“The older I get, the more I realize how valuable my leadership training experience was and how much I enjoyed it. I really like that I’m giving those opportunities to the next generations.”
– Kristin Best Heath, Zeta Rho-Vanderbilt
Kristin, like many donors to the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation, makes her gifts through a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF). She likes the convenience of a DAF: “I personally find it’s very easy to give from our DAF – just login, search for the organization, and they send the check. It tracks your charitable giving and keeps everything organized for you, so you can look and see when you made your last gift.”
If you don’t know what a DAF is or how it works, don’t worry! You’re not alone. While DAFs are the fastest-growing vehicle in philanthropy, they still make up a small segment of charitable giving.
And with DAF Day happening on the second Thursday in October, it’s a great time to learn more about Donor-Advised Funds and how you can join Kristin and other donors with a gift to the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation through a DAF.
A Donor-Advised fund is like a charitable bank account. Your account is held by a sponsoring organization, typically a financial services company or a local community foundation. You contribute assets – cash and cash equivalents, stock, cryptocurrency, or appreciated assets – to your DAF. You receive an immediate tax benefit for the contribution to your DAF. The sponsoring organization invests your assets so they grow tax-free over time. When you’re ready to make a gift, you recommend a grant from your DAF, and the sponsoring organization sends it to the charity you’ve selected.
In Kristin’s words, “DAFs are not just for the ultra wealthy. It’s easier than you probably think it is.”
Some – but not all – sponsoring organizations require a minimum contribution to open a DAF. Others have minimum recommended contributions, and some have requirements for how much and how often you must make a grant from your DAF. When considering which sponsoring organization best fits your philanthropic goals, you should ask questions like:
Your DAF will have some restrictions attached. You’ve received a charitable tax benefit from a gift to your DAF, so any grants you recommend must go to qualified 501(c)(3) charities. For example, you can make a gift to the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation, which is a 501(c)(3) charity, but you may not pay your Sorority ReMember dues with a DAF, because the Sorority is a 501(c)(7) and does not fall within the parameters of a qualified charity. You also cannot recommend a grant from your DAF where you receive a benefit. For example, you may not purchase entry to a golf tournament or tickets to a gala with your DAF. Those purchases have benefits attached, and that runs afoul of IRS regulations.
Through a partnership between the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation and The Giving Block, you can make a grant from your DAF in just a few clicks on our website or directly from our online giving pages. While not required, using the DAFpay tool helps our Foundation team track incoming DAF contributions. Try it out below.
First and foremost, thank you! Your gift is an investment in the next generation of sisters, providing access to scholarships, leadership opportunities, educational experiences, and support during life’s unexpected challenges.
The sponsoring organization provides you with a tax receipt when you make a contribution to your DAF, so all of the tax details remain between you and them. When you recommend a grant from your DAF to the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation, we will confirm that we received your gift, the amount, and where you designated it. DAF gifts are included in your lifetime giving totals to the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation as soft credit gifts, but any tax paperwork will come from the 501(c)(3) sponsoring organization that manages your DAF.
