Who Recommends Donor-Advised Funds?

Dien Yuen, JD/LLM, CAP®, AEP®, IPA, CEO, Daylight

Donor-advised funds (DAFs) are now among the most widely used charitable vehicles in the U.S., prized for their flexibility, administrative ease, and tax advantages. But who is recommending DAFs to donors and clients? What are their backgrounds, and where do they work?

Daylights’ 2024 survey of 258 philanthropy advisors sheds light on these questions. Of the respondents, 140 (54%) reported having used or recommended DAFs in the prior three years, while 42 (16%) said they had not. By examining both groups, we can gain a deeper understanding of who these advisors are, where they work, and how their backgrounds influence their practices.

The Broad Definition of Philanthropy Advisors

The survey defined “philanthropy advisors” broadly - anyone engaged in navigating the who, what, why, and how of using resources for philanthropy and social impact. This included full-time philanthropic advisors as well as wealth advisors, tax advisors, attorneys, accountants, gift planners, or other nonprofit professionals.

Where Advisors Who Recommend DAFs Work

Advisors who used or recommended DAFs in the past three years most often work in community foundations or similar organizations (42%). By contrast, those who did not use or recommend DAFs were far more likely to be self-employed (54%). This suggests that advisors embedded in institutions that sponsor or manage DAFs are much more likely to recommend them than their peers in independent practice.

Question: Which of the following best describes your current employer/business?

Category	DAF Users	Non-DAF Users
Consulting practice or firm (self-employed)	34%	54%
Community foundation or similar organization	42%	4%
Nonprofit organization	14%	28%
Consulting practice or firm (as an employee or consultant)	10%	15%

Advisor Backgrounds and Experience

The survey shows that advisors who recommend DAFs come from diverse backgrounds.

While 20% had 10–14 years in the field, many had either less than 10 years (25%) or over 20 years (40%) of experience. Non-DAF users skewed slightly older, with higher percentages in the 60+ range.
Among DAF users, 70% were women, 17% were Black, and 16% identified as LGBTQ+—slightly more diverse than the non-DAF group.
California, Washington, and Pennsylvania topped the list for DAF-recommending advisors’ locations.

Clients Served

Both DAF users and nonusers primarily serve individuals, families, and nonprofit organizations. More DAF users than nonusers describe more than half their clients as builders of new wealth, as opposed to inheritors of existing wealth.

Question: What types of clients does your current employer/business serve? (Select all that apply.)

Category	DAF Users	Non-DAF Users
Businesses and social enterprises	61%	32%
Community foundations	59%	44%
Donor-advised funds	64%	32%
Donor/funder collaboratives or issue funds	68%	43%
Individuals and families	82%	78%
Nonprofit organizations	77%	59%
Operating foundations	42%	35%
Private foundations	63%	52%
Research groups	36%	7%

What Services Do They Provide?

Advisors who recommend DAFs often integrate charitable vehicle selection into a broader suite of services:

82% help clients define purpose and values.
77% develop impact strategies for charitable vehicles.
68% specifically guide clients in choosing and establishing vehicles such as DAFs, foundations, or trusts.

Non-DAF users were less likely to provide this technical guidance, suggesting they may focus more on values-based advising, fundraising, or nonprofit-side donor engagement.

Learning, Knowledge, and Professional Resources

DAF users and nonusers rank learning on the job as most helpful to their learning and development as advisors. DAF users also note relationships with mentors to be helpful, while nonusers rank resources they find on their own—such as books, blogs, and online forums—as key to their learning.

Advisors were asked to assess their current levels of knowledge across several key areas. DAF users and nonusers report equal levels of skill in the areas of client resource identification, financial capital development, and teaming and collaboration with other fields. However, DAF users rate themselves as more skilled than nonusers in the areas of sector knowledge, philanthropic planning and strategy development, charitable tools selection, and vehicle selection. Twice as many nonusers than DAF users consider themselves to be novices in financial capital development.

The Bigger Picture

DAFs are not the only tool advisors recommend—direct gifts, bequests, and private foundations also feature heavily—but they remain the most widely used across nearly all employer types.

In short, advisors who recommend DAFs tend to be more institutionally connected and more confident in the technical aspects of charitable planning. For donors and clients, this means that working with such advisors often leads to clearer guidance on when and how to use DAFs alongside other vehicles like bequests or private foundations. For nonprofits, it underscores the importance of building relationships with advisors, since they play a pivotal role in steering charitable dollars. And for the advisors themselves, the findings highlight both the opportunities and responsibilities of recommending tools that can shape how, when, and where philanthropy flows.