---
title: Contributing to Charity? Consider a Donor-Advised Fund
description: 'Q: I''ve been thinking about starting a donor-advised fund. What are the pros and cons? -- Anne G., Fort Worth, Texas A: If you have…'
authors:
  - name: Stephanie AuWerter
    url: https://money.com/author/stephanie-auwerter/
    at_money_since: 2013
    articles: 2
    covers:
      - Housing
      - Taxes
    former_staff: true
published: '2013-09-10T00:32:12.000Z'
modified: '2013-09-10T00:32:12.000Z'
section: Personal Finance
tags:
  - Ask the Expert
  - charity contribution
  - charity donation
  - donate to charity
  - donation for charity
  - donation to charity
  - donor advised fund
  - donor advised funds
  - tax break
  - Tax deduction
  - Taxes
word_count: 142
canonical: https://money.com/charity-contribution-donor-advised-fund/
type: Article
source: structured-blocks
---

> **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/).

![Contributing to Charity? Consider a Donor-Advised Fund](https://money.com/img/logo-social.png)

**Q: I've been thinking about starting a donor-advised fund. What are the pros and cons? -- Anne G., Fort Worth, Texas**

A: If you have several thousand dollars you'd like to set aside for charity, a donor-advised fund is a great idea, says Northbrook, Ill., financial planner Steve O'Hara.

You get an immediate tax break for putting money in a DAF, but you can take your time -- years, if you want -- deciding which nonprofits get any funds. Meanwhile, investments in the DAF grow tax-free.

You can open an account at firms such as Fidelity and Schwab, or at community foundations like the Chicago Community Trust; the initial minimum is usually $5,000 or $10,000.

Potential drawbacks are few. Contributions to DAFs are irrevocable; for smaller accounts, investment choices are usually limited. And some community foundations restrict grants to a geographic area.

```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
      "@id": "https://money.com/charity-contribution-donor-advised-fund/#breadcrumb",
      "itemListElement": [
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 1,
          "name": "Home",
          "item": "https://money.com"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 2,
          "name": "Personal Finance",
          "item": "https://money.com/personal-finance/"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 3,
          "name": "Wealth Management",
          "item": "https://money.com/wealth-management/"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 4,
          "name": "Contributing to Charity? Consider a Donor-Advised Fund"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebSite",
      "@id": "https://money.com/#website",
      "url": "https://money.com",
      "name": "Money",
      "publisher": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/#organization"
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebPage",
      "@id": "https://money.com/charity-contribution-donor-advised-fund/#webpage",
      "url": "https://money.com/charity-contribution-donor-advised-fund/",
      "name": "Contributing to Charity? Consider a Donor-Advised Fund",
      "isPartOf": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/#website"
      },
      "datePublished": "2013-09-10T00:32:12.000Z",
      "mainEntity": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/charity-contribution-donor-advised-fund/"
      },
      "inLanguage": "en-US",
      "breadcrumb": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/charity-contribution-donor-advised-fund/#breadcrumb"
      },
      "dateModified": "2013-09-10T00:32:12.000Z"
    },
    {
      "@type": "Article",
      "headline": "Contributing to Charity? Consider a Donor-Advised Fund",
      "articleSection": "Personal Finance",
      "image": [
        {
          "@type": "ImageObject",
          "url": "https://money.com/img/logo-social.png",
          "width": 300,
          "height": 300
        }
      ],
      "author": [
        {
          "@type": "Person",
          "name": "Stephanie AuWerter",
          "url": "https://money.com/author/stephanie-auwerter/",
          "@id": "https://money.com/author/stephanie-auwerter/#author"
        }
      ],
      "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization",
      "datePublished": "2013-09-10T00:32:12.000Z",
      "description": "Q: I've been thinking about starting a donor-advised fund. What are the pros and cons? -- Anne G., Fort Worth, Texas A: If you have…",
      "abstract": "Q: I've been thinking about starting a donor-advised fund. What are the pros and cons? -- Anne G., Fort Worth, Texas A: If you have…",
      "@id": "https://money.com/charity-contribution-donor-advised-fund/",
      "inLanguage": "en-US",
      "dateModified": "2013-09-10T00:32:12.000Z",
      "wordCount": 142,
      "keywords": [
        "Ask the Expert",
        "charity contribution",
        "charity donation",
        "donate to charity",
        "donation for charity",
        "donation to charity",
        "donor advised fund",
        "donor advised funds",
        "tax break",
        "Tax deduction",
        "Taxes"
      ],
      "about": [
        {
          "@type": "Thing",
          "name": "Personal finance",
          "sameAs": [
            "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_finance"
          ]
        },
        {
          "@type": "Thing",
          "name": "Wealth management",
          "sameAs": [
            "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_management"
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```