Donor Advised Fund: The Details

A Donor Advised Fund (DAF) is a private fund created expressly for charitable giving and is the most rapidly growing form of philanthropy. Establishing a DAF is like creating your own personal charitable foundation, but without the administrative work. It’s a simple process of depositing the amount you would like to donate into your DAF and then transferring those funds at any time to the charity of your choice.

A Donor Advised Fund is for you if…

• You wish to provide significant support for Audubon and other charitable organizations.
• You would like the simplicity of a central source for your giving but starting and maintaining a private foundation sounds too complex.
• You would like to secure a charitable deduction now but defer decisions about the beneficiaries of your gift.
• You want to see your giving be invested to grow over time.
• You want to engage your family in your tradition of philanthropy.

A Donor Advised Fund allows you to manage your charitable giving simply and efficiently. Working with a financial institution (such as Fidelity, Schwab, or Vanguard), you can create a fund in your name or in the name of a loved one. You then recommend distributions from your fund both for Audubon programs and to other charitable organizations, on your own timetable - no more year-end rush. You can involve family members in the process or give them the right to recommend distributions, encouraging them to become responsible philanthropists themselves.

You incur none of the legal, administrative, or reporting requirements with a donor advised fund that you do with a private foundation, and the assets in your fund may grow tax-free. Your financial institution administers the fund, writes the checks, and makes the distributions in your fund's name. You receive regular statements from the fund’s administrator documenting your distributions, fund balance, and tax deductions.

Please contact us so that we can assist you through every step of the process.

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