They aren’t super-rich, and they aren’t bankrolling big foundations. They’re average investors who have saved and invested responsibly for years. Now, a growing number of them are setting up “mini foundations” to help make the most of their hard-earned charitable dollars.
Ranging from twenty-somethings to octogenarians and up, these investors are finding that using a donor-advised fund DAF can be much easier than giving directly to dozens of different charities each year — and less hassle than establishing their own private foundations.
According to charitable-giving experts, donor-advised funds: – Simplify charitable giving by helping you plan and organize donations – Make it easier to donate not only stocks and bonds but non-public and less liquid assets such as art, collectibles and real estate – Require less paperwork and are less costly than private foundations – Help with financial planning by making it easier to budget – Provide tax benefits that can make your charitable dollars go farther
“They’ve absolutely been growing in popularity,” says Amy Danforth, senior vice president at Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, an independent public charity with a donor-advised fund program established in 1991. Since that time, “We’ve had double-digit compound annual growth in the number of accounts established,” she says.