Chronicle’s Headline About Donor-Advised Funds Lacked Context

To the Editor:

The headline that accompanied The Chronicle’s recent piece on a new research study on donor-advised funds is out of sync with the study’s findings and paints an inaccurate picture of how quickly these funds grant money to nonprofits (“Cash in Donor-Advised Funds Takes Years to Trickle Out,” December, 2017).

Judging from this headline, you would expect that this study concludes that money is sitting in donor-advised funds for many years, out of reach to nonprofits.

But the study shows the opposite: Money placed in donor-advised funds fully cycles out to charity after an average of four years.

Four years is, by most philanthropic measures, a quick turnaround. If some of the folks who set up DAFs chose another giving option or to set up a private foundation, the money would be granted much more slowly.

At a time when some academics are taking aim at DAFs, we fear that Congress and others will see headlines such as this one and attempt to place unnecessary restrictions on DAFs that will limit donor choice and hurt nonprofits in communities across the United States.

This is particularly true for funds set up through community foundations, which work closely with donors to ensure that they are making giving decisions that align with their priorities and improve their communities.

We welcome thoughtful research and conversation about donor-advised funds, and we hope The Chronicle will find ways to cover this complex topic with the context it deserves.

Dan Baldwin
Community Foundation for Monterey County

March Gallagher
Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley

Shelly Prichard
Wichita Community Foundation

Dave Scullin
Communities Foundation of Texas

The authors are all chief executives of their foundations.