How Donor Advised Funds Change Fundraising

H. Daniel Heist (), Genevieve G. Shaker, Rachel M. Sumsion, Jenna Tomlinson and Alyssa Minor
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H. Daniel Heist: Marriott School of Business, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Genevieve G. Shaker: Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
Rachel M. Sumsion: Marriott School of Business, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Jenna Tomlinson: Marriott School of Business, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Alyssa Minor: Marriott School of Business, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA

Administrative Sciences, 2025, vol. 15, issue 4, 1-28

Abstract: The rapid proliferation of donor advised funds (DAFs) and the rising prominence of their sponsoring organizations are among the most disruptive innovations in philanthropy in recent years. To examine DAFs’ implications for major gift fundraising and nonprofit administration, we interview professional fundraisers from across the US ( n = 46). We analyze their comments following a six-stage thematic process. We present a modified fundraising model called the “DAF Donor Relationship Management Cycle.” This new model makes a theoretical contribution to nonprofit studies by highlighting challenges and opportunities for fundraisers in working with DAFs. Among other adjustments, the new model includes gift processing as a critical component and specifies two forms of donor identification—reactive and proactive. Six challenges and four opportunities associated with the stages of the cycle are also delineated. This new model documents how DAFs disrupt fundraising methods and systems, clarifies fundraising cycle assumptions and inferences, and offers important practical insights from fundraisers for other fundraisers. Ultimately, integrated organizational-level strategies are needed to guide DAF adaptation and DAF donor engagement and to inform training and coordination of gift processing and frontline fundraising efforts.

Keywords: donor advised funds; fundraising; donor relationship cycle (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L M M0 M1 M10 M11 M12 M14 M15 M16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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