Adding a Successor or Beneficiary
Adding a successor or beneficiary to your BlueGive DAF ensures that your charitable legacy continues beyond your lifetime. A successor advisor can manage and recommend grants from your DAF, allowing your family or designated individuals to carry on your philanthropic values. Alternatively, you can name charitable beneficiaries to receive the remaining DAF balance upon your passing.
A successor and a beneficiary serve different roles in managing the fund after the original donor's passing:
Successor – A designated individual (such as a family member or trusted advisor) who takes over grant recommendations and manages the DAF according to their discretion.
Beneficiary – A nonprofit organization that receives the remaining DAF balance as a final charitable distribution, instead of passing control to an individual.
Donors can choose to name successors, beneficiaries, or a combination of both to ensure their charitable legacy continues as intended. This planning helps maintain your giving strategy, supports causes that are important to you, and aligns with long-term estate and tax planning goals.
To add a successor or beneficiary:
Click on your Profile icon in the bottom left of the platform > click on "Succession Plan"
Click Add a Participant on the right side to add a Successor or Beneficiary Charity to your Succession Plan:
Fill in the necessary personal information for the Successor or Beneficiary and include a % allocation of all assets for heirs or others to grant to their favorite charities > Click Save.
Once completed, you will see the Successor or Beneficiary populate your profile.
You Can Always Make Changes: It’s important to remember that you can modify your Succession/Beneficiary plan at any time, even after submitting your details. This flexibility allows you to adjust your plan as your circumstances change.
Simply click the Remove button to delete or remove a Successor or Beneficiary or click Edit to adjust the information:
Adding a Contingent Successor to your DAF
A Contingent Successor is an individual or entity designated to assume advisory privileges over the Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) in the event that both the Primary Client (typically the Head of Household) and their Individual Successor are deceased or become incapacitated at the same time.
The Contingent Successor shall have all rights and responsibilities associated with advisory privileges of the fund including the ability to recommend grants, designate future successors, and make other recommendations permitted under the terms of the Fund Agreement. The appointment of a Contingent Successor ensures the continuity of charitable intent and governance of the Fund in the absence or incapacity of both the Primary Client and their designated Individual Successor.
There can only be one Contingent Successor on a DAF, as they will assume full responsibility of the DAF should both the Primary Client on the account and all stated successors pass away at the same time. If the Primary HoH passes away, the DAF will be transferred to the Successor. Once the DAF is transferred to the Contingent Successor (should this scenario come to fruition), they may add a secondary Head of Household or invite family members to join the DAF once it has been passed into their name.
To add a Contingent Successor to a Succession Plan, simply click Add a participant in the same way you would a regular successor.
Be sure to slide the toggle to "Yes" when creating the Contingent Successor. See below for reference.
