A donor-advised fund (DAF) is a charitable giving vehicle held by a sponsoring 501(c)(3) public charity. A donor contributes assets, claims the deduction in the year of the contribution, and later "advises" the sponsor on which charities should receive grants.
Because the sponsoring charity is the legal donor of record on grants out, the original donor's name does not appear on the receiving nonprofit's filings. Donors Trust, founded in 1999, runs the largest conservative-aligned DAF and has distributed hundreds of millions to right-leaning policy organizations since launch.
DAFs face minimal payout requirements (unlike private foundations' 5 percent rule) and report only aggregate grants on Form 990, so the public can see how much went where but not who funded it. That structure makes them the preferred laundering layer between large donors and politically active 501(c)(4)s.
DAFs let billionaires get a public-charity tax deduction while routing money to advocacy groups whose donor lists you'll never see. The deduction is funded by other taxpayers.
People often think DAFs are like family foundations. In practice, foundations must disclose donors and pay out 5 percent annually; DAFs disclose neither donors nor required payout rates.
DAFs let billionaires get a public-charity tax deduction while routing money to advocacy groups whose donor lists you'll never see. The deduction is funded by other taxpayers.
People often think DAFs are like family foundations. In practice, foundations must disclose donors and pay out 5 percent annually; DAFs disclose neither donors nor required payout rates.