Donor-Advised Funds (DAF)

A donor-advised fund (DAF) is a mechanism that simplifies the administrative burden of fulfilling your philanthropic objectives. DAFs offer the favorable tax benefits of giving directly to charities with added flexibility around the timing of gifts. An increasingly popular charitable vehicle, DAFs are an excellent way both to simplify your charitable giving and to facilitate your strategic philanthropic goals.

Make a tax-deductible donation

Donate cash, stocks, or non-publicly traded assets such as private business interests, cryptocurrency, and private company stock to be eligible for an immediate tax deduction. A contribution to a donor-advised fund is an irrevocable commitment to charity; the funds cannot be returned to the donor or any other individual or used for any purpose other than grantmaking to charities.

Grow your donation, tax-free

While you’re deciding which charities to support, your donation can potentially grow, making available even more money for charities. Most sponsoring organizations have a variety of investment options from which you can recommend an investment strategy for your charitable dollars.

Support charities you love, now or over time

You can support virtually any IRS-qualified public charity with grant recommendations from the donor-advised fund—from your local homeless shelter, your alma mater, Corban, or your Church. The public charity sponsoring your account will conduct due diligence to ensure the funds granted go to an IRS-qualified public charity and will be used for charitable purposes.

• Simplicity: The donor-advised fund sponsor handles all record-keeping, disbursements, and tax receipts.
• Flexibility: Timing of your tax deduction can be separate from your charitable decision-making.
• Tax-efficiency: Contributions are tax-deductible, and any investment growth in the DAF is tax-free. It is also easy to donate long-term appreciated securities, eliminating capital gains taxes.
• Family legacy: A DAF is a powerful way to build or continue a tradition of family philanthropy.
• No transaction fees: Once approved, 100% of your recommended grant goes to Corban University.
• Privacy if desired: Donors may choose to remain anonymous to the grant recipient.

The U.S. Pension Protection Act of 2006 establishes certain restrictions applying to donor-advised funds. It’s important to be aware of these to make sure that a donation through a DAF meets your needs and charitable intent. The restrictions that most often impact donors concern pledges (new and existing), providing multi-year support, and accepting donor benefits.

Pledges — When a DAF is established, the donor may recommend but not legally direct future charitable grants. As the donor has given up legal ownership of the fund, they are prohibited from making a legally binding pledge from their DAF to the charity they want to support. In addition, donors may not fulfill existing pledges through their DAF.

Donor Benefits — Donating through a DAF limits the donor benefits you may receive. Because a full tax deduction is received at the time of establishing the DAF, donors may only receive “incidental” benefits, or benefits which do not carry a fair market value. Corban’s Advancement team can share which donor benefits you may receive when you donate through a DAF.

Giving through your DAF is easy. Simply contact your sponsoring financial or community institution to recommend a grant to Corban University (or any other charity).