03/25/2026
How Donor Advised Funds Can Simplify, Strengthen Your Giving
Article reprinted with permission from Cleveland Jewish News
Michelle Feinberg
Special to the CJN
According to the 2025 Annual DAF Report by the Donor Advised Fund Research Collaborative, the total number of DAF accounts in the U.S. reached a record 3.56 million, with collective grantmaking rising 19% from the prior year to $64.89 billion.
Feinberg
Like all DAF sponsors, the DAF program at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland sees people of all ages, interests, backgrounds and income levels turning to DAFs because they offer a flexible, straightforward way to make the most impact now while planning for future charitable giving. Here are a few reasons why DAFs can be of benefit to you:
Organized Giving
If you find yourself scrambling each tax season to track down all your gift receipts, a DAF saves you time and stress by consolidating and tracking all your giving in one place. Instead of multiple receipts for each gift, a DAF donor receives a single tax receipt from the DAF sponsor. The DAF sponsor also tracks all your contribution and grant history.
Additionally, DAF sponsors make it easy to recommend grants and process them for you, meaning you can support multiple causes through a single account, instead of multiple checks or credit card payments.
Strategic Giving
By handling the logistics for you and offering clearer oversight over your total contributions and grant recommendations each year, DAFs let you be proactive about what you want to achieve with your generosity. In addition, a DAF can help you maintain a consistent pattern of support while also giving you the flexibility to respond to an urgent cause without affecting your current finances.
Tax-Efficient Giving
DAFs can be funded in a variety of ways, including through gifts of cash, securities, business interests, real estate and other property. Contributions of appreciated securities and other property owned more than one year avoid capital gains tax. Also, if you itemize, a contribution to a DAF may qualify for an immediate deduction while grants from the account can be made over time.
Family Giving
Beyond facilitating individual giving, DAFs are also great options for engaging your family in shared philanthropy. Either by authorizing family members to recommend grants or by gathering regularly to discuss charitable decisions, DAFs can create a practical way to share goals and values with the next generation.
If this is your intention when opening a DAF, look for a sponsoring organization with staff trained in supporting family philanthropy and the complexities that might arise in multigenerational giving.
Legacy Giving
DAFs can even make estate planning easier. You can recommend that DAF assets are granted to specific charities or create an endowment at the sponsoring nonprofit upon your death. This can be done with a simple form provided by the DAF sponsor without involving an attorney. Alternatively, most DAF sponsors let you name successors to give them the opportunity to continue your legacy of giving for their own philanthropic paths. Finally, you can include a charitable bequest to a DAF in your estate documents.
When choosing a DAF, consider online access, options to invest DAF funds so the assets can grow tax-free, and dedicated staff with expertise and relationships in your community.
Michelle Feinberg is senior manager, donor advised funds at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland in Beachwood.
