Donor Advised Fund
A Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) is a giving vehicle that enables donors to support charitable organizations and causes. The first DAFs were established nearly a century ago at Community Foundations. Today, they exist at different types of charitable sponsors, such as universities, hospitals, charities affiliated with corporate entities and those connected to religious institutions. Many donors use DAFs for traditional individual and family giving.
DAFs can be a useful tool for tax planning; consult your tax adviser if this is a good approach given your tax situation. An overview article on DAFs is at Investopedia.
How does it work?
What are the main advantages of a donor-advised fund?
** Sponsoring organizations generally assess an administrative fee on the assets in a DAF. These fees vary by sponsoring organization.
For convenience, the El Rito Library is registered with DAF Direct, an easy way to instruct your DAF (at three DAF organizations) to make a grant to the library. This is for convenience only: all DAFs other than those below can be instructed to make a grant to the library by contacting the DAF administrator.
The "Designation" is how you want the grant to be acknowledged, for example "From the Ethel and Fred Mertz Family", "In Honor of Michael Miller", "For Many Pleasant Experiences at the Library". Thank you for considering the library in your giving plans!
DAFs can be a useful tool for tax planning; consult your tax adviser if this is a good approach given your tax situation. An overview article on DAFs is at Investopedia.
How does it work?
- Establish your DAF by making an irrevocable, tax-deductible donation to a public charity that sponsors a DAF program.
- Advise the DAF of how you want your donation to be invested (any investment growth is tax-free).
- Recommend grants to qualified public charities of your choice.
What are the main advantages of a donor-advised fund?
- Simplicity – The DAF sponsor handles all record-keeping, disbursements, and tax receipts.
- Flexibility – Timing of your tax deduction can be separate from your charitable decision making.
- Tax-efficiency – Contributions are tax-deductible and any investment growth in the DAF is tax-free. It is also easy to donate long term appreciated securities, eliminating capital gains taxes and allowing you to support multiple charities from one block of stock.
- Family legacy – A DAF is a powerful way to build or continue a tradition of family philanthropy.
- No start-up costs – There is no cost to establish a donor-advised fund. However, there are often minimum initial charitable contributions to establish the DAF (typically $5,000 or more).**
- No transaction fees – Once approved, 100% of your recommended grant goes to your qualified public charity of choice.**
- Privacy if desired – Donors may choose to remain anonymous to the grant recipient.
** Sponsoring organizations generally assess an administrative fee on the assets in a DAF. These fees vary by sponsoring organization.
For convenience, the El Rito Library is registered with DAF Direct, an easy way to instruct your DAF (at three DAF organizations) to make a grant to the library. This is for convenience only: all DAFs other than those below can be instructed to make a grant to the library by contacting the DAF administrator.
The "Designation" is how you want the grant to be acknowledged, for example "From the Ethel and Fred Mertz Family", "In Honor of Michael Miller", "For Many Pleasant Experiences at the Library". Thank you for considering the library in your giving plans!
