Donor advised funds
Already have a giving account? We can receive from it.
What a donor advised fund actually is
A donor advised fund is a charitable account you open at a sponsoring organization — Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, Vanguard Charitable, a community foundation, or one of many others. You put money or appreciated assets in, you take the deduction in the year you put them in, and then you recommend grants out of the account to charities over whatever period you like.
The useful part is the separation of the two decisions. The tax year is settled when you fund the account. Where the money goes can be worked out later, calmly, without a December deadline forcing it.
Giving Center can receive grants from any of them. We are a 501(c)(3) in good standing, which is the only thing a sponsor needs to release a grant.
What your sponsor will ask for
Every sponsor uses a slightly different form, but they all want the same four things.
Tell us the grant is coming and roughly when. Sponsor checks often arrive with nothing but an account number on them, and we would rather thank you properly than guess.
You already took the deduction. The grant is not a second one.
This is the single most common misunderstanding about donor advised funds, and it catches careful people every year.
Funding the account
When you contribute cash or assets to your donor advised fund, that is the charitable gift as far as the IRS is concerned. Your sponsor issues the acknowledgment, and you claim it for that tax year.
Granting to us
The grant that reaches Giving Center is a distribution from a charitable account, not a new donation from you. There is no second deduction, and we will not issue you a tax acknowledgment for it — not because we are being unhelpful, but because doing so would be wrong.
What you will get from us
A letter confirming the grant arrived, what it was, and what it is going toward. Plenty of donors want that for their own records even though it is not a tax document, and it is the more interesting letter anyway.
When a fund is worth opening
We do not sponsor donor advised funds and we make nothing from you opening one. These are simply the situations where they help.
A year with unusual income
A business sale, a large bonus, an inheritance, exercising options. Fund the account in the high year where the deduction is worth the most, then grant it out over the following years at whatever pace suits you.
Appreciated stock you would rather not sell
Contributing shares held more than a year generally avoids capital gains tax on the appreciation. The sponsor handles the sale inside the account. You can also give us stock directly — see financial gifts.
You want to bunch without deciding yet
A fund is the natural companion to bunching. Put three years of giving in this year to clear the standard deduction, then keep giving at your usual pace out of the account.
When it is not worth it
If you give a few hundred dollars a year and take the standard deduction, a fund adds administration and fees for no benefit. Give directly. It is simpler and every dollar arrives the same.
Questions about granting to us
Which sponsors can you receive from?
All of them. Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, Vanguard Charitable, National Philanthropic Trust, community foundations, workplace giving platforms — if the sponsor grants to 501(c)(3) public charities, it can grant to us. You will find us by our EIN, 92‑1162407, which is more reliable than searching by name.
How long does a grant take to arrive?
That is up to your sponsor, not us. Most process grant recommendations within one to three weeks, and some pay by check rather than transfer, which adds mail time. If the timing matters — a specific need you want to fund, or a year‑end date — tell us and we will let you know whether it is realistic.
Can I grant anonymously?
Yes. Every major sponsor offers it, and a fair number of our donors use it. We will not know who you are and will not go looking. The only thing we lose is the ability to thank you, which we accept.
Can I say what the grant should be used for?
Tell us what matters to you in the grant note or in a message, and we will take it seriously and point it that way where we honestly can. What we will not do is accept a binding restriction we might not be able to honor — if the need you named is already met, restricted money sits still instead of helping anyone. Our mission page sets out where funds go.
Can I use my fund to donate a car or a house?
Not through the fund, no — a donor advised fund grants money, not property. But you can absolutely give us the vehicle or the property directly, and that is most of what we do. Start on the donation page for the item itself. Some sponsors will accept an asset as a contribution into your account; ask them, not us.
Do you charge anything to receive a grant?
No. The grant arrives and goes to work. Your sponsor charges its own administrative fee on the account, which is between you and them — we never see it and have no part in it.
More in our donor FAQs, and the tax detail on the tax deduction page.
Planning a grant to Giving Center?
Let us know it is coming and we will send the remittance details your sponsor needs, confirm receipt when it lands, and tell you what it went toward.
We answer within two business days. If you would rather grant anonymously, no message is needed at all — just use our EIN, 92‑1162407.