The recently released NPT 2020 Donor-Advised Fund Report offers some eye-opening takeaways and trends that show how charitable giving and donor-advised funds (DAFs) are becoming more accessible to everyone. The findings are exciting for us, as we believe that anyone in the world can be a philanthropist if they have access to the right tools and technology.
The report shows that the size of the average DAF decreased by 2.7% over the course of a year, while the number of DAFs increased by 19.4% over the same timeframe. The decrease in DAF size can be seen as a result of the emergence of workplace DAF giving accounts, and of sponsoring organizations – like the Givinga Foundation – that have no or low contribution minimums, giving donors of any size the power to maximize their impact.
Further, smaller-sized DAFs make giving approachable for those who don’t fit the traditional financial makeup of a philanthropist, leading to DAFs becoming the fastest-growing vehicle in philanthropy.
The decrease in average DAF size along with the increase in the number of DAFs is of critical importance to us and the companies that use our technology, as this data reinforces the fact that companies have the ability to invite their employees and customers to make a collective impact for the causes they support. The popularity of DAFs has increased thanks to innovation and ideas generated both inside and outside the workplace. The emergence of giving software offers employees and the broader community the option to donate to charities and causes that are most important to them, which in turn is a way for companies to show that they too care about what is important to their employees. In this way, our technology is redefining philanthropy by providing the tools necessary to get valuable stakeholders involved.
We developed Philantech to unleash philanthropy, wrapping DAFs with cutting edge financial technology, coupled with no minimums and no fees. Philantech is reinventing and reimagining the use of DAFs in the marketplace, making it accessible to change makers and innovators to build charitable giving into the consumer and workplace experience. Our technology unlocks the full potential of charitable giving while working toward a more purpose-driven society, and DAFs provide the ability for proactive planning that allows people to be more impactful when a situation arises.
Through our technology, new online gaming platforms are empowering the consumer to easily connect with – and give back to – nearly any charity or cause around the world through social media and digital channels. By “gaming for good,” these innovative companies are building charitable giving directly into their consumer offerings, enabling gamers to be everyday heroes, reimagining DAF accounts and small donations so they can make a large collective impact through gaming.
We invite you to take a look at the report to further examine this positive trend for workplace and charitable giving. We’d love to hear your thoughts as well as your creative ideas on how to rethink DAFs.
