Chariot’s 2025 Year in Review + What’s Next
- Mitch Stein
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
2025 was a year of rapid growth, intentional investment and deeper connections across the industry for Chariot. We welcomed thousands of new nonprofit partners, established dozens of new fundraising platform integrations (GiveCampus, Funraise, Give Lively - to name a few!), onboarded 12 Disbursement partners - and grew our team by 60%.
The Chariot platform underwent a transformative overhaul, introducing deposit capabilities and unlocking the first-ever dedicated charitable payments network. These investments will underpin major product advancements in 2026, which will be announced during our live release webinar on January 28th - you can register here to save your spot!
During the January 28th session - A New Chariot is Coming - we’ll share more details on where Chariot is going next, new free perks for all nonprofits on Chariot, a new look for Chariot, and much more.
We loved all the chances we had to engage with incredible nonprofit organizations around the country, presenting in-person at 14 different conferences alongside incredible partners like Central Park Conservancy, March of Dimes, American Cancer Society and The Public Theater. From the Nonprofit Technology Conference in Baltimore, to the Bridge to Integrated Marketing & Fundraising in D.C., to the Association of Advancement Services Professionals in Reno, we discussed all aspects of DAF Fundraising with thousands of nonprofit professionals.
We were also honored to be recognized for our innovation and insights in so many places this year, with features in Fast Company, Time, Chronicle of Philanthropy, Nonprofit Times, Nonprofit Pro + dozens of webinars and podcasts.
While there were countless special memories over the course of the year, there were 10 moments that best defined 2025 for the Chariot Network.
Fast Company Recognition
In March, Chariot was named to Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list for 2025.
Chariot Disbursements* Launch
In April, Dallas Jewish Community Foundation, Daffy and DonorsChoose joined us to launch Chariot Disbursements - a faster, easier, safer way to send grant payments, now used by over a dozen Donor-Advised Funds, Workplace Giving systems and crowdfunding platforms.
2025 DAF Fundraising Report
In June, the second edition of the groundbreaking report on the nonprofit experience with Donor-Advised Funds by Chariot & K2D Strategies brought more participants, more analysis and twice as much engagement. Participation for the 2026 study is nearly at capacity and the application deadline is January 15. Apply now!
Blackbaud announces DAFpay integration
In October, during the opening keynote on the mainstage of Blackbaud’s annual conference bbcon, they announced that a native DAFpay integration in their donation forms was coming in early 2026.
DAF Day’s Explosive Growth
Starting with our kickoff webinar that drew 1,100+ registrants in June, everything about DAF Day 2025 was off the charts compared to year one. 4x the number of nonprofits involved, 6x the number of DAFs and incredible activations recognized in the first-ever DAF Day awards. Mark your calendars for DAF Day 2026: Thursday October 8th.
TIME Best Inventions
Also on DAF Day (October 9, 2025), DAFpay was named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2025!
Pan-Mass Challenge reaches new DAFpay milestone
By November, Pan-Mass Challenge - the largest athletic fundraiser in the country - became the first nonprofit to raise more than $5 million through DAFpay in a single calendar year, after setting the prior record of over $3.5 million in 2024.
Record GivingTuesday for DAFpay
DAFpay volume on GivingTuesday (December 2, 2025) more than doubled year-over-year and even outpaced DAF Day 2025. Overall GivingTuesday donations topped $4 billion, a 13% increase year-over-year.
Chariot Disbursements Soared at Yearend
The $24 million disbursed across 22,000 grant payments just in December 2025 was a phenomenal leap forward for the Chariot payment network. Despite launching this product only eight months earlier, 30% of the nonprofit sector by contribution volume were already set up for digital payments through Chariot by yearend. This reach enabled us to send 83% of this Disbursement volume electronically.
New DAFgiving360 Authentication Method in DAFpay introduced
In late December, one more exciting update was made to DAFpay. Donors who use DAFgiving360 will now benefit from a new method to access DAFpay, further simplifying the login process and enhancing grant review. All the details are available here.
Next Up: If you thought 2025 was busy, just get ready for 2026! Be the first to hear about our plans for the year ahead in our special session, A New Chariot is Coming, on January 28th.
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