Donor Advised Funds

Gift Acceptance Policy and Frequently Asked Questions

Thank you for considering a donation to YWCA Minneapolis. Gifts from a donor advised fund (DAF) have become popular vehicles for charitable giving due to the favorable tax benefits they can provide and to centralize donors’ philanthropic giving. The following is intended to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about donor advised funds, and inform you about important rules and restrictions at YWCA Minneapolis.

Definitions

A donor advised fund (DAF) is a named charitable giving account you can set up under a public charity, most often a sponsoring financial or community institution such as Schwab Charitable, Fidelity Charitable, Women’s Foundation of Minnesota or Minneapolis Foundation, among others. To set up a DAF, you make an irrevocable gift of cash or other assets to the financial or community institution, receive a tax deduction, and as a “donor-advisor” may make non-binding grant recommendations to benefit the charities you care about.

How to Make a Gift

Giving through your DAF is easy! Simply contact your sponsoring financial or community institution to recommend a grant to the YWCA Minneapolis (or any other charity).

Restrictions

The U.S. Pension Protection Act of 2006 establishes certain restrictions applying to donor advised funds. It’s important to be aware of these to make sure that a donation through a DAF meets your needs and charitable intent. The restrictions that most often impact donors concern pledges (new and existing), providing multi-year support and accepting donor benefits.

Pledges — Because DAF contributions are no longer legally controlled by the donor, they cannot be used to fulfill a binding pledge. If you would like to share your intention to recommend a future gift, we recommend using the following language: 

“I intend to recommend a grant of [amount] from a donor-advised fund (DAF), and this notification is not a legally binding commitment.” 

This allows us to plan responsibly while remaining compliant with regulations. 

Donor Benefits — DAF gifts cannot provide benefits of more than incidental value. 

Because you receive a tax deduction when contributing to your DAF, benefits such as event access, goods, or services with a fair market value cannot be received in exchange for a DAF grant. 

Our Organizational Advancement team is happy to clarify what recognition or benefits may apply. 

Event Participation  — If you are supporting YWCA Minneapolis events (such as Empower Possible), please note: 

• Event tickets or tables (which have a fair market value) 
  cannot be purchased with DAF funds 

• An exception applies if:  

• You do not attend, and 

• The full value of the ticket or table is donated back to YWCA 

Event donations, including raise-the-paddle contributions, can be made through a DAF. We recommend confirming any required language with your sponsoring organization. 

Recognition

We are grateful for your support and are pleased to recognize gifts made through donor-advised funds, along with other contributions, in our Annual Report.