Why Prioritize DAFs? How to Make the Case to Your Team

Updated October 2026

Donor-advised funds (DAFs) are one of the fastest-growing sources of charitable dollars in the US. In 2024, DAFs granted a record $64.89 billion to nonprofits; a 19% jump in a single year, according to the 2025 Annual DAF Report.

And on October 8, donors across the country will be asked to put those dollars to work on DAF Day.

Many organizations already treat DAF fundraising as a core strategy. Others haven’t been able to make it a priority yet. Any new giving initiative requires leadership buy-in and an investment of time and resources, and that can be an uphill battle.

If you know DAFs belong on your organization’s priority list, this guide gives you the stats, talking points, and objection-handling you need to make a persuasive case to your leaders and board.

What is DAF Day and why does it exist?

DAF Day is a national giving day dedicated to donor-advised funds, held each year on the second Thursday of October. In 2026, it falls on October 8.

Chariot, the company behind the DAFpay giving tool, launched DAF Day in 2024 to solve a simple problem: Hundreds of billions of dollars sit in DAF accounts that donors have already set aside for charity, and donors often need a nudge and a deadline to recommend grants. DAF Day gives them both, and it kicks off the year-end giving season early.

The idea caught on fast:

• 2024: More than 1,200 nonprofits participated in the first DAF Day.
• 2025: More than 4,400 nonprofits and 30+ DAF providers took part, with upward of $2 million in directly observable grants from over 1,000 gifts.

DAF Day also makes a useful forcing function inside your organization. A fixed date on the calendar gives you a concrete reason to start the DAF conversation with leadership now rather than “sometime next fiscal year.”

Why prioritize DAFs: The numbers

Numbers speak loudly when leaders need to steward resources responsibly. Here are the most current DAF statistics from four industry reports.

The 2025 Annual DAF Report (2024 data)

Published by the DAF Research Collaborative (the successor to National Philanthropic Trust’s long-running DAF Report), this is the most comprehensive look at the DAF landscape.

• $64.89 billion in grants went from DAFs to nonprofits in 2024, a 19% increase over 2023 and a new record.
• $325.45 billion in assets sat in DAF accounts, up 27.5% year over year and roughly double the $165.81 billion held in 2020.
• $89.64 billion in new contributions flowed into DAFs, up 37% from the year prior.
• 25.3% payout rate, more than 3x the roughly 8% payout rate of private foundations.

Fidelity Charitable’s 2026 Giving Report (2025 data)

Fidelity Charitable is the largest DAF sponsor in the country, so its numbers show how DAF donors actually behave.

• Donors recommended $18.3 billion in grants in 2025, a 23% increase over 2024.
• The average grant was $5,801, up 7%.
• 77% of grants went to organizations the donor had supported before.
• 32% of grants were prescheduled or recurring.
• Only 5% of grants were anonymous.

Chariot’s 2026 DAF Fundraising Report

Chariot’s report analyzed $26.1 billion in giving across 54 nonprofits.

• Median DAF revenue grew 75% from 2021 to 2025. Non-DAF revenue grew just 9% over the same period.
• DAF donor retention ran 13 percentage points higher than non-DAF donor retention.
• About 50,000 existing donors switched to giving through a DAF between 2021 and 2025, and nearly half of them more than doubled their annual giving.
• Two-thirds of DAF gifts are under $1,000; DAFs aren’t only a major gifts play.

The FreeWill DAF Report

FreeWill’s survey of nonprofit fundraisers found that 76% expected DAFs to grow in importance, and 58% actively solicited or promoted DAFs to donors (up from 46% the year before). Of the nonprofits that actively pursued DAF gifts, 98% received at least one.

Taken together, the trend line is clear. Despite year-to-year swings, DAFs keep growing as a preferred giving vehicle. They hold an enormous pool of wealth set aside expressly for philanthropy, and early wins come faster than most newcomers expect.

Why prioritize DAFs: The talking points

Numbers need framing to land ( and if you’re a gift officer, you already know the power of a good story). Here’s how to translate the data into a pitch your leadership team will remember.

1. Your highest-impact donors increasingly prefer DAFs

DAF donors give bigger and give more often. Chariot found DAF donors made gifts 23 times larger than non-DAF donors on average in 2025. Gravyty saw a similar pattern firsthand: one alumni association using DAFpay on its giving day found that DAF gifts averaged 18 times larger than non-DAF gifts, and 13% of DAFpay donors made their largest gift ever.

2. The 2026 tax landscape pushes more dollars into DAFs

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in July 2025, made the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s higher standard deduction permanent and changed how charitable gifts are deducted starting in 2026:

• A new 0.5% floor: Itemizers can only deduct charitable gifts above 0.5% of their adjusted gross income.
• A 35% cap: Donors in the top tax bracket now get a maximum 35-cent tax benefit per dollar given, down from 37 cents.
• A new non-itemizer deduction: Taxpayers who don’t itemize can deduct up to $1,000 ($2,000 for joint filers) in cash gifts. Contributions to DAFs don’t qualify, so these gifts need to go directly to your organization.

Many wealthy donors responded by “bunching” several years of giving into a DAF in 2025, before the new limits kicked in. That means more charitable dollars are parked in DAF accounts right now, waiting for donors to recommend grants. Organizations that ask will be first in line.

(Note: This is general context, not tax advice. We encourage you to talk with an advisor.)

3. DAFs make non-cash giving easy

Non-cash gifts like appreciated stock have been shown to accelerate nonprofit growth, and DAFs are the easiest path to them. FreeWill respondents named DAFs their most common source of non-cash gifts, and 60% said DAFs make it easier for donors to give complex assets like stock and cryptocurrency.

4. DAF payout rates far outpace foundations

DAFs paid out 25.3% of their assets in 2024. Private foundations are only required to pay out 5% each year and typically hover around 8%. A dollar in a DAF moves to nonprofits much faster than a dollar in a foundation.

5. DAF donors are loyal

You likely already know your future DAF donors. Fidelity Charitable found 77% of its 2025 grants went to organizations donors had supported before, and nearly a third were recurring or prescheduled. Chariot’s data shows DAF donors retain at higher rates, too. Tap into that convenience to lift retention and donor lifetime value.

6. For colleges and universities, the case is even stronger

Education has long been one of the top destinations for DAF dollars. Giving USA’s Special Report on Donor-Advised Funds found that about 29% of DAF giving goes to education, roughly double the share education receives through other giving vehicles. For advancement teams facing enrollment pressure and federal funding uncertainty, that’s a revenue stream worth a dedicated strategy.

How to answer common objections

Every leadership team brings different concerns. Here’s how to respond to the most common ones.

Our biggest takeaway: Ask

As you build your pitch, remember the single most important point: You won’t secure DAF gifts if you don’t ask for them.

FreeWill found that only 2% of nonprofits that actively promoted DAF gifts didn’t receive one. Among nonprofits that didn’t promote DAFs, 20% came up empty. Savvy donors will find you regardless, but would you rather leave these gifts to chance or join the 98% who ask?

How to get started before DAF Day (and after)

Asking for DAF gifts gets easier once you know which donors have them. Start with these steps:

1. Ask your top donors and prospects directly whether they give through a DAF. Many already do.
2. Survey your broader donor base to cast a wider net.
3. Add DAFs to your Ways to Give page, donation forms, and newsletters. Include a short explainer and a direct DAF giving option.
4. Promote DAF Day. Send a short email or social post the week of October 8 reminding donors they can recommend a grant from their DAF that day.
5. Keep organized records. Track your findings as donors share how they give, so your team can follow up with the right message.
6. Use DAF Day as a launchpad for year-end. Donors who give on DAF Day are prime candidates for your year-end and giving day appeals.

DAF donors want to give. According to Fidelity Charitable, donors open DAFs to give appreciated assets more easily (76%), give themselves more time to decide where to donate (68%), and sustain their giving through retirement (62%). Your job is to make your organization the obvious place for those grants to go.

With leadership buy-in and some upfront identification work, you can reach these donors and build a robust pipeline that fuels your growth for years.

Make DAF giving easy with Gravyty

Advance from Gravyty integrates with DAFpay, so donors can give directly from their donor-advised fund on your giving day and online giving pages — and your team captures the donor information it needs to say thank you.

Frequently asked questions about DAF fundraising