Latest / The Nonprofit Podcast / Ep 225| DAF Donors Have Already Said Yes

Transcript

Ep 225| DAF Donors Have Already Said Yes · The Nonprofit Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: October 8th is DAF Day, a day set aside for donor advised funds.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: And if you've been in fundraising for any length of time, you might be wondering when DAFs became the thing everybody talks about.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: But they are not new.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: Donor advised funds have been around for decades.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: They just kept growing quietly while most of us were looking somewhere else.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: Now, the numbers are very hard to ignore.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: In 2024, nearly one in every four dollars of individual giving in the U.S.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: went through a donor-advised fund.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: One in four, y'all.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: That's massive.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: So is this a sudden boom or a long build?
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: Many nonprofits are only noticing now.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: The Nonprofit Podcast, powered by DonorBox.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Jenna Lynch, head of community engagement here at DonorBox.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: Each week we bring you practical strategies, clear insights, and inspiration to help you raise more, reach further, and take your nonprofit to the next level.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: Joining me today is my co-host, Kara Augsburger, and she is a frontline fundraiser and our resident DAF expert.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, Kara.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_02: Hey Jenna.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_02: I am I'm happy to be here, especially this week.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not sure I'd claim Donor Advice Fund expert on my resume, but I am definitely a huge, huge fan.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_02: Mostly because I've watched donor advice funds transform giving in our own organization for years now.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: And that's exactly why I wanted to have you back for this conversation, because you have definitely seen this change in real time.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_02: I really have.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_02: Even over the past five years, the change has been pretty remarkable.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_02: There was a time when a gift from a donor advice fund was just kind of an occasional thing for us.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_02: Now they're almost the norm.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_02: And we're not just seeing more donor advised fund gifts.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_02: We're seeing larger gifts.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_02: We're seeing donors use them more intentionally.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_02: And honestly, most of our most generous supporters give this way.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm certainly not an early adapter, but I am a fundraiser who's watched donor advised fund giving go from something that felt just a little unusual, some one-offs here and there, to something we absolutely need to understand.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_02: They're more common and that were smart and savvy way for so many people to give.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: Now with DAF Day here and this trend of picking up speed, I wanted to dig just a little bit deeper with you.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: And later we'll share what DonorBox has been building to make DAF giving a whole lot easier.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: I'm really, really excited to share more.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_02: Especially even since January when we recorded that last episode, the conversation has continued to grow.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_02: So absolutely now is the best time to talk about this.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: Before we go further, let's make sure that everyone's on the same page with us.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: So, Kara, in plain terms, what is a donor-advised fund or a DAF?
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_02: A DAF.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_02: So a DAF is a donor-advised fund and it's basically a charitable giving savings account.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_02: So here in the United States, you might open one through a community foundation or a financial institution like Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you put money into it.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_02: You can also put stock or other assets into it, and you receive the tax benefit at that point.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_02: Then the money is set aside for charitable giving only.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_02: And so from there, you can recommend grants to the nonprofits you care about whenever you're ready.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_02: So that might be every month, it might be next month, it might be spread out over the next 10 years, or part of a really big fun capital campaign, you can give a bigger allotment for that.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_02: So it's your judgment there.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_02: You can decide when you want to disperse funds.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's the part I really want nonprofit leaders to understand.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_02: Donors have already made the decision to be generous.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_02: That money is already set aside and it's going to go to charity.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_02: The question is, which charity?
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_02: So you have a real big opportunity here.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: So the decision to give has already happened.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's a really important thing to know.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_02: And that's the part I want every nonprofit to hear.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_02: Money in a DAF can only go to charity.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_02: The donor said yes to giving.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_02: Again, that only open question is where does it go?
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: I think this is um, it's a pretty different starting point than trying to convince someone to give in the first place, right?
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: So who are we actually talking about here?
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: What type of person, what type of supporter donor is opening this type of account?
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I see so many supporters opening donor advice funds.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_02: And I think sometimes we picture a donor advised fund donor as someone with hundreds of millions of dollars.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_02: And that's not true at all.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_02: So I have a supporter who sold his business, and when he did, he felt strongly that he wanted to set aside a percentage of proceeds for charitable giving.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_02: So he put that money right away into a donor-advised fund.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_02: And what I love about this story is that he has spent the past few years enjoying the opportunity to bless nonprofits and causes he cares about.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_02: He's trying to burn that money down in his lifetime, which is really terrific.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_02: So that decision to be generous was made when he sold the business.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_02: Now he gets to be thoughtful about where those dollars can make a difference.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_02: I'll give you another example too, because donor advice fund donors don't all look the same.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I know another family that's made a commitment to give 10% of their income to church.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_02: And right now they're in between churches, but they didn't want that to interrupt their commitment to giving.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_02: So every pay period, they continue putting that 10% into their donor advice fund, and that money is set aside for generosity.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_02: They've used it to support nonprofits in our community, and whatever they haven't given yet stays in that charitable account until they're ready to give it.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_02: We have 20-year-olds with donor advice funds that choose to give to our organization.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_02: So it's growing younger as well.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_02: So I love those examples.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, there wasn't necessarily a business sale or huge financial event for most of these people.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_02: It's simply how a lot of these donors choose to practice generosity.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_02: It's so smart.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_02: Your money grows in those funds and it can go a little further than when you just give cash out of your checking account.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_02: And that's what I want nonprofit leaders to understand.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_02: Again, the DAF donor isn't necessarily someone with hundreds of millions of dollars.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_02: It can be someone who simply made a plan for how they went to give.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_02: It's so smart.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: I think uh, first of all, those examples are phenomenal.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's worth talking about because there's still this perception that DAFs are really a wealthy donor thing.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: And to be honest, this is an assumption that I have always made, not knowing a lot about DAFs myself.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: So from the nonprofits perspective, what does having a DAF actually tell us about that donor?
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: Is there anything that you can call out?
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_02: So it really just simply means a DAF donor is someone who has planned their generosity.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_02: So that usually means bigger gifts and they're donors who stick around.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_02: And we'll get into some of those numbers in a minute.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_02: But here's the short version.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_02: If you don't make it easy to give from a donor advice fund, that money doesn't disappear.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_02: It goes to an organization that did make it easy.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, that'll definitely get your attention.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so back to my opening question.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: If donor advice funds have been around this long, why do you think it feels like they're suddenly everywhere and they're gaining popularity right now?
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's been building for years.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_02: And what's changed is the scale.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_02: Chariot did a 2026 donor advice fund fundraising report, and DAF giving is growing eight times faster than other types of giving.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: Did you just say eight times?
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, eight times in the donor advice fund research collaborative, another group, um, they put that total donor advice funds assets.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_02: So if we look at all the assets sitting out there and all the funds and all the banks,$327 billion.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_02: And that was in 2024.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_02: So I know it's grown a lot since then.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so$327 billion with a B.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: That's a lot to wrap your head around.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, that is a lot of money sitting there.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_02: It is.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but here's the thing though, it's not just sitting there.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um, people assume that donor advice fund money gets parked and forgotten, but the data says otherwise.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um in 2024, donor advice funds paid out 25.2% of their assets and grants to charitable organizations, where private foundations paid out only 8%.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's a huge difference.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_02: People are spending down those DAFs, they are using them to make a difference for causes that they think are super important.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so DAF money actually moves faster than foundation money, from what we've seen in the research.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_02: Much faster.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_02: $64 billion went from donor advised funds to charities in a single year.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_02: So, question for every nonprofit is so simple.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_02: Is any of it coming to you?
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_02: How much of that$64 billion are you seeing on an annual basis?
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_01: Let's let's go back and talk about the donors themselves because the amount of money moving through donor advised funds is definitely one thing.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but what data do we have about the people who are actually giving through donor advised funds?
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_02: So buckle in, stay with us.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um, let's talk about a couple of numbers that really stand out for me.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_02: So, donor retention is a huge number.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_02: It's a really great health predictor for most organizations.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_02: And donor advice fund donors have a retention rate 13% higher than non-donor advice fund donors.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that's really important.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: So you've uh definitely got me with that retention stat.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: That is huge.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: We know that retention is tough, right?
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_01: Getting the donor is one thing, but keeping them is where so many organizations struggle.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_02: It's hard.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_02: It really is.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um, another key indicator for most organizations, we often look at gift size.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_02: And if we do that with donor advised fund gift size in 2025, last year, the average donor advised fund gift was get this,$3,934.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_02: So that's almost$4,000.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_02: The average non-donor advised fund gift was$172.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_02: It's a big difference.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah,$172 versus almost$4,000.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_02: That's that's like 23 times larger.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and again, I think that's where some people think, oh, well, that's just the ultra wealthy, and that's not not true at all.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: Well, so that's exactly what I was just about to say.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: You said that we weren't just talking about super wealthy donors here, right?
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_02: Right, exactly.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_02: 67% of donor advised fund gifts are under$1,000.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_02: So it's not a club for billionaires at all.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_02: It's an everyday, generous club of people who planned ahead and are thoughtful about their giving and really want to make it a priority.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: That really changes the picture for me.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm sure it will for others too.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: What about somebody who's already giving to an organization and then starts giving through a DAF?
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_01: Do we see their behavior change with that organization?
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_02: We do.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I have some real life examples, um, actually, friends of mine, former board members who have made that change over time.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_02: So it's one of my favorite stats.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_02: Over half of donors who switched to donor advice fund giving at least doubled their support.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_02: So it's the same donor, same organization, but they've doubled the gift or more.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_02: And I think it's that mindset of um, I think when we have cash in a checking account, we're holding tight in case of emergency.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_02: But with that donor advice fund, we've been intentional, we've set that money aside, and now it's ready to spend and just really, you know, help an organization or someone or a cause we care about so much.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: So more than doubled.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: Uh that one really gets me too, because now we're not necessarily just talking about, you know, finding some brand new donor that's someone who was already supporting you, rallying behind your cause, right, believes in your mission, knows your programs, and then something changes when they start giving through their DAF.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um and what are we seeing across organizations overall?
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_02: So median DAF revenue grew 75% between 2021 and 2025.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_02: Non-donor advice fund revenue for organizations grew at 9%.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_02: So again, that donor advice fund revenue is growing really swiftly, whereas that non-donor advised fund revenue, the gifts from cash are growing a little bit, but not nearly as significant.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so we've established that these donors stay longer and they tend to give more, more than double.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and this is me going, okay, where's the catch?
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: What's the catch here?
• 13:58
  unknown: Yeah.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, the catch, I guess, is the process, right?
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's one more thing.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_02: So let's walk through it from the donor side.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_02: Let's say they love your organization.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_02: They're scrolling through your website, they want to give from their donor advice fund.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_02: So they leave your site, they go log into their donor advice fund providers portal, they search for you by name or your EIN number, they're typing in your details, they submit a grant recommendation.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's a lot of extra steps for somebody who already wants to give.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_02: And they're intentional about setting aside that money for giving.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_02: They also have to be really intentional about setting aside the time to make the transaction.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that that's a catch.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_02: It's a stumbling block for sure.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and that's exactly what we warn folks about a lot on the podcast, right?
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: Making sure that giving in any form in the moment that you want to do it is easy.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: So that is that is a lot of extra steps for someone who is already motivated to give.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: And that could be something that could stop them from doing it.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, absolutely.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_02: And I deal with this all the time.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_02: I'll start something, I get distracted.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_02: Every step is a chance to get distracted.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_02: So the phone rings, dinner's ready, that gift waits and sometimes gets forgotten.
• 15:17
  unknown: Okay.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_01: And then what about the process on the nonprofit side?
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: What does that look like?
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so I think many fundraisers know this too well.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, a lot of times a paper check shows up or you get an ACH deposit, and the name on that deposit or on the check might be like Fidelity Charitable or DAF360 or the Community Foundation, very rarely on the check or any paperwork you get, the donor's name is not always there.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_02: So now I'm playing detective.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_02: I have to kind of do some background work.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_02: So who gave this?
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_02: Do we have a letter for backup?
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_02: Is that donor's name listed somewhere in a portal online?
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_02: Do I know them?
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_02: Is you know this connected to a conversation we had three weeks ago?
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_02: Where can I find their email address?
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_02: Who gets thanked?
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm going through all these steps mentally and physically.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_02: And meanwhile, I don't want this incredibly generous donor to have an impersonal experience just because they chose to give through a donor advice fund.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_02: That relationship is so important to me.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_02: I want to say thank you very promptly.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_02: And by now, a few weeks has passed since they made the decision to give.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I think that there could be a lot of balls dropped.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_02: And that's the irony.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_02: You know, these can be some of your most intentional donors.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_02: And sometimes they're the hardest gifts to connect back to a person.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_02: So as much as I want to be intentional about saying thank you quickly and personally, um, it's hard for me to do that too with the process.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that's the downside from the from the organization side.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_01: So a lot of uh investigating you have to do.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the relationship can certainly be on the line there a bit.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I imagine with all this too, there's a bit of a receding problem, which um can be inconvenient for both your organization and your donors, especially um during tax season, right?
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_02: For sure.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_02: And this is what a lot of organizations get wrong.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um people get really caught up on this.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_02: Donor advice fund donors already got their tax benefit when they put that money into their fund.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_02: So, as the nonprofit, we should not be sending them a tax receipt for that grant.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_02: A lot of organizations do, and that is wrong.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_02: So you need to log that gift as a regular offline donation.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and your system may be one that automatically records it as tax deductible and you'll have to go fix that on the back end.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_02: You don't want an IRS headache.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_02: Nobody does.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_02: You just have to make sure you're entering it and receiving it and recording it correctly.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_02: Pay attention to that.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's really good to know.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that it's a different process, right?
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_01: I do want to go back to the relationship piece.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: Like you said, it may be hard to tell those donors apart from anybody else.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: So, how do I even know that this came from one of my donors and not just some random person that chose my organization?
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so that's where that investigation piece really is important.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um, your most generous, most loyal donors get the clunkiest experience, and you can't even thank them properly because you don't know who they are.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_02: So that is something you really need to pay attention to.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and just make sure you're making phone calls, you are tracking it down, and you are being very conscientious and intentional about making sure you're attributing the donation to the right person in your data.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so this is probably a common occurrence, uh, you know, um donor has already decided to give, and somehow um we've managed to make it complicated for both sides.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: And it's certainly not something that that we want to do, right?
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: No, and that's exactly why I wanted to talk about this today.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so at DonorBox, we saw this trend coming and we listened to our amazing nonprofit community, and we knew that to be a real partner to nonprofits, we had to make DAF giving simpler.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: So we added chariot DAF day.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_02: So tell me everything.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_02: I haven't had a chance to explore this yet.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um, in January, when we did our last podcast on this, my advice was to put donor advice fund giving right on your donation page to make it obvious, to put your EIN number there.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_02: It sounds like this might be a little more simple, even.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: Even better.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: So I think you're gonna be really excited.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: Now it can live right there on your donation form.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so DAF Pay is built into donor boxes omnigift donation form that's powered by chariot.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: So donors choose from hundreds of DAF providers and then submit their grant without ever leaving your page.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: It really is simple.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's really brilliant.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_02: No more portal hopping, going back and forth between systems.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: No, none.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: That's exactly it.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I think the nonprofit side, um, you know, is just as important.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_01: We just talked about this on your side.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_01: Every DAF pay gift creates a supporter profile.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_01: So you know who gave, you can filter DAF gifts right there on your donations page.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, so that donor doesn't just, you know, disappear into a mystery check that shows up weeks later.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_01: You don't spend hours and hours trying to figure out where that came from.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: You actually know who they are.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_02: What about the receipt problem?
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_02: Does that help in any way with that?
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yep, that's handled too.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_01: DAF pay gifts are automatically tagged with a zero tax deductible amount.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_01: So your DAF donors won't get a receipt that they shouldn't.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, I think that would be really huge for me as a fundraiser.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_02: I've always said I don't just want the gift, I want to know the donor.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_02: And so if somebody's choosing to invest in our work through their donor advice fund, it's so important to me.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_02: I want to thank them.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_02: I want to understand why they care and I want to keep them connected to that impact they're making.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_02: So, in my opinion, if you remove those steps for the donor, remove that detective work on the nonprofit side, that is a win on both sides.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_02: And I really think, too, frankly, that tax receipt piece matters too.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_02: Small nonprofits don't have a giant back office.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_02: We don't have teams checking every transaction.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_02: So anything that helps us steward that donor correctly and take care of the administrative details, that's a huge value to fundraisers.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, absolutely.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: And um, so two more important notes I want to make here.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_01: DAFPAY is available on the DonorBox Pro and Premium tiers.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_01: And for our international listeners, it's currently available to US registered 501c3s only right now.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_01: But if that's you, especially heading into giving season, I really think.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Think that this is worth paying attention to.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_01: You've heard the numbers.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_01: They really are incredible.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of opportunity here.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: And now we're just making it a whole lot easier for your donors to actually act on it.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_02: We did go through a lot of numbers, but I think if we boil it down, you know, as a fundraiser, this is exactly what I want.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_02: I want to make it easier for the donor, make it easier for my team, help me know who gave so I can actually thank them and really unlock some really huge generosity through donor advice funds.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_02: So you'll have to show me where I sign up for this for sure.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_02: You got it.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_02: We'll we'll get you set up, Kara.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: And uh DAF day is on October 8th.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but it kind of feels like every day can be DAF day now.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and and the data really shows that it can be.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it really does.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_02: DAF donors give all year.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_02: I guarantee you, most of them are not thinking of a day, a DAF day.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um, they give all year, not just in December.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_02: That money is ready when they are.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_02: It's up to you to ask for it and steward it really well.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: To wrap this up, let's leave people with something practical.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: As we do here on the podcast, if somebody is listening and realizes, okay, we haven't really been paying enough attention to DAF giving.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_01: Clearly, there's something here.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, what's the first thing you would suggest that they do?
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_02: I would say remove the friction.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_02: So look at your giving process like a donor.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_02: If you wanted to give through a donor advice fund today, could you immediately figure out how to do it?
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_02: So don't make a donor who's already decided to be generous work even harder to give you the money.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_02: And then when that gift comes, don't treat it just like another transaction.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_02: Find the person behind it, thank them, build that relationship because donor advice fund gifts may be the beginning of a much bigger relationship with your organization and that supporter.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_02: It's very important.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I'll say you want to know who these donors are and you need to acknowledge them.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: We're doubling down on this.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, don't let a donor advice gift just become a check that gets processed and forgotten.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: These are incredibly valuable gifts, incredibly valuable supporters.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_01: There is a real donor relationship behind that gift, and that's definitely something that you want to hold on to.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_01: And if you want to see how Cheridafay works, check it out.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_01: We have included the link in the show notes for you.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_01: Again, it's available on DonorBox Pro and Premium Tiers for US registered 501c3 organizations.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_01: And if you are new to donor advice funds, go back and listen to episode 192 with Kara.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_01: Again, it's a really great one.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_01: And she really gets into the fundamentals there.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Kara.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_01: This has been really, really helpful.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_02: A pleasure.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_02: Anytime, Jenna.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_01: And thank you for being a part of the nonprofit podcast community.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_01: Your work matters, and we are honored to support it.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: If you enjoyed this episode, share it, leave a review, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_01: Until next time, take that first step and stay inspired.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: That warm feeling when you help someone, it's not just happiness, it's fulfillment.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: And we believe it should be available to everyone, from frontline heroes to first time fundraisers.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_00: Our tools empower you to help others.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: This is our mission.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_00: This is DonorBox, helping you help others.