring organization overall data on DAF giving through their institution. They highlight large gifts from individuals who wanted to be anonymous and ask if that’s still the case because Year Up would like to share information with the provider or the donor to communicate the impact of the contribution.

It’s worth a try, Murray says, because the financial institution might have more information it didn’t initially share, donors sometimes change their minds about being anonymous, and others might appreciate an update from your nonprofit either directly or through the fund sponsor.

When following up with DAF providers or advisers after getting a gift, it’s also helpful to share your contact information in case a donor wants to get in touch, Buckley says. Otherwise, it can be tricky for DAF donors to know whom to contact, she explains, especially at larger organizations.

Connect with DAF administrators and advisers.

These professionals want to be helpful advisers to their clients, Murray says, so Year Up tries to make their jobs easier by providing simple talking points about its work, which can be shared with donors who are interested. The nonprofit also organizes virtual and in-person events, sometimes in collaboration with peer organizations, to foster learning about its mission and how donors can help.

Don’t be shy about reaching out to DAF providers, Murray says, because these organizations have employees who are paid to facilitate philanthropy. “Our job is to be bold advocates for our mission,” she says. “The worst someone can say is they’re not interested … but you might find people on the other side of the table, so to speak, who are totally happy to give you some guidance and be your partner in this.”

Buckley also encourages fundraisers to introduce themselves to advisers, even if you don’t have a personal connection or an existing relationship with the financial institution. These professionals are always looking to meet new people in their communities so they can expand their business, she says, so try inviting them to meet you for coffee or lunch, join an event at your nonprofit, or visit your programs or campus.

When contacting an adviser for the first time, Buckley suggests you use an old-school method like calling or visiting their office; this can help you stand out from other nonprofits, which mostly stick to LinkedIn or email. If an adviser says they’re not interested, ask if they could refer you to anyone else, she suggests. “They might know somebody that they can make a nice, warm handoff to.”

Tap into your networks.

Attend philanthropic events in your city to try to meet people who work at DAF- sponsoring organizations, Murray suggests. Then, ask how your nonprofit could be good partners to them and help them serve clients interested in your work.

You could also try to build bridges to these professionals through existing supporters, she says. If you have one or two major donors who have a DAF and are involved in your organization, for example, ask them if they could connect you to someone at their fund provider.

Muhi Khwaja, co-founder of the American Muslim Community Foundation, which sponsors DAFs and supports a variety of Muslim causes, suggests taking a similar approach with community foundations that support your nonprofit. Ask your contact on the grants side to introduce you to the foundation’s philanthropic advisers, he says.

Treat community foundations as if they were prospective donors, Khwaja adds. See if any of your employees, leaders, or board members have a connection to the community foundation and would be willing to introduce you. If you have the staff, he says, it’s also smart to assign each foundation a dedicated relationship manager who can deepen ties and encourage DAF giving.

When you get an introduction, follow that person’s lead on how they would like you to communicate with the foundation, Khwaja says. For example, if they suggest you speak with their director of nonprofits, but you were hoping to connect with the director of development, do as they say and don’t try to “jump hoops.”

Promote DAFs as planned gifts.

Some DAFs become “orphans” when the person who owns the fund dies with no plan for a successor adviser and no clear direction on how the money should be spent, Buckley says. That means fundraisers would be smart to talk with donors about leaving their DAFs to the nonprofit in their will or including the organization among the beneficiaries. “To me, it’s an easy ask because there’s nobody already in that legacy plan for the DAF,” she says.

You should also mention DAFs in marketing materials about planned giving, Buckley adds, to make sure donors keep them in mind as another way to leave a legacy.

Just ask.

Buckley’s team often sees clients set up a DAF and then not think much more about it, she says. They might not intend to leave money sitting in their account, but it becomes “out of sight, out of mind” over time, she explains. So, fundraisers may simply need to ask their donors if they have a DAF and, if so, encourage them to give through it. Says Buckley: “To me, the DAF is kind of like painless giving because they’ve already done the hard part of giving it away.”