Maximize and organize your charitable giving.
What is a donor advised fund?
A donor advised fund (DAF) at the Community Foundation for Mississippi is your personal account for charitable giving. A DAF accepts a variety of charitable assets and offers you the convenience of supporting charitable organizations when and where you choose.
Donor Advised Funds Make Giving Easy
A donor advised fund (DAF) enables you to make tax-deductible charitable contributions immediately, without having to identify nonprofit beneficiaries right away. Instead, your gifts are invested, based on your preferences, so that they may grow. Once ready, you can recommend grants from your fund to your desired, eligible nonprofits.
Your Charitable Giving Account
You can think about a donor advised fund (DAF) as an investment account for organizing your personal charitable giving. Instead of writing lots of checks to multiple individual nonprofits, you can make one or more larger contributions to your DAF. Then decide on the nonprofits you want to support.
The difference between using your personal checking account for giving and a donor advised fund is that contributions to a DAF are irrevocable gifts to public charity.
Based on your recommendations, grants are approved by The Foundation’s Board of Directors and sent to qualifying nonprofits in the name of your fund (or anonymously if you choose). Funds are often named for families or individuals (e.g., the Smith Family Fund or the Jane Smith Memorial Fund) or for other positive associations (e.g., the Elm Fund).
Donor advised funds can be opened for as little $5,000. Fundholders can begin granting funds from the DAF once the balance reaches $25,000.
Why a Donor Advised Fund?
- Simplicity in managing charitable giving, including one tax receipt a year
- Tax benefits today, increased impact tomorrow
- The ability to be an anonymous donor when you choose
Why the Community Foundation for Mississippi?
- Personal service to meet your goals and build your giving plan
- In-depth information on the nonprofit sector in our region
- A network of people dedicated to strengthening central and southwest Mississippi
Interested in setting up a donor advised fund? CFM has representatives to guide you through the process. Contact CFM at info@formississippi.org or call 601-974-6044.
Mississippi is incentivizing philanthropy, encouraging charitable giving, and building on the strong tradition of neighbors helping neighbors in our state through the Endow Mississippi Tax Credit Program. Endow Mississippi provides a 25% tax credit to donors who give to permanent endowments at qualified Community Foundations.
Donors who give from a minimum of $1000 ($250 state tax credit) to a maximum of $200,000 ($50,000 state tax credit) to an endowment at a qualified Community Foundation are eligible for the credit.
A total of $500,000 of tax credits are available annually. Contact us to find out if there are credits available and for information about qualifying endowments.
So you want to start a donor advised fund…
The first step to establishing your donor advised fund is to complete an application. This can be done online, in person or through the mail. Establishing a DAF can start with as low as a $5,000 tax-deductible gift.*
Your gifts may take any number of forms, including:
- Cash and credit card gifts
- Securities: publicly traded securities, mutual fund shares, and, under most circumstances, restricted securities and closely-held or founders stock.
- Property and Other Assets: Real estate, art, antiques, collectibles and other tangible personal property are accepted on a case-by-case basis. The Community Foundation’s knowledgeable team of philanthropic advisors can assist you with your preferred giving options.
Once your fund is established, you may:
- Recommend how these funds are granted to your favorite causes
- Select investment options that best support your goals and plan
* to meet the $25,000 granting minimum, contributions may be made over a period of time, typically 3-5 years per written agreement.
The work of CFM is supported, in part, by a fee assessed on the funds entrusted to its care. Fees are calculated quarterly. For more information on donor advised funds and fees, give us a call at 601-974-6044.
The minimum grant per organization is just $200, and you can support as many nonprofits as you’d like. The available balance for recommending grants is shared with you through a secure online, fund advisor portal.
All nonprofits qualified as 501(c)(3) organizations under the IRS code and in good standing are eligible to receive grants from donor advised funds.
To find out the status of your favorite local nonprofits, visit Guidestar.
You may choose with each grant recommendation whether to be acknowledged or remain anonymous.
When you use a donor advised fund to carry out your charitable giving, all of your charitable activity is viewable online via our donor portal.
Interested in setting up a donor advised fund? CFM has representatives to guide you through the process. Contact us at info@formississippi.org or call 601-974-6044.