Frequently Asked Questions

Background

What’s the goal of #HalfMyDAF?
Our goal is to inspire more giving. Nonprofits do critical work that corporations and governments don’t or can’t. Yet the sector is severely underfunded compared to the problems it addresses. Meanwhile, over $229 billion in charitable funding is available in Donor Advised Funds. We created the #HalfMyDAF matching program to inspire donors to put their money to work now, when it can do the most good.

What is a Donor Advised Fund?
A Donor Advised Fund (DAF) is a charitable vehicle administered by a sponsor. There are large nationals sponsors such as Fidelity, Vanguard and Schwab, local community foundation DAFs, and single-interest DAFs. A Donor opening a DAF makes an irrevocable charitable contribution, receives an immediate tax dedication, and can then recommend grants over time.

In many ways, a DAF is like a charitable checking account that gives a donor a tax-break when the money is deposited, lets the donor make donations to nonprofits over time, but can never be returned to the original donor. Currently, there is no payout requirement, which means money can sit in a DAF forever.

If the money in a DAF must be used to help non-profits, why is so much just sitting there?

Donors have a tax incentive to move money into DAF, but there is no urgency to move the money out. Some people have thoughtful, multi-year charitable plans, or even use DAFs like a family foundation, designed to span generations. Many community foundations focus on making grants to local nonprofits, or have “endowed DAFs” that are designed to support communities over many years.

But too often, money remains in DAFs due to inertia. We’ve also heard of people forgetting they have a DAF or feeling too overwhelmed by all the choices of where to give. So, far too much money is sitting untouched, waiting for the donors to step forward and put the money to work.

How about the fund sponsors? Do they encourage people to put their DAFs to work?

Some national and community DAF sponsors suggest a 5% payout. But this is only a start and not nearly enough. Way more money is being put into DAFs than is moving out. In 2020, there was $120 Billion sitting in DAFs. Now, even as many sponsors and advocates talk about 20% pay-out rates or better, there remains nearly $230 Billion sitting in DAFs. We believe DAF sponsors should be recommending that donors do a lot more, with the goal of spending down DAFs rather than growing them. (Our fund sponsor, the Amalgamated Foundation, was the first to advocate for a minimum 10% payout pledge and regularly achieves payout rates of four time the national average.)

But most DAF sponsors make money on the money sitting in DAFs. Even a low-fee fund sponsor makes about $10 annually per every $1,000 in the fund, between administrative and investment fees. There’s nothing outrageous about the size of those fees—managing a fund has real costs. But with a $100,000 DAF making $1,000 annually for the sponsor, there’s no financial incentive for sponsors to move the money out.

Bottom line: Change needs to start with you making grants from your DAF.

So in the end, are DAFs good or evil?
DAFs make life easy for donors, which almost certainly increases charitable giving. Like all charitable contributions, they’re tax-deductible — that’s wonderful (and somewhat unique to the US). Separating the timing of a tax break from a charitable donation is great: donors aren’t always prepared to give in the year they had a taxable event. At community foundations, endowed DAFs can be critical, stable sources of long-term funding for a community. DAFs also allow for giving appreciated stock and making impact investments and don’t require as much overhead or administration as a foundation.

But DAFs have become so popular that they are sucking more money out of the charitable ecosystem than they are giving back to it. That’s bad, particularly when there is so much need in the world.

Luckily, it’s easy to put money in a DAF to work. All you have to do is contact your DAF sponsor and let them know what non-profit you’d like to support. They’ll do the rest.

Want to know more? Here’s a thorough report that lays out the state of the world in 2024.

Who are you?
David Risher is the CEO of Lyft. He also co-founded and led Worldreader, a nonprofit based in San Francisco dedicated to getting children reading so they can reach their potential. Having led the organization full-time for 14 years, David has seen the enormous impact a nonprofit can have but feels first-hand the immense frustration of having such limited resources to address very large problems.

Jennifer Risher is the author of We Need to Talk: A Memoir About Wealth. She believes that staying silent around topics like philanthropy creates problems for both those who have money and for our country as a whole. Money shouldn’t be a taboo subject; silence perpetuates the status quo and keeps us from learning from each other. Jennifer’s book has become a catalyst for conversation.

I run an awesome nonprofit. How can I get a grant?
You don’t need to contact us — just reach out to your donors who have DAFs. Talk to your board members who have DAFs. Let people know that their money can go further if they give through #HalfMyDAF and the you could be eligible for a matching grant.

Here’s a video of a DAF 101 Webinar we conducted in 2020 with our friends at Giving Tuesday called “How to Unlock $120 Billion of Hidden Funding.” It includes tips for identifying DAF holders and advice on how to engage with them.
Here are the slides from the webinar, where you’ll find sample outreach material.
Here’s a sample letter you can customize. Good luck!

Donor Mechanics

As a DAF donor, can I give to any nonprofit for the match?
Yes. We will match grants to any nonprofit as long as it doesn’t support hate speech or gun violence. All you need to do is commit to spending down half of the money that was in your DAF on January 1st by end-of-day September 27, 2024 and upload your DAF confirmations. Soon after June 28, 2024 and September 27, 2024, we will be randomly selecting eligible nonprofits for dollar-for-dollar matching grants, most up to $5,000 or $10,000 with four matches at $25,000.

We have over $2.1 million to give away in matching grants to any nonprofits supported by donors who are spending down half of their DAF. Some of that money will be set aside to match grants to nonprofits that are focused on education in underserved communities, racial and gender justice, and strengthening democracy. Organizations working in these areas have more chances to receive matching grants.

How many nonprofits can I nominate for a match?
As many as you want — every nonprofit you support through your DAF will be eligible for a match. Please use the nomination form as many times as you’d like. Please note that we will not match grants to organizations that promote hate speech, hate crimes, gun violence, or restrictions on reproductive health. Our decision will be final.

Can I give to a non-profit more than once, making them eligible for two or three matches?
Yes, but it won’t increase their chances— it will just increase the amount of money you’re giving to them and the size of the possible match. We’ll consolidate all grants you make to a single nonprofit and consider it as a single grant. The best way to to maximize the chances that a favorite nonprofit receives a match is encourage others to make grants to the same nonprofit. Nonprofits can also reach out to their donors and ask for support.

Can more than one person nominate the same nonprofit?
Definitely. The same nonprofit can be nominated for a matching grant by multiple people. The more times a nonprofit gets a donation from a #HalfMyDAF hero, the higher its chance of being selected for a matching grant.

Can a nonprofit receiving a matching grant at the end of June receive another at the end of September?
Yes, as long as it comes from a new donor. Nonprofits that didn’t receive a match after the June 28th date will be eligible for a match at the end of September, 2024.

How will you know that I’ve granted at least half the money in my DAF?
We’ll trust you. You need to submit this form stating you’ll grant at least half of your DAF between January 1st and September 27th, and provide DAF confirmations for the grants you make to nonprofits. Beyond that, we’ll take you at your word.

How much will each non-profit receive in matching funds?
We will grant half of the matching fund at the end of June and the second half at the end of September 2024, awarding $2.1 million in dollar-for-dollar matching grants of up to $5,000-$10,000 as well as four (two each grant cycle) $25,000 grants. Please note that our decisions will be final.

We have created a general fund to match any grant. We are also dedicating money toward gender and racial equity, strengthening democracy, and education in underserved US communities. Organizations working in these areas have more chances to receive matching grants.

If I grant $1,000, how much could the nonprofit receive if it gets a match? How about if I grant $20,000?
The majority of the matches are dollar-for-dollar up to $5,000. If you grant $1,000 and the nonprofit is selected, that nonprofit will receive a $1,000 #HalfMyDAF matching grant. If you grant $20,000 and the nonprofit is selected, that nonprofit will receive a matching grant of $5,000. We will also make four $25,000 matching grants — two at the end of June and the other two at the end of September 2024.

If a nonprofit I support doesn’t receive a matching grant in July, what should I do?
You don’t need to do anything. The nonprofit is still in the pool and will be eligible for a match at the end of September 2024.

I don’t have a DAF but I want to give. Will you match my gift?
Unfortunately, no. We’d love to match all gifts, but our goal is to motivate people to move money out of DAFs to nonprofits.

If I create a DAF now, will you match my gift?
Our goal is to motivate people to move money out of DAFs to nonprofits. We will accept participation based on commitments to spend down your DAF by half with a basis of January 1, 2024. If you create a DAF and spend it down, we’re happy to see you putting money to work.

Does it matter how much money is in my DAF?
Whether you have $1,000, $20,000, or hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in your DAF, we encourage you to commit to spending down half your DAF.

What if I’ve been very lucky and have an extra-large DAF or a Charitable Foundation?
Congratulations! Mail us at contact@halfmydaf.com. We can work together to increase the size of the match, this year or in the future. This is how we’ve been able to increase the size of the matching pool, thanks to the generosity of partners past and present like Laura and Greg Spivy, Kathy Kwan, Stasia Obremskey and Dan Carroll, James Slavet, Brighton Jones, Amalgamated, Democracy Fund and an anonymous partner.

Nonprofit Mechanics

What do I have to do to qualify for matching funds?
Absolutely nothing. The best thing you can do is reach out to your donors to let them know about this opportunity for their funds to go further.

If I received a matching grant, how do I get my funds?
Our #HalfMyDAF fund sponsor is the Amalgamated Foundation. They’ll issue funds by check or electronically via ACH in the month following each drawing. Please register at Amalgamated’s GranteeView Portal to receive funds electronically.

What is the difference between ACH and ETF?
Automated Clearing House (ACH) is a type of Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Amalgamated Foundation makes grants payments via ACH. Our prior fund sponsor, Fidelity, uses a different mechanism, but there’s no problem registering for both.

My organization has previously registered for Amalgamated Foundation’s GranteeView portal. Do we need to re-register?
No, if you’ve registered for Amalgamated Foundation’s GranteeView portal previously, you do not need to re-register your organization.

Dates & Deadlines

When does the challenge start and end?
Any grants made between January 1, 2024 and September 27, 2024 are eligible for matches.

When will I find out which nonprofits receive matching funds?
We’ll let you know July 1st and then September 30th on this website and in e-mail after the program’s two random matching-grant drawings. As long as you’ve uploaded the documentation and it meets the guidelines (nothing promoting hate speech or gun violence), any nonprofits that donors support will be eligible to receive matching funds.

Can I see a list of the nonprofits where people are giving?
Yes. Every nonprofit supported will be listed as we receive documentation. We hope you’ll be inspired!

I Have Another Question

Can I make multi-year gifts from DAFs?
Yes, and it’s a very good idea. Nonprofits benefit enormously from predictable revenue: it allows them to see into the future and focus more on impact than fundraising. You have to specify the entire gift up-front and create a non-binding pledge to satisfy the requirement that DAFs not be used to satisfy existing obligations. Here is an article that provides more detail.

I’ve heard a lot about overhead ratios as a way to evaluate non-profits. What’s that about?
We don’t find this a very helpful way to evaluate non-profits. Nearly all highly-rated (3 star / Gold or above) non-profits generate enormous impact with very little funding.

If you want a quick-and-dirty way to look at non-profits’ use of funds, divide their total dollars spent by the number of people served in a year. But don’t stop there: contact the non-profits and get to know their staff and their work.

I’ve heard a story about a nonprofit that squandered its donors’ funds. How do I make sure that doesn’t happen to mine?
From our experience, this is a very rare exception. Enron and Theranos don’t mean most for-profit businesses are scams; the same is true in the nonprofit world.

Again, GuideStar and Charity Navigator can be helpful but there’s no substitute for getting to know the non-profit’s leadership. Ask tough questions! Build a relationship. As you come to understand what a nonprofit is doing, their opportunities and struggles, you’ll likely have a satisfying experience and get to see the impact you are making together.

I run a nonprofit and have spoken to our donors. They’ve said: I’d like to help, but if I accelerate my giving, I won’t have as much to give you in the future. Any advice?
Thank them for thinking this through. Then work out a plan together. Perhaps if they donate three years’ worth of funding now, you’ll agree to report on your impact and not solicit their support over that same period. Match your spending and impact with the duration of their gift is entirely reasonable. Hopefully this gets both of you to think long-term about your relationship and impact together.

This DAF 101 webinar video might be helpful. You’ll hear from nonprofit leaders with ideas on how to engage with DAF holders.