Pandemic leads to surge in DAF grants

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nba.30855
• Date: 01 October 2020
• Published date: 01 October 2020

OCTOBER 2020 NONPROFIT BUSINESS ADVISOR

7

© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC • All rights reserved

DOI: 10.1002/nba

Industry News

Pandemic leads to surge in DAF grants

New data from two of the nation’s largest admin-

istrators of donor-advised funds shows a dramatic

increase in grantmaking for the 2020 scal year, partly

attributed to donor response to the COVID-19 pan-

demic and its devastating economic impacts.

The National Philanthropic Trust, the nation’s larg-

est independent DAF sponsor, reported doling out a

record-breaking $2.11 billion in donor-recommended

grants in its FY 2020 cycle, which ended June 30. That

represents a 54% increase from the previous scal

year’s total of $1.39 billion, the organization said.

According to the NPT, its donors recommended

73,898 grants to 25,845 charities, an increase of 41%

and 26%, respectively, compared to the prior year.

Meanwhile, Schwab Charitable, another leading

national provider of DAF and other philanthropic ser-

vices, reported a record $3.3 billion in grants—roughly

700,000 individual grants awarded to more than

100,000 charities—during FY 2020, a 33% increase in

dollars granted and 24% increase in number of grants

compared to the 2019 scal year, the company said.

Both groups said their DAF grantmaking

increased substantially during the rst few months

of the pandemic.

According to the NPT, the volume of its DAF

grants during March, April, May and June 2020

increased an average of 69%, and the dollar value

increased an average of 159% compared to the same

period in 2019.

Schwab’s gures followed a similar pattern: From

January through June 2020, its DAF accounts recom-

mended about 330,000 grants totaling $1.7 billion,

marking a 44% increase in the number of grants, and

a 46% increase in dollars granted compared to the

same period in 2019.

The data show that DAF donors have responded

with generosity during this unprecedented time, said

Eileen Heisman, CEO of National Philanthropic

Trust, responding “swiftly to support charities in

most every philanthropic sector, including public

society benet, human services, international affairs

and education.”

For more information, visit https://www.nptrust.

org. ■

Put board members to work thanking donors

One of the many ways that board members can

help the organization with fundraising has nothing

at all to do with asking for money: It’s thanking

those who have already given. But that’s not the

easiest thing for them to do, and executive directors

should take steps to bolster their success in this area,

according to Amy Eisenstein, CEO and co-founder

of the Capital Campaign Toolkit.

According to Eisenstein, you shouldn’t assume

that board members know how to make thank-you

calls or write thank-you notes. After all, just as many

board members have limited experience fundraising.

Many may not have any experience thanking donors

either, and might be understandably nervous that

they might do or say something out-of-line. This,

thankfully, is easily addressed—give them a script

or template to follow that spells out what to say and

how to say it.

“Remind them that it’s ne to leave messages,

and to be sure they tell the donor that they’re a

volunteer board member calling to thank them

for their recent gift,” Eisenstein said in a blog post

on this topic.

“If the donor has questions that the board

member can’t answer, have a system for getting

that question to staff quickly, so you can provide a

timely response.”

She also suggests that board members commu-

nicate with donors about the impact their support

has made.

“Another great way to use your board members

is to have them let donors know how their gifts were

used. So, six or eight months after a gift is made,

have board members communicate by mail, phone,

or even in person, the difference that a donation has

made to your organization,” she said.

Once your board members start thanking people,

they will quickly see the joy that giving brings others,

and are much more likely to become involved in

other areas of fundraising, Eisenstein said.

For more information, visit https://

capitalcampaigntoolkit.com. ■