Who Gives a DAF: Understanding donor-advised funds and their users

With the increasing use of Donor-Advised Funds in the modern philanthropic landscape, understanding how people give is becoming just as important as understanding why people give. However, the relative newness of this giving vehicle can cause anxiety among even the most seasoned of fundraisers. And like many nascent subjects, research on its function and the qualities of those who use it is relatively limited. That’s starting to change, thanks to podcast guest Dr. Dan Heist and his work with the Donor-Advised Fund Research Collaborative, which has set out to create a robust, anonymized database regarding DAFS. This evidence-based research will ultimately influence policy-making to support philanthropic leaders and development practitioners. One of those practitioners is podcast guest Heather Engel. In her work as Associate Vice President for Gift Planning at The University of Virginia, she remains at the forefront of strategizing and advising on the thoughtful -- and often complex -- methods that donors engage in to ensure that they’re maximizing their giving. In this episode, we discuss this important and impactful gift mechanism and the ways that donors tend to view their DAF giving, from planning to implementation.