Donor Advised Funds
Donor Advised Fund (Grant Benefactor)
It should be clear based on the name of the term, a Donor Advised Fund, or DAF, is a fund that focuses discretionary donations and collecting funding for a targeted program, audience or for a particular activity with a designated purpose over a period of time. According to the National Philanthropic Trust "A Donor Advised Fund, is a giving account established at a public charity. It allows donors to make a charitable contribution, receive an immediate tax deduction and then recommend grants from the fund over time. Donors can contribute to the fund as frequently as they like, and then recommend grants to their favorite charitable [activities] whenever it makes sense for them."
How to Give to an Ecology Crossroads Donor Advised Fund
According to the NPT, "donor advised funds (DAFs) are philanthropy’s fastest-growing charitable giving trend. There are more than 460,000 individual DAF accounts in the U.S., more than double the number just five years ago. Collectively they hold more than $130 billion, all of which is destined for charities." There are currently three ways to participate in Ecology Crossroads donor advised giving programs:
Open an Eco-Operator Account as a Benefactor by making a donation of $5,000 or more
Open an Invested Eco-Operator Account as a Patron by making a single donation of $100,000 or more which will provide $20,000 or 20% in discretionary funding per year for up to 10 years. This allows donors to claim a $100,000 donation the first year and $20,000 per year for 10 more years (Some restrictions apply)
Support Ecology Crossroads through a third-party Donor Advised Fund (your own) or use DAF Direct with your BNY Mellon, Fidelity Charitable, or Schwab Charitable accounts to donate any amount.
Why Give to a Donor Advised Fund?
Charities accommodate their donors in different ways, the Donor Advised Fund is an appropriate giving method for those that give $1,000 or more to a single charity with compatible funding partners or as the exclusive grant provider for multiple programs and participate in the regulated disbursement of the fund to see their grant capital through fruition. Donor Advised Fund Accounts are granted in a single deposit or transaction to the charity and managed by the organization at the discretion of the donor, a single donation can be managed over 2-5 years or more in some circumstances for charitable environmental and indigenous objectives we are seeking to fund.
Donor Advised Fund Accounts are automatically set-up for donors wishing to deposit $5,000 or more, who are made honorary members of the organization and provided with an online identification credential providing access to the funding targets.
What is DAF Direct?
A donor-advised fund (DAF) is a centralized charitable account. It allows charitably-inclined individual, families and businesses to make tax-deductible charitable donations of cash, publicly-traded stock and in some case, certain illiquid assets, to a public charity that sponsors and services a donor advised fund program.
DAF Direct makes it easier to support your favorite charities by giving directly from your own donor-advised fund through selected charitable banking institutions Schwab Charitable, BNY Mellon and Fidelity Charity.