Your giving program looks like a convenient vehicle for fulfilling personal charitable pledges. Here’s what you need to know about when to say “no.”
Donor Advised Funds
Donor advised funds have been a part of the federal tax law of charity for nearly a century as a unique philanthropic tool. Because of the relatively small amount needed to start a DAF compared to assets needed to create a private foundation, DAFs serve as an opportunity for middle class Americans to pursue their philanthropy and to gain the benefit of the foundations’ expertise and experience in helping to guide their giving. Use these resources to learn more and gain valuable insight into managing and administering Donor Advised Funds.
These are a few examples of DAFs that are sparking tremendous change in their communities:
Adirondack Foundation-Evergreen Fund
Larry Master, courtesy of Adirondack Foundation
In-Depth knowledge on Donor Advised Funds
This webinar, the last in a three-part series on impact investing, shares program designs and lessons from The Greater Cincinnati Foundation and others that have established donor-advised funds and leveraged endowment assets.
Council summary of Treasury Department report on donor advised funds and supporting organizations.
In Notice 2007-21, the Treasury Department and IRS requested comments on issues relating to the organization and operation of donor advised funds and supporting organizations, to be included in a study of these organizations. The resulting report includes detailed discussion of the legal requirements for supporting organizations and donor advised funds, an analysis of available statistical information about DAFs and SOs, and more.
This chart details what organizations can and cannot receive grants from donor advised funds.
Information on bringing scholarship funds into compliance under the PPA.
Frequently asked questions about prohibited grants from donor advised funds following the Pension Protection Act of 2006.
Frequently asked questions about disqualified persons for donor advised funds and sponsoring organizations under the intermediate sanctions rules of the PPA.
Under the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), the private foundation excess business holdings rule apply to donor-advised funds as if they were private foundations. That is, the holdings of a donor-advised fund in a business enterprise, together with the holdings of persons who are disqualified persons with respect to that fund, may not exceed certain limits.
Council summary of the 2012 Congressional Research Service Report on Donor-Advised Funds. The report updates to 2008 some of the statistical information about donor-advised funds that was included in the 2011 Treasury report on donor-advised funds.