What is
A new kind of giving day that reframes how donor advised funds (DAFs) are used -- and who uses them.
Why?
Giving with a DAF is proven to nearly double someone’s annual support of the causes they care about (+96%) (1). Yet:
1.
Too many DAF accounts go unused each year (2)
2.
Too many people remain unaware of DAFs(3)
3.
Too many nonprofits are not even mentioning DAFs in their marketing (4)
DAF day will allow us all to:
​
1. Maximize the use of DAFs by creating a shared timeline to follow, a collective movement to join and a connected experience to get excited about.
2. Increase awareness of the value DAFs offer to donors and nonprofits, so that more people use them to expand their giving capacity.
How?
A collaborative group of leading nonprofits, fundraising platforms and DAF providers are coming together to activate their collective audience of millions of donors for a single day of unprecedented generosity.
Every stakeholder participating can join the movement on dafday.com so we can centrally track our growing participation and build momentum for October 10th’s impact. Donors are asked to commit to making at least one DAF gift on DAF Day, and set a goal in advance for how much they aim to disburse in a single day.
When?
October 10th, which provides a clear window for participating organizations to:
a. Execute a DAF-specific campaign
b. Get participants familiar with the new ease & connectedness of DAF giving through DAFpay.
c. Increase the engagement of these critical donors in the Giving Tuesday and Yearend campaigns that follow in Q4.
Why now?
-
We have the research that proves the value of DAFs to donors and nonprofits - and the critical role they play in this challenging fundraising environment.
-
We have the technology to enable real-time participation and recognition of DAF donors in a giving day.
-
With $230 billion already set aside for giving in DAF accounts (5), the potential impact of DAF Day on participating organizations is immense.
​We have the power to make a meaningful change in DAF giving, this year, together. Why now? Because it can’t wait.
Boilerplate description of DAF Day:
​
DAF Day is a new kind of giving day that reframes how donor advised funds are used: and who uses them. A collaborative group of leading nonprofits, fundraising platforms and DAF providers are coming together to activate their collective audience of millions of donors for a single day of unprecedented generosity with DAFs on October 10th, 2024.
Boilerplate description of Chariot & DAFpay:​
​
Chariot is the payments company dedicated to Donor Advised Fund (DAF) giving. DAFpay, Chariot’s 3-click DAF payment option, allows donors to give with their DAF anywhere they are inspired to give online. This enables donors to use their DAF in more places, more often, and unlocks more DAF gifts with better information for nonprofits. Chariot powers direct DAF payments for many of the largest nonprofits in the country, such as the American Cancer Society, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
(1) The 2024 DAF Fundraising Report showed that when a donor starts using a DAF, it increases their giving to an organization they already supported by 96% per year.
(2) In the 2024 National Study on Donor Advised Funds by the DAF Research Collaborative found that 37% of DAF accounts go unused in a given year.
(3) A survey conducted by inequality.org in March 2024 found that only 17% of US Adults know what a Donor Advised Fund is.
(4) The 2024 FreeWill Donor Advised Fund Survey found that 42% of nonprofit respondents are “not soliciting or promoting DAF gifts.”
(5) National Philanthropic Trust reports total DAF assets as of the end of 2022 of over $229 billion.