This is the Foundation’s most flexible and popular fund allowing donors to establish their own named grantmaking fund and make grant recommendations to a broad range of charities, without the administrative burden. Essentially, a DAF looks and feels like your own professionally staffed private foundation, but with better tax benefits, greater flexibility, fewer expenses, and without the worries of accounting and investment management. With a minimum of a $10,000 to establish a Donor Advised Fund, or $50,000 to establish an endowed advised fund (permanent) - donors and their children, if desired, advise or recommend grants from their fund to create a lasting, impactful philanthropic legacy.
Some Common Uses:
Breaking up stock: Using appreciated stock for charitable donations to multiple organizations can be challenging because of the time involved in breaking up the stock. Instead, you can donate the entire block of stock to a donor-advised fund in a single transaction. The Coastal Georgia Foundation then sells the stock (and, because CCGF is a charitable organization, the transaction is not subject to capital gains tax) and the total value of the stock is credited to your donor-advised fund. You can then easily recommend grants from your fund to however many organizations you wish, and CCGF will take care of all the administration of those donations.
Windfall: When a person receives a windfall, like an inheritance or a large salary bonus, donating a portion of the windfall to charity can help offset taxes. But what if the amount you want to donate is beyond the level of your usual charitable giving? You might need time to plan which charities you want to benefit, and how much each should receive, and when. Through a donor-advised fund, you can “buy time” to do this at a pace that is of your choosing.
Foundation payout: Occasionally, a family foundation might need to make an additional distribution at the end of the year to fulfill its 5% required annual payout. A donor-advised fund can provide a way in which the family foundation can make a qualified distribution, because a donor-advised fund is part of CCGF, a charitable organization. The family foundation trustees can later consider what grants to recommend from their donor-advised fund, either supplementing their existing giving program, or branching out in a new direction.
Benefits:
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Immediate tax deduction at the time gift is made, while grants can be recommended over time and years;
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Only one charitable gift receipt to track; no paperwork to track
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Quarterly statements with detailed information; Gift can be made anonymously; Investment and growth of assets is possible for larger funds;
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May include others, such as children as advisors to the fund; Ability to tap into the knowledge and expertise of the foundation staff on nonprofits and the challenges in the community;
- Donors may recommend grant distributions at any time throughout the United States Donor Advised Funds link individuals, families and businesses to community needs, allow donors to recommend grants that support specific nonprofit organizations they wish to support and provide many benefits over a private foundation.
If you'd like more information on how a donor advised fund could work for you, please contact your professional advisor or consider us a resource: 912-268-4442.
