Recent DAF Op-ed Missed Crucial Perspective — the Donors
Donor-advised funds held at both community foundations and financial institutions are invaluable to many donors. Legislation should recognize that.
April 30, 2024 | Read Time: 1 minute
To the Editor:
I appreciated Gerry Roll’s call for donor-advised fund legislation that accounts for the differences between funds held in community foundations and those managed by for-profit financial institutions (“DAF Sponsors Aren’t All Created Equal. New Legislation Should Account for That,” April 18).
Roll is exactly right that this approach might allow more philanthropic dollars to flow into organizations working to help their communities. However, she misses one critical perspective that must be considered in any DAF legislation: the donor’s.
As a development professional at a public university I‘ve worked with many donors who appreciate the tax benefits that come with making gifts using DAFs, whether managed by community foundations or financial institutions.
Most donors want to improve the world through their philanthropy. DAF legislation should recognize and support that inclination. My husband and I, for example, place the total amount we plan to give during the course of the year in a Schwab Charitable donor-advised fund and then draw from it to make individual gifts.
As Roll states, all DAF sponsors are not created equal. Many of them, including those held by financial institutions, provide a valuable service to generous people. I hope lawmakers will consider their experience in any new legislation.
Rebecca Tseng Smith
Senior Executive Director of Development—University Development
University of California, San Diego
