Tap into DAFs: A Proven Strategy for Fall Giving
Donor Advised Funds (DAF) have become an incredibly popular method for donors to support nonprofits. These charitable giving accounts are legally controlled by a charitable sponsor, but the donor who funds the account gets to recommend which organization to support, the gift amount, and when the gift should be given. There are almost two million DAF accounts in the U.S. right now. When a donor uses a DAF to make a gift to a station, their annual giving also tends to increase by 96%. Even better, donors using DAFs have an average retention rate of 15% higher than cash donors.
Many donors direct their distributions from DAFs toward large, nationally-known charities like the American Red Cross or Doctors Without Borders. They may not even know they can give to their favorite local public media organization, so it is important for us to promote this giving option. Notably, 40% of all DAF gifts distributed to nonprofits in 2023 were given in the final three months of the calendar year. Fall is the time to promote DAFs to drive donors to select your station as a recipient.
To fully leverage DAFs, consider these strategies:
Promote and Communicate:
- Highlight DAF giving as a part of your mid-level programs.
- Run spots on-air that let donors know they can direct their DAF gifts to you.
- Include DAF giving promotion in your fall newsletters.
Connect with Current and Past DAF Donors:
- Run a query to find all DAF donors from the last five years and thank them for their gift and give an update on what gifts have made possible.
- Ask current DAF donors what you can do to improve the process of giving a DAF gift to your station, and then make those changes.
- Create personalized and specific asks for past and current DAF donors to renew or upgrade their gifts before November.
- Craft an excellent and heartfelt thank-you letter (but not tax receipt) to send to all your DAF donors after you receive their gift!
Make It Easy to Give Via DAF:
- Update your “Ways to Give” page on your website to include information about DAF giving and include a contact person at the station.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for a second gift from current DAF donors for a calendar year-end campaign or election coverage campaign.
DO use the fundraising channels you have at your disposal to let donors know you can accept these DAF donations and you are excited to put those funds to use. Then, steward these donor relationships as you would with any other major donor!
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