First Day Podcast

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, host Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., welcomes back Dan Heist, Ph.D. and Gen Shaker, Ph.D., to explore new research on how fundraisers are navigating relationships with donors who give through donor-advised funds (DAFs). With nearly 2 million DAF accounts holding $250 billion and distributing over $50 billion annually, these philanthropic vehicles are now a central feature of the fundraising landscape. The study, presented at AFP ICON, sheds light on the unique opportunities and challenges DAFs present for building meaningful donor relationships. While the data shows that only a small percentage of DAF grants are truly anonymous, fundraisers report consistent struggles with identifying and stewarding DAF donors. Gen and Dan highlight that these issues are often tied to data entry and internal processes rather than actual donor secrecy. When gift entry and CRM systems are not optimized for DAF giving, opportunities to connect with donors, and properly