Fine-Tuning Your DAF Strategy: Turning Interest into Action for Nonprofit Fundraisers
- Mitch Stein
- Sep 5
- 4 min read
Over the past few months, Chariot’s DAF Day webinar series has explored why donor-advised funds (DAFs) matter and how they’re reshaping philanthropy. But, if you’re a nonprofit fundraiser, you may be asking: What do I actually do next?
This recap of our latest session provides a specific list of action items that you can take before DAF Day on October 9th to go from strategy to tactical execution. From your digital presentation, to campaign elements, to closing the loop on donor stewardship, our panel of experts shared the playbook they’re using to move from intention to action.
Featuring:
Wendy Vizek, SVP of Community Engagement & Field Operations at the Alzheimer’s Association
Shirley Nagar, VP of Planned Giving at The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF)
Kim Brisse, Direct Response Lead at MJFF
Hosted by Mitch Stein, Head of Strategy at Chariot
Tech Capabilities That Unlock Giving
Wendy Vizek described how the Alzheimer’s Association prioritized integrating DAFpay by Chariot into their fundraising platforms. The results have been striking: over 2,100 donors gave $1.4M in the first year using this option .
The key, Wendy noted, was making giving easy and instant. “If a donor can’t see their thermometer rise when they give to a peer-to-peer fundraiser, they may never come back. DAFpay solved that problem for us.”
Action item: Audit your donation forms and event pages. Is DAF giving visible and as easy as credit card or PayPal? Check if your fundraising platform offers DAFpay and if not, request the integration from them.
Building a Web Presence That Works
MJFF’s team invested in a dedicated DAF Day landing page last year, that includes:
Overview of DAF Day
Overview of DAFs
A downloadable resource on DAFs
A donor story
A reminder on beneficiary opportunities with a DAF
An easy way to complete a gift (DAFpay)
Contact information and organization details
A dedicated page for DAF Day not only gives you an easy place to link all of your outreach about DAF Day, it also helps you track engagement with this campaign and rank better from an SEO perspective.
The Alzheimer’s Association also updated their Ways to Give page to highlight DAF giving, making sure it was a visible option for any supporter browsing the site.
Action item: Review your website’s “Ways to Give” page. Add a dedicated DAF section and consider a campaign landing page for DAF Day.
Campaign Planning and Segmentation
At ALZ, the average DAFpay gift was $640, with a median of $250 —proof that DAF gifts can come from any part of your donor file. The takeaway for our panel: for more expensive channels like direct mail, it makes sense to do more specific segmentation to donors that give at a certain level or have used a DAF before, but leverage email and social media to highlight DAF day and DAF giving to everyone.
MJFF layers its approach: targeting known DAF donors first, but also testing inserts and emails to broader audiences.
As Kim Brisse explained: “We focus first on people already giving through DAFs, but we’ve also seen great response when we include DAF messaging in mass campaigns. This summer, we mailed an insert about DAFs and IRAs to our entire file, and Shirley’s team got a ton of inquiries back. It was proof that broader outreach can work.”
Action item: Identify segments of your file that may already give through DAFs, but also test broader outreach—especially on low-cost channels like email.
Stewardship: Closing the Loop
One of the most consistent mistakes fundraisers make with DAFs is not stewarding donors properly. Because gifts often come through sponsoring institutions, some nonprofits fail to send acknowledgments. The cost can be high.
Mitch Stein shared: “I’ve spoken to donors who gave through their DAF for three years and never received a thank-you from the nonprofit. They canceled their recurring gift.”
“Stewardship is not optional—it’s the beginning of a strategic philanthropic journey.” Shirley Nagar
Both MJFF and the Alzheimer’s Association have embraced rapid personalized acknowledgments made possible by DAFpay, which enables seamless sharing of the donor email the second they initiate their DAF gift. Donors are now thanked within 24 hours, with clear recognition of their specific gift intention—whether that’s supporting a walk team, a research project, or a general fund.
Action item: Create a DAF-specific stewardship workflow. Commit to thanking donors within 48 hours and acknowledging their specific intent (walk team, research program, etc.).
Linking DAFs to Planned Giving
DAFs aren’t just a transactional channel. They can also be an entry point into deeper legacy conversations.
“Many donors don’t realize they can name a nonprofit as a beneficiary of their DAF,” Shirley explained. “DAF Day complements activations like Make a Will Month, helping donors connect the dots between how they give today and the impact they want to leave in the future”.
Action item: Train your planned giving staff to mention DAF beneficiary designations in donor conversations. Include it in your will-making month or estate planning campaigns.
Internal Education Matters
Even the best strategies can falter without internal alignment. Both Wendy and Shirley stressed the importance of educating staff and volunteers. The Alzheimer’s Association created a simple DAF one-pager for internal and external use, busting myths and equipping staff to bring up DAF giving in conversations without feeling like they need to be experts.
Action item: Create or adapt a simple one-pager for internal staff and volunteers so they feel confident mentioning DAFs without needing to be technical experts. Check out this example from the Alzheimer’s Association.
Where DAF Day Fits
With busy fall calendars—walks, galas, Giving Tuesday, Yearend—some fundraisers wonder how to fit DAF Day into the mix. The speakers agreed that it’s not about competing priorities, but about amplifying all giving. Joining the movement to highlight DAF giving on October 9th for DAF Day means your supporters are more likely to use their DAF in all those other campaigns as well.
As Shirley put it: “DAF Day cuts across programs—major gifts, annual giving, peer-to-peer, planned giving. It’s a unique opportunity for alignment.”
Action item: Position DAF Day as a cross-team opportunity. Encourage every department—annual fund, peer-to-peer, planned giving—to leverage the day in ways that support their goals.
Take Action This Fall
Every step that your team takes to implement DAF Fundraising Strategy before DAF Day on October 9th will support the team’s effort through yearend and beyond.
Bonus Action item: Is your organization verified on the DAF Day Giving Page? Learn more about the benefits and opportunities of claiming your Chariot Account*.
Comments