The giving guide · United States
How to give well
Free, plain-English guidance for US donors — how to choose between a donor-advised fund and a private foundation, how to get more impact for every dollar, and how to keep your giving from sitting on a shelf. No advisers to sell you anything, no jargon.
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Giving well isn't about the vehicle. It's about impact.
Most giving advice in the US starts with tax and structures — DAF or foundation, this sponsor or that. Useful, but backwards. The questions that matter are simpler: how much good does each dollar actually do, and can you see where it went?
Two ideas do most of the work. Efficiency — a dollar can fund far more than one outcome if it's structured to come back and be given again, instead of being spent once and gone. And deployment — money only helps once it reaches the work.
The warehousing problem
DAFs are wonderful for the ease and the upfront deduction — but unlike a private foundation (which must pay out around 5% a year), a donor-advised fund has no legal payout requirement. Money can sit sponsored-and-deducted for years before it reaches a working charity. That's the heart of the growing US debate about DAF reform.
You don't need a law to fix it for your own giving. Treat the deduction as the start, not the finish — set a payout pace and stick to it. Better still, structure gifts so capital comes back and gives again. That's the case for giving while you live.
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This guide is written for the United States (donor-advised funds, private foundations). In Australia? Use the Australian giving guide