DAFgiving360 Donors Grant Nearly $10 Billion to Charities in Most Active Year on Record

The organization expects donor generosity from donor-advised funds to continue at heightened pace in 2026

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DAFgiving360™, one of the largest national providers of donor-advised fund (DAF) accounts and related philanthropic resources, reports that its donors granted $9.9 billion to more than 165,000 charitable organizations in 2025. This represents a 28% increase in dollars granted to charity compared to the previous year and the largest annual amount in the organization’s history.

The increase in giving in 2025 is the fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth in grants by DAF donors, demonstrating how actively charitable the organization’s donors continue to be.

“Our donors’ record grantmaking in 2025 underscores their extraordinary generosity and the trust they place in our donor-advised fund as a powerful vehicle for giving,” said Julie Sunwoo, President of DAFgiving360. “Time and again, DAFgiving360 donors have demonstrated that philanthropy is not only a response to urgent needs, but a sustained commitment to supporting the causes and communities they care about most.”

“We’re proud to help donors achieve maximum charitable impact by providing tools that make giving both meaningful and effective, and we look forward to witnessing the impact our donors will continue to make this year and in years to come,” continued Sunwoo.

Beyond the increase in overall granting, donor activity over the past year points to five key behaviors shaping charitable giving:

1. Donors actively utilize DAFs
2. Donors strategically use investments to maximize charitable gifts
3. Donors increase granting during critical moments
4. Donors are increasingly open to supporting new causes
5. Donors value the guidance of an expert

Donors actively utilize DAFs

In 2025, donors granted to charity from their DAFs at a pace averaging more than $27 million per day. Donors supported more than 165,000 charities through 1.5 million grants, a 20% increase in grants over the previous year.

Nearly three quarters (73%) of DAFgiving360 donors say they give more because of their DAF account. Throughout the year, a majority of DAF donors made more than 7 grants to charities, and the median grant size was $500. Further, 74% of all grants in 2025 were provided without a designated purpose, so charities can use the funds wherever they are needed most.

One of the benefits of a DAF is having access to efficient tools for giving, such as mobile app granting and automated granting. For example, donors can set up recurring grants to causes and charities that are most important to them at a cadence of their choice. In 2025, 38% of all grants from DAFgiving360 were set up as recurring grants, allowing charities to plan for sustained support and for donors to make a recurring impact.

Donors strategically use investments to maximize charitable gifts

2025 provided a unique opportunity for donors to re-evaluate their giving plans ahead of new implications for charitable giving with the passing of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Many donors chose to accelerate their giving into 2025 to take advantage of existing tax benefits. As donors looked across their financial assets to consider gifts, many also had appreciated assets due to strong market performance. A record 74% of contributions to DAFgiving360 in 2025 were in the form of non-cash assets, such as stocks, real estate, or cryptocurrency.

Donations of appreciated, non-cash assets held for more than a year can unlock additional funds for charity by potentially eliminating the capital gains tax donors could incur if they sold the assets and donated the cash proceeds thereafter, which may increase the amount available for grants to charity by as much as 20%. In 2025, a significant amount of non-cash contributions were “Magnificent 7” stocks, which were highly appreciated throughout the year. Broad market ETFs and index funds were also frequently donated to accounts.

Funds in a DAF account can also be invested, including in low-cost index pools. Investment appreciation in DAF accounts is tax-exempt, allowing the full amount to be available for charitable goals. Investment growth in 2025 created an additional $8 billion available for grants to charity.

Donors increase granting during critical moments

While DAFgiving360 donors grant from their accounts regularly throughout the year, donors increasingly give during key moments in time and are ready to give quickly when needs arise.

Giving Season has traditionally been the busiest time of year for charitable giving and the same rings true in 2025. On Giving Tuesday – December 2, 2025 – donors made more than 24,000 grants totaling $80 million to support more than 15,000 charities, an increase of 37% in dollars granted year-over-year.

Additionally, the increase in and severity of natural disasters in recent years demonstrates the generosity of DAFgiving360 donors. In 2025, donors granted more than $200 million through nearly 56,000 grants to charities recommended by the Center for Disaster Philanthropy to support short- and long-term disaster relief efforts. This is an increase of 16% year-over-year.

Donors are increasingly open to supporting new causes

In 2025, 54% of donors expanded their generosity and donated to a charity they had not previously supported. Of the 10 charitable sectors, the greatest number of grants to charities not previously supported included religious-related organizations, human services (e.g., food banks, disaster relief efforts, housing support services) and public/societal benefit (e.g., public safety organizations, environmental causes, etc.).

Compared to 2024, donors supported 11% more charities overall throughout the past year – including 29,000 new charitable organizations that had not previously been supported by DAFgiving360 donors. Since the organization’s founding in 1999, DAFgiving360 donors have supported nearly 300,000 charities through $50 billion in grants.

Donors value the guidance of an expert

Donors at DAFgiving360 work with more than 5,200 financial advisors, and three quarters (77%) of assets in DAF accounts in 2025 were associated with an advisor.

DAFgiving360 provides numerous educational tools and resources to help donors and advisors embrace a thoughtful and strategic approach to charitable giving. From content on year-end giving to implications on charitable giving from OBBBA to planning resources such as the Giving Guide, DAFgiving360 provides expert advice to help donors whether they give regularly or if they are new to opening a DAF account.

About DAFgiving360

DAFgiving360™ is an independent 501(c)(3) public charity with a mission to increase charitable giving in the U.S. DAFgiving360 does this by providing the tax-smart and simple giving solution of a donor-advised fund (DAF) account to donors and financial advisors. Since our founding in 1999 as a 501(c)(3) public charity, DAFgiving360 donors have recommended over $50 billion in grants to 295,000 charities. Visit dafgiving360.org to learn more.

DAFgiving360™ is the name used for the combined programs and services of Donor Advised Charitable Giving, Inc., an independent nonprofit organization which has entered into service agreements with certain subsidiaries of The Charles Schwab Corporation. DAFgiving360 is a tax-exempt public charity as described in Sections 501(c)(3), 509(a)(1), and 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Contributions made to DAFgiving360 are considered an irrevocable gift and are not refundable. Once contributed, DAFgiving360 has exclusive legal control over the contributed assets.

A donor's ability to claim itemized deductions is subject to a variety of limitations depending on the donor's specific tax situation.

Contributions of certain real estate, private equity, or other illiquid assets may be accepted via a charitable intermediary, with proceeds transferred to a donor-advised fund (DAF) account upon liquidation. Call DAFgiving360 for more information at 800-746-6216.

Market fluctuations may cause the value of investment fund shares held in a donor-advised fund (DAF) account to be worth more or less than the value of the original contribution to the funds.

DAFgiving360 does not provide legal or tax advice. Please consult a qualified legal or tax advisor where such advice is necessary or appropriate.

0126-2DUU