Major Gifts and Planned Giving are essential pillars of nonprofit fundraising, providing sustained support and deepening donor relationships. Since DAF donors typically skew more affluent, the oversight of DAF fundraising often lands with staff focused on Major Gifts or Planned Giving. And yet, many professionals in these areas have yet to fully integrate DAF gifts into their broader fundraising strategy. Instead, they treat DAFs as an “extra” set of gifts that happen almost by chance.
As DAF giving grows in popularity–with assets set aside for giving in DAFs now exceeding $250 billion, and grants surpassing $54 billion in 2023 alone–nonprofits need to think about proactive DAF strategies across their fundraising team, but especially in their Major and Planned giving efforts.
This week, three seasoned fundraising leaders—Trish Davis (VP of Major Gifts & Panned Giving Susan G. Komen), Sharon Bean (Senior Director of Planned Giving at International Rescue Committee), and Shirley Nagar (Director of Planned Giving at The Michael J. Fox Foundation)— joined Chariot’s Mitch Stein to tackle this challenge. They shared how nonprofits can better integrate DAFs into their fundraising strategies, ensuring these funds become a bigger, more reliable piece of the giving puzzle.
In this recap, we’ll break down their insights and offer practical tips to help you maximize DAFs within your Major gifts and Planned Giving programs. Read on for:
Major Gifts and Planned Giving: Definitions and Insights
Where DAFs fit into Major Gifts and Planned Giving
Strategies to Elevate DAF Giving in Major Gifts and Planned Giving
Major Gifts and Planned Giving: Definitions and Best Practices
Major gifts: Significant donations that have a substantial impact on an organization, often cultivated through personalized relationships with donors.
Planned Giving: Contributions arranged in advance, typically as part of a donor’s financial or estate planning, such as bequests, trusts, or pledged gifts of assets.
Best Practices from Seasoned Professionals
Always Consider the Full Donor Journey
Donors don’t always start as major contributors; relationships evolve over time. By engaging with donors at every stage—whether they’re giving a little or a lot—you build trust and pave the way for deeper, more impactful involvement in the future. When your whole team is focused on learning from donors in this full journey, everyone will be able to identify the best opportunities for 1x1 relationship building and long-term planning.
Integrate Your Entire Fundraising Strategy
There’s no such thing as an isolated section in fundraising. All elements of your organization’s fundraising should come together in a comprehensive, unified strategy. It’s important for everyone on your team - from Major Gifts, to Sustainer Programs, to Gift Processing - to approach fundraising with this mindset. All fundraising efforts work in harmony to support one another.
“Major Gifts and planned giving succeed when they’re integrated into a comprehensive donor strategy” – Shirley
Encourage a Variety of Revenue Sources
Economic shifts and changes in government funding highlight the need for diverse revenue streams. With the future of federal funding being so uncertain, many organizations are leaning into the variety of ways that individuals can support. Learn for yourself why and how donors can contribute through methods beyond just credit cards or checks. Exploring options like DAFs, stocks, and QCDs not only broadens your fundraising potential but also meets donors where they are, offering more flexible and tax-efficient ways to give.
Lead with Your Mission
Especially in times of uncertainty, donors look to nonprofits to help address huge challenges. As you engage with your donors, always lead with your mission. Focus on the shared goal of creating positive change and emphasize the impact their support can have. By grounding these conversations in a strong connection to your cause, you’ll help give your donors the purpose they are really seeking with their philanthropy.
“We don’t necessarily need to talk about all the technicalities all the time. We need to bring the mission.” – Sharon
Where DAFs Fit into Major and Planned Giving
DAFs have experienced remarkable growth in recent years. Over the past five years, both assets held in DAFs and the annual grants distributed have roughly doubled. In 2023 alone, assets grew by 10%, signaling a strong trajectory for continued expansion.
While DAF donations tend to be larger, DAF donors give gifts of all sizes. Among gifts made via DAFpay, the express-checkout DAF payment tool from Chariot, the average gift size is $1,000 and the median gift size is $220, showcasing this range.
When a donor makes a gift with a DAF, it reflects more than just a gift:
It communicates their seriousness about philanthropy.
Using a DAF shows that the donor is not just giving casually, they are taking a more thoughtful, long-term approach to their philanthropy. The structure of DAFs encourages donors to plan their giving and engage with causes in a deeper, more intentional way, highlighting their serious commitment to making a meaningful impact.
“All of our donors, especially DAF donors, are very smart and savvy. They know what’s happening in the world and they’re really thinking about their philanthropy.” – Sharon
It highlights their potential giving capacity:
In 2023, the average DAF account size was $141,120. Even if a donor’s first DAF gift is small, the fact that they have established a DAF indicates a significant potential for larger contributions in the future. Holding a DAF account often reflects a donor's financial capability and intention to give strategically, signaling the potential for higher-level gifts, including Major and Planned Giving.
DAF donors can designate beneficiaries for their funds, creating a perfect opportunity for planned giving.
Many DAF donors don’t realize that they need to designate a beneficiary for their DAF. This is an important step for long-term planning and ensuring that their charitable intentions are carried out after their passing. Be sure to bring this up with your donors and encourage them to update their DAF beneficiary details.
Dig a layer deeper into how their DAFs play into their estate plans. Sharon said that even if a donor says they’ve named their kids, she always asks about the alignment between the cause areas the donor supports compared with their children. Sometimes it opens their eyes to the opportunity to name a nonprofit they personally care about as an additional beneficiary.
“I want to double underline how many donors might not realize that they have the opportunity to name a beneficiary in their DAF account. It is typically not a standard part of their onboarding.” – Mitch
Strategies to Elevate DAF Giving in Major Gifts and Planned Giving
1. Educate Your Entire Team
DAF gifts shouldn’t be siloed within one part of your organization. They should be integrated into your broader donor engagement strategy, ensuring that all teams are aligned and working together to maximize DAF giving and cultivate long-term relationships with DAF donors.
It’s essential that everyone on your fundraising team understands the value of DAF donors. When a donor contributes via DAF—even if it is at an event or during a peer-to-peer campaign—it’s important that your entire team knows to flag that donor for the Major Gifts and Planned Giving teams. These gifts often signal the potential for larger contributions in the future, and those teams should be aware of these opportunities.
Be your organization’s DAF Champion. Take the lead in promoting understanding and collaboration around DAFs. Host internal trainings to educate your team about the nuances of DAF giving, and share real-life donor stories to inspire engagement and demonstrate the impact.
Identifying DAF donors can be challenging, as these donors may not provide full information when designating a grant. However, it’s important to make an effort to track these gifts as best as possible to ensure effective stewardship. Here’s a comprehensive guide to DAF donor stewardship.
2. Follow Your Donors’ Lead
Donors are proud of their DAFs–they show forethought, organization, and a commitment to lifelong philanthropy. Often, they want to share how they use them for charitable giving. When a donor brings up their DAF, lean into these conversations and use it as an opportunity to highlight the advantages of DAFs as a giving tool. This can deepen your connection and open the door for more substantial gifts in the future.
In times of economic uncertainty, DAF holders are proven to still increase their giving while other giving vehicles decline. Since donors don’t need to give directly from their pocketbooks, they can continue contributing to causes they care about without impacting their immediate finances.
Similarly, if you’re speaking with a donor and they mention challenges with giving—whether it’s a preference for non-cash donations or logistical hurdles—bring up the possibility of opening a DAF.
While fundraisers are not financial advisors, it is possible to bring up DAFs without offering financial advice. In the session, Trish shared an example of a donor who frequently makes stock gifts but found the process cumbersome. The donor also supports several organizations, prompting Trish to suggest exploring a Donor Advised Fund. That way they could contribute stock in one place, then recommend grants to all the nonprofits they want to support - which are sent in the form of cash. The DAFs are set up to easily receive and liquidate stock. The donor had never heard of DAFs, and Trish was able to clearly explain these benefits, addressing the donor's specific challenges and needs.
“I simply asked: ‘Have you considered a donor advised fund? Their response: ‘What’s a donor advised fund? It was a perfect opportunity to explain the benefits.” – Trish
Talking to your donors about DAFs gives you a way to learn about them and potentially teach them about something useful, which is a nice change from just making an ask for a donation. Here are a few suggestions to help with those conversations:
Provide a point of contact on your website if they have questions about DAFs (like Trish does for Komen)
Add a donor story to your website or materials that demonstrates the value other supporters get from having a DAF (like Shirley’s team does for Michael J. Fox Foundation)
Dig a layer deeper into how their DAFs play into their estate plans. Sharon said that even if a donor says they’ve named their kids, she always asks about the alignment between the cause areas the donor supports compared with their children. Sometimes it opens their eyes to the opportunity to name a nonprofit they personally care about as an additional beneficiary.
Make DAF Giving Accessible to As Many Donors as Possible
The easiest way to increase DAF donations is by making the process simpler and more accessible. Donors often find giving via DAF confusing, as it involves multiple steps and different portals. Especially if a DAF donor is newer or less connected to your organization, they are less likely to take all those extra steps and more likely to give with a credit card (leaving you with a smaller donation and no knowledge of the fact they have a DAF!) By streamlining this process, you can help engage more donors. Here are a few ways to reduce these barriers:
Simply the giving process with DAFpay
Consider using Chariot’s express-checkout DAF payments option, DAFpay, which allows donors to initiate DAF grants with just 3 clicks without leaving your website or donation form. This streamlines the process, removing friction and encouraging more, larger DAF donations.
Check if your current fundraising platform already integrates with Chariot to make the process even easier.
DAFpay also allows you to instantly capture a donor’s name and email, helping you to engage in effective stewardship and build lasting relationships.
“I really see DAFS as a gateway to deeper conversations about a donor's vision for their philanthropy.” – Shirley
Deliver messaging about DAFs to your entire donor base
Don’t limit your outreach to just major donors or previous DAF users. To unlock new major gifts, you need to educate your entire donor base on the benefits of DAFs. By expanding your messaging, you’ll increase awareness and make DAF giving an accessible option for more people. According to the 2024 DAF Fundraising Report, once donors give via DAF, their annual contributions to the same nonprofit rise by 96% on average.
Join DAF Day 2025 – a new kind of giving day dedicated to Donor Advised Funds. Use this opportunity to generate widespread awareness and excitement around DAFs.
“DAF Day was the first time we actively marketed to our full donor base about Donor Advised Funds – and it was a huge success.” – Trish
Bonus Tip: As a fundraiser, consider opening your own DAF to gain firsthand experience with the giving process. All three of this session’s speakers now have one! This will deepen your understanding and make you better equipped to guide donors through their own giving journeys. Here’s a resource packed with reasons to open your own DAF, as well as popular accessible options.
Engage with the DAF community
Build relationships with DAF sponsoring organization and community foundations
By fostering these relationships, you gain insight into trends, best practices, and opportunities to engage DAF donors more effectively.
Collaborate with financial advisors
Financial advisors are often the go-to professionals for guiding donors through charitable giving decisions, including the use of DAFs. Building relationships with financial advisors can be incredibly beneficial. Consider co-creating resources or educational downloads that highlight the advantages of DAFs, making it easier for advisors to share this information with their clients. By working together, you can increase awareness of DAFs and their potential to support your organization’s mission.
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