In September, I attended the DAF Giving Summit, a conference dedicated to exploring all aspects of the donor advised fund (DAF) industry. Now in its fourth year, this was my second time participating.
As Valerie Anastasio shared in her 2023 recap, The DAF Giving Summit – Reflective of the DAF Ecosystem, the DAF landscape is complex. For those of us (like me and Valerie) who have each spent over two decades attending nonprofit philanthropy conferences hosted by associations like AFP and Apra, this one feels—well—different.
Unlike traditional philanthropy conferences, the primary audience here isn’t nonprofit fundraisers. Instead, it’s wealth managers, philanthropic advisors, DAF sponsor organizations, and financial services firms. With that, the conversations speak to them.
One quote that resonated throughout the event came from Allison Fine of Every.org:
“It’s not the amount that you give that makes you philanthropic, it is the act of giving that makes you philanthropic.”
This idea of seeing charitable giving shift from being merely a financial transaction to one that is a meaningful giving experiences was a recurring theme. The focus of many of the sessions was on helping clients align their passions with their philanthropy. While the concept of matching donors to the missions and causes that inspire them may be familiar to AFP and Apra audiences, here it served as a necessary reminder. For many of these attendees, whose professional lens is often centered on financial metrics, the emotional connection to wealth is often less emphasized.
This contrast was especially evident when considering the financial institutions that also serve as DAF sponsoring organizations. These institutions often face criticism in the DAF community for being “sponsors in IRS-name only,” appearing more interested in offering another financial product than in facilitating impactful giving. After all, under one roof, clients can open a 401(k), a 529 college savings account, a mutual fund, a brokerage account and a donor advised fund.
Some argue that these institutions prioritize assets under management over charitable outcomes. And the data shared by Ron Ransom of the American Endowment Foundation was telling:
- Fewer than 20% of financial advisors currently use DAFs as tools in their practice;
- Yet, 75% of DAFs are open at the recommendation of a financial advisor;
- And in total, less than 0.2% of investible assets in the U.S. are currently held in DAFs.
Ransom challenged the audience to think boldly. What if we could grow DAF assets to just 1% of investible assets? That’s a fivefold increase, which is still modest in the grand scheme, but would be transformative for philanthropy. Suddenly, the DAF ecosystem wouldn’t be moving $250 billion annually, rather, it would be moving $1 trillion.
It’s audacious. It’s energizing. And it feels both entirely possible and wildly ambitious.
It reminded me of Dan Pallotta’s 2013 TED talk, which challenged us to reimagine what the philanthropic sector could achieve if we dared to think differently—not just about giving, but about scale, innovation, and impact.
In this case, Ransom’s talk encouraged attendees (remember: primarily these are financial and philanthropic advisors) to be forward-looking and to help their counterparts expand philanthropy in bold, transformative ways.
Paraphrasing one more speaker, Noah McMahon of Anonymous Philanthropy encouraged:
“The purpose of philanthropy is to solve problems. The DAF is the vehicle—but the destination is what truly matters.”
The good news? The conference is growing, and attendees are deeply invested in making the DAF giving experience more robust, meaningful, and impactful. While DAFs may appear to be just financial vehicles to some, at this conference, there’s a shared commitment to using wealth for good. Or, to be cliché, to help make the world a better place.
And isn’t that why we’re in this field? Yes, even you—the frontline fundraiser or prospect researcher that is reading this. We’re here to advance the missions of the organizations we represent, and in turn solve some of the world’s biggest problems.
Ultimately, the destination is the mission-driven impact of the organizations we serve. And if we, together with the finance and wealth management industry, we can harness the full potential of DAFs, not just as financial tools, but as catalysts for change, we are at a pivotal moment that could help shape the future of philanthropy.
