Why DAF Providers Can’t Afford to Miss DAF Day This Year
- Mitch Stein
- Jul 11
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 13
DAF Day is now a key moment in the philanthropy calendar that drives more fund holder activity, nonprofit engagement and overall DAF program growth. It's a national giving day specifically for Donor-Advised Funds, but the impact extends far beyond October 9th for the DAF Providers that commit to the movement.
Chariot recently hosted a conversation with two DAF CEOs - Megan Hyman from the Dallas Jewish Community Foundation & Robbie Heeger from Endaoment. They were both early advocates for DAF Day, and are already seeing the benefits for their team internally, their fund holders and their community. This recap covers all the key takeaways, benefits and resources available to make DAF Day as easy and powerful as possible.
DAF Day was built to do something that traditional communications from any one DAF Provider can not: create interest, urgency and pride around DAF giving. From DAFs managing 50 accounts to those with 50,000, DAF Day offers a way to reinvigorate brand awareness, re-engage fund holders, and inspire action at a critical moment in the giving season.
What You'll Learn
In this session recap, we’ll cover:
The significance of DAF Day: Why October 9 is the right moment to activate the community, alongside other DAFs around the country.
Closing the awareness gap: What people still misunderstand about DAFs, and how this day can reframe the narrative.
An Opportunity for Grantee Activation: How to align the goals of providers and grantees.
An easy formula for fund holder engagement: Why less than 50% of DAF holders engage consistently and how to change that.
Let DAF Day Start the Giving Conversation: How DAF Day turns natural small talk into philanthropic momentum.
Easy ways to get started: How to get participate without overcommitting resources.
The Bigger Picture: How DAF Day helps elevate the entire sector.
The Significance of DAF Day
DAF Day is a national giving day started in 2024, designed to drive more Donor-Advised Fund awareness, adoption and giving. This year, it falls on Thursday October 9, 2025. This is intentionally aligned with Q4 tax planning season, when charitable contributions are being contemplated. The timing gives DAF Providers an interesting reason to reach out to fund holders, prospects, financial advisors and local nonprofits to start a conversation on DAFs that leads to more action and more impact.
And the results speak for themselves. In 2024:
The Provider’s Fund saw over $4 million granted in a single day, a 4x increase over their 2023 giving on the same day.
Daffy saw a 40% spike in new accounts created during the week of DAF Day.
Nonprofits ranging from ACLU to Susan G. Komen leveraged DAF Day messaging across email, SMS, and social media, amplifying the DAF Day message nationwide.
Closing the Awareness Gap
Despite the rapid growth of donor-advised funds, the vast majority of Americans still don’t understand what they are, or how they work.
A 2022 Ipsos poll showed that only 17% of U.S. adults are familiar with DAFs. This lack of public awareness fuels confusion, stigma, and missed opportunities for deeper engagement with giving. Often, DAFs are perceived as opaque or exclusive, when in reality they’re one of the most accessible, versatile and effective giving tools available.
As Robbie explained in the webinar,
“We spend a lot of time, energy, effort, brain cycles trying to unwind some of the negativity…What if we injected a moment of pride about engaging with DAFs?”
DAF Day helps bridge this gap. Robbie goes on to point out that when, “you say ‘Happy DAF Day’ and someone asks what that is. It’s an opening to explain that DAFs are a smarter, more flexible way to give—regardless of wealth level.”
By creating a reason to talk about DAFs in a public-facing and approachable way—through emails, website pages, press coverage, and events—providers can reframe the narrative and build confidence with both fund holders and their broader networks.
An Opportunity for Grantee Activation
DAF Day presents an opportunity to align the interests between grantees and DAF administrators. When nonprofits understand the benefits of DAFs—they speak to fund holders with confidence, embrace enabling tech like DAFpay, and promote DAF usage more often. During the webinar Mitch pointed out a vivid example:
“We saw the ACLU blast their full list, Doctors Without Borders take a half-page ad in the Wall Street Journal, and even the Montana Community Foundation turn DAF Day into a teach-in for their whole network.”
That kind of sector-wide storytelling pays off for providers: informed nonprofits cultivate more DAF donors, provide more effective appeals for support, and keep the positive narrative moving long after 9 October.
The Easy Formula For Fund holder Engagement
DAF Day isn’t just about raising awareness externally, it’s also about more deeply engaging board members and existing fund holders.
A recent analysis from the DAF Research Collaborative shows that more than half of DAF programs see fewer than 50 percent of their fund holders using philanthropic advising services. Yet the fund holders who do engage give more often, at higher levels, and with stronger long-term retention.
As Robbie noted in the webinar, the bottleneck often starts upstream: “Financial advisors are usually the ones who initiate the opening of DAFs for clients because they have visibility into the client’s tax situation.”
The issue isn’t donor intent—it’s activation. Fund holders often need a clear reason to engage. That’s why DAF Day matters: it provides a non-solicitation moment to prompt generosity, start conversations, and reinforce provider value.
Megan mentioned several stories of DAF Providers sharing examples where they used DAF Day to reintroduce advising services or share creative estate planning strategies.
“We have a lot of people opening funds for their kids and grandkids who ask, ‘How do I even start the conversation about philanthropy?’” Megan explained. “DAF Day gave them the perfect reason to bring it up.”
This is the kind of engagement that builds long-term loyalty, and real impact.
Let DAF Day Start the Giving Conversation
DAF Day boosts growth by aligning with Q4’s year-end gift planning season, creating a natural moment for action in conversations that already take place.
As Megan put it, “Not a lot of people go around saying, ‘Hey, I have my checking account at this bank.’” Talking about money—even charitable giving—can feel awkward. But a shared moment like DAF Day opens the door in a way that feels light and socially acceptable.
Robbie noted the deeper value here: “[the talk surrounding] DAFs often lacks soul.” DAF Day helps shift that narrative, turning a financial tool into a proud expression of generosity. When supporters are invited to give visibly, they’re more likely to share, and that sharing sparks curiosity, awareness, and growth.”
The momentum effect is real. In last year’s campaign, Daffy asked members to share a simple “Happy DAF Day” link with friends. That natural prompt fueled a 40 % surge in new accounts and a 4× grant spike during DAF Day week; proof that a proud fund holder can serve as effective marketers.
It’s Easy to Participate
DAF Providers can start with whatever works best with their existing schedule and available resources.
To make things as easy as possible, there’s also a comprehensive DAF Day Toolkit specifically for DAF Providers that equips teams with everything they need to execute a high-impact rollout with minimal effort.
The Toolkit includes:
A Start-Here checklist and timeline to help internal planning
Fully branded email and SMS campaign kits for fund holders engagement
Editable social media templates and captions
A one-page Executive Briefing for leadership buy-in
Educational resources for fund holders, nonprofits, and wealth advisors
Remember: DAF Day participation is scalable. It can start as some simple DAF Day promotion in a few emails and social media posts, or go all the way to running a DAF Day “challenge” for board members and hosting an in-person event. No matter the path choice, the toolkit is flexible, fast to deploy, and aligned with how DAF Providers actually work. The only wrong way to do DAF Day is to miss out.
The Bigger Picture
The DAF Day opportunity goes far beyond one day of giving. This movement helps define how DAFs are discussed, understood, utilized and valued in the future.
Giving through a DAF is an incredible thing. As Robbie put it, “You grow your little philanthropist island… it becomes part of your personality.” DAF Day creates space to reinforce that identity, making sure every giver has a chance to feel that same level of pride and purpose.
This initiative also helps emphasize the real role of the DAF Provider. They’re not just managing accounts, they’re a champion for generosity, a connector of donors and causes, and a committed partner for driving philanthropy forward.
Remind everyone of that role you play by committing to DAF Day.
Key Takeaways & Next Steps
Key Takeaway | Next Step |
DAF Day is a free, easy, and highly impactful opportunity for DAF providers. | Fill out the interest form to commit to DAF Day. |
DAF Day offers a moment to reframe and educate. | Once you commit, you’ll get the toolkit start a positive DAF conversation in your network. |
DAF Day creates a natural opportunity to engage fund holders. | Plan a light-touch outreach campaign using email or SMS templates from the Toolkit. |
DAF day leads to material program growth - both in terms of giving and contributions. | Organize a DAF Day contribution challenge that activates participants from your ecosystem to champion action. |
Conclusion
DAF Day holds a tremendous potential for any DAF Provider regardless of their strategic focus in 2025. Providing an opportunity to engage DAF activity, increase visibility, strengthen their partnerships with grantees or showcase leadership—DAF Day 2025 is a can't miss opportunity.
At Chariot, we’re here to support every step of the DAF Day journey. Our team is on call to help any way we can, and are constantly evolving the platform and resources based on provider feedback. Partnering with Chariot on DAFpay or using Chariot Disbursements to streamline grant payments is not a prerequisite, DAF Day welcomes providers at all levels of involvement.