Moving a commercial donor-advised fund to the Community Foundation

Before you recommend a DAF at a national financial institution, consider the Community Foundation. We offer our donor-advised fundholders much broader services, personalized attention and assistance, and knowledge of the local nonprofits whose work is essential to the community. A DAF established at the Community Foundation is a superior fit for your community-minded clients.

As you meet with your clients about year-end planning, be sure to ask whether they’ve already established a DAF and if so, where it’s housed. If a client’s DAF was established through a national provider, please give us a call. We would be happy to talk with you and your client about the ease and benefits of moving the DAF to the Community Foundation. Or, simply set up a DAF online with our donor-advised fund application, then fund it with a grant from the commercial DAF - all online.

The Community Foundation offers donor-advised fundholders competitive fees and the same tax and administrative benefits as a commercial DAF, including:

• Online access to the DAF to view balances, contributions, and grants
• Simple process for requesting grants to favorite charities
• Streamlined tax reporting, represented by just one letter to provide to an accountant at tax time, even when the DAF is used to support dozens of individual charities throughout the year
• Administration, tax receipts, recordkeeping, and other requirements for the DAF
• Favorable tax-deductibility of contributions to the fund

Unlike standard commercial funds, though, the Community Foundation offers high-level, customized services to its donor-advised fundholders, including:

• Concierge-level service by knowledgeable staff to structure estate gifts to charities and accept gifts of appreciated stock or complex assets such as real estate or closely-held stock
• In-house experts who have a finger on the pulse of community needs and inform donors of those needs and impactful grantmaking opportunities
• Opportunities to collaborate with other donors who care about similar issues
• Help developing a custom legacy plan to ensure donor wishes are protected, properly documented, and fulfilled, including fund succession guidance
  
• Competitive administrative fees that support the Foundation's work and invest in our community
• Personalized giving advice from professional staff that connect donors to local nonprofits, ensuring the most rewarding and impactful ways to give
• Staff members who live in the community they serve and who personally know the staff of grantee organizations, and regularly hear about their needs first-hand

Keep an eye out for clients’ DAFs at commercial institutions. By exploring the opportunity for a client to move a DAF from a commercial institution to the Community Foundation, you’ll be doing a tremendous service for your client, and you’ll be helping the local community. At the Community Foundation, hard-earned assets receive the attention they deserve as your clients strive to make a difference in the causes they care about the most.

See more benefits of a donor-advised fund at the Community Foundation here, including a full side-by-side comparison chart of a donor-advised fund held here versus at a commercial institution.