UNLIKE CHECKBOOK CHARITY, A DONOR ADVISED FUND GIVES YOU:
Flexibility: Receive a charitable tax deduction when you make a contribution to a DAF, and have the time you need to make thoughtful decisions about which charities to support.
Ease of Use: Fundholders can check fund balance and contribution history, and recommend grants online.
No Receipts: You no longer need to track receipts from multiple charities.
Growth: Assets in your donor advised fund grow tax-free, thereby generating more charitable dollars to support the charities you care about.
Ability to Use Appreciated Securities: Donor advised funds, unlike many charitable organizations, can accept contributions of appreciated securities. For gifts of long-term appreciated publicly traded securities (i.e. securities that you have owned for more than one year), a donor to a DAF may claim a fair market value deduction on the gift date*. Furthermore, the donor is not subject to a capital gains tax on the appreciated portion of the contribution.
*Generally speaking, the fair market value is determined by averaging the highest and lowest quoted selling prices on the date the gift is received.)
Maximum Tax Deduction: When you make a contribution to a donor advised fund, you are making a charitable donation to a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity. Consequently, you are entitled to receive the maximum tax deduction allowed by law. Contributions of cash are deductible in the amount contributed by up to 60% of the donor’s adjusted gross income in the year in which the contribution is made. Any excess amount may be carried forward and deducted up to the 60% limit in the five-year period after the year of the contribution. Gifts of appreciated securities may be deducted up to 30% of adjusted gross income in the tax year in which the contribution is made. Any excess among may be carried forward and deducted up to the 30% limit in the 5-year period after the year of the contribution.