Your DAF Can Do More Than Sit in an Account

Need to Know

• Your money has already been transferred to your DAF. The next step is to recommend a grant to your favorite nonprofit.  3.59 million DAF accounts hold $327.87 billion, and the next step is recommending a grant.

• Any donation counts. 69% of DAF gifts in one study were under $1,000, so you are in good company.

• TAP puts your grant to work. An independent analysis estimates $10 in value for every $1 invested in TAP’s free coaching for small business owners. Recommend your DAF grant to TAP today. 

You moved money into your donor-advised fund (DAF) because you wanted to give. You took the deduction and made the commitment. The next step turns that commitment into impact, and it takes about five minutes: pick a charity and recommend a grant.

Why Aren't More DAF Dollars Reaching Small Business Owners, or Charities?

DAF holders are generous. In fiscal year 2024, $64.60 billion was granted out against $327.87 billion in assets, roughly 20% in a single year. The opportunity is to connect even more of that giving with the organizations doing close-to-home work.

The gap is usually a missing introduction, not missing generosity. Giving through a DAF is often a quiet, private act, and many nonprofits receive gifts with little or no information about who gave. National DAF sponsors also rarely recommend specific charities to their account holders, so many donors never hear directly from the organizations their gifts could support. Closing that gap starts with you choosing a destination for your next grant, and it does not have to be a big decision. 

Does a Small DAF Grant Really Matter?

Yes. Most DAF donors give in smaller amounts. In the 2025 DAF Fundraising Report, more than two in three gifts, 69%, were under $1,000. As one community finance newsletter put it, "You don't need to be rich to be a DAF donor."

Small grants add up, especially when they go to an organization that stretches every dollar. Your grant can be part of the $64.60 billion DAF holders send to charities each year.

How Do You Choose a Charity for Your DAF Grant?

Four questions can narrow the field fast:

• Can they show results? Look for an organization that measures its outcomes and shares them, ideally with outside validation.

• Does your dollar go far? Ask what a gift of your size actually makes possible.

• Can you see the impact? Local jobs, neighborhood wealth, and opportunity are easy to follow over time.

• Will they tell you what happened? A good partner reports back.

Small business support is a strong fit. Small businesses are where jobs and neighborhood wealth begin, and the owners who need support most often cannot afford it. Community development lenders see the opportunity too: Opportunity Finance Network notes that DAF assets could help community development financial institutions (CDFIs) meet two persistent needs, operating grants and flexible lending capital.

What Does a DAF Grant Look Like in Action?

The Acceleration Project (TAP) is one example of an organization built to show how far a dollar goes. TAP is a nonprofit that pairs under-resourced small business owners nationwide with skilled volunteer consultants for free coaching support, through a network of more than 200 pro-bono consultants.

In a Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis conducted with The Bridgespan Group, built on TAP program data from 2021 to 2024 and informed by more than twenty academic studies, every $1 invested in TAP programming generated an estimated $10 in value for small businesses and their communities. Of every $10 in value, $7.20 comes from client revenue growth, $0.60 from job creation, and $2.20 from local economic recirculation.

The results show up one business at a time. Boston's Exodus Bagels now projects revenue of $1.46M, up from $1.23M, after working with TAP in a multi-session Deep Dive program.

How to Recommend a DAF Grant in Five Minutes

The steps are nearly the same for any charity:

1. Log in to your DAF account with your sponsor or provider.

2. Choose to recommend a grant and search for the organization by name.

3. Enter your gift amount and add a note about what you want the gift to support.

4. If the organization does not appear in search, use its legal name, EIN, and mailing details, which most nonprofits publish on their websites.

To recommend a grant to TAP, find our legal name, EIN, and mailing details on our donation instructions page. 

Your Next Step

Open your DAF account today. Pick one organization whose results you can see, and recommend a grant of any size. The money is already set aside for good. Let it get to work.

See where a grant goes. Read how Exodus Bagels grew revenue through TAP’s Deep Dive program here.