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For Nonprofits
A donor-advised fund, or DAF, is like a charitable investment account that a donor opens for the sole purpose of supporting charitable organizations. Fidelity Charitable is the sponsor of the largest donor-advised fund program in the country.
Get grants 9x faster
Enrolling your nonprofit in Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) is a safer, faster alternative to receiving paper checks.
Wondering how to connect with DAF donors and build your donor base? Check out our five tips for nonprofits below.
1
Fidelity Charitable donors can search for charities to support by tax ID number or by name. Make sure your tax ID number is visible on your website so Fidelity Charitable donors can use it to recommend a grant to you on our site. It also helps to make sure the name you do business as matches the name you have registered with the IRS so it’s easy for donors to find you when searching by name.
Want to know what it looks like for a donor to search for a nonprofit and recommend a grant? Step inside the donor experience, search for nonprofits and walk through the grant recommendation process in our demo.
2
You can thank a DAF donor much like you would any other donor—here's how.
Need help getting started? You can use a thank-you note to invite a donor to have a more in-depth conversation about your programs, or even offer a tour of your facility. Check out our customizable thank-you template to see how.
96% of Fidelity Charitable grants include information about the donor. Our grant process defaults to providing a donor name and address.
3
DAF donors have specifically committed funds for charitable giving, making them some of your highest-capacity donors and well-suited for future engagement. See how nonprofit Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program connected with Mike Bradley, a Fidelity Charitable donor.
4
Did you know that a DAF donor can name your organization as a successor on their charitable account? Encourage your DAF donors to take advantage of the features of their charitable accounts, like pre-scheduling grants, setting up recurring grants or adding your organization as a charitable successor.
5
It may be easier than you think to incorporate DAFs into your marketing and fundraising materials—start with your existing touch points. Mention DAFs as a way to support you on your website right along with checks or credit cards. In fundraising appeals, add language letting donors know they can support your work through their DAF.
Want DAF donors to be able to recommend a grant to you directly from your own website or email communications—we have a widget for that. Visit DAF Direct.
You can also link directly to the websites of DAF-sponsoring organizations, such as Fidelity Charitable, giving donors an easy way to log in to their account and recommend a grant to you.
Fidelity Charitable is an independent, 501(c)(3) public charity. We sponsor the largest donor-advised fund program in the country. Our donor-advised fund is called the Giving Account. Last year, our donors recommended $11.8 billion in grants to support nearly 199,000 charitable organizations in every state and around the globe.*
* Data from the 2024 Fidelity Charitable Giving Report
How to thank a DAF donor
DAF donors who support your organization can bolster your work through unrestricted funding. Learn more about acknowledging a grant from a DAF.
Answers to your questions
From where to find donor information to how to update your address with us, we answer your most frequently asked questions.
Call us at 800-952-4438, option 4.
