Your Daily Phil: New Study on DAF Attitudes

From eJewish Philanthropy (July 19, 2022)

In an article reporting on a new poll finding that most Americans don’t know how charitable foundations and donor-advised funds (DAFs) work but that, one informed, they favor more regulations on them, eJP sought perspective from JFN President and CEO Andres Spokoiny.  

The Ipsos results should be taken “with a lot of salt,” Spokoiny said, noting the low percentage of respondents who were previously aware of DAFs. The survey had 1,005 respondents and a margin of error of 3.5%.

Spokoiny also feels critics overstate the problem, and pointed to a 2021 study from the National Philanthropic Trust, a public charity and philanthropy research organization, showing that DAFs had a payout rate of 23.8% in 2020 – more than double the mandatory payout rate that respondents told Ipsos they support. Meanwhile, private endowed foundations had an average payout rate of 7.3% that year, according to a survey by Candid.

• Read the full article in eJewish Philanthropy
• Read "Americans’ Understanding of and Opinions about Charitable Foundations and Donor-Advised Funds" (by Ipsos and Institute for Policy Studies)
• Learn about Israel's first-ever donor-advised fund Keshet-DAF which JFN helped establish.