Donors can put money (or more complex assets like stock, cryptocurrency, or real estate) into a DAF, receive an immediate tax deduction, and then see the money in their DAF account be invested and grow tax-free. The donor then recommends grants from their DAF account to any 501(c)3 nonprofit, after which the DAF provider can approve and disperse the funds. See What are some of the restrictions on DAF use? for more information.

Importantly, this separates the financial question of "how much do I want to give to charity?" from the philanthropic question of "which charities do I want to support, and when?" This is one of the many reasons that DAF accounts are the fastest growing vehicle in philanthropy, now making up 17% of philanthropy (up from 7% in 2017).

Technically, when a donor puts money into a DAF account, it is no longer "their money" - it now falls under the control of the sponsoring DAF provider. Yet, in practice, the DAF account holder has near total control as to which charitable organization(s) will become the beneficiaries of the money in their DAF account. See: What are the different types of DAF providers? for more information.

Once funds are put into a DAF account, the donor can never get the money back. Those funds can either in the account and grow, or be given to a charitable organization. It's Chariot's mission to move more of the ~$230B+ currently sitting in DAF accounts to organizations by making it easier than ever to give with a DAF.

As an individual, there are a lot of benefits to opening up a DAF account. Check out our resource, Is a Donor Advised Fund right for you?, to learn more. As a nonprofit, it's important to make sure your are properly set up to capitalize on the growing DAF wave, and enabling DAFpay on your site is a great way to get started. Explore GiveChariot.com to learn more, and explore Chariot's full suite of solutions here.