How do I donate shares to a Donor Advised Fund (DAF)?

Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) allow investors to contribute appreciated assets—like stocks—to a charitable account and receive immediate tax deductions. Contributing to a donor-advised fund can simplify the donation process and give investors the flexibility to decide when and where to distribute funds to various charities over time. It also avoids capital gains taxes on the donated assets.

Betterment customers are able to donate to a DAF through Daffy. Here’s how to make a donation from your Betterment account:

  1. Log into your account and navigate to the Transfers page. 
  2. Scroll down and select the “Donate to Charity” option under “Other Ways to Transfer.” 
  3. From the menu of available charities, select Daffy. 
  4. Follow the prompts to select the account from which you’re donating shares and the amount you’d like to donate.
  5. Once you review and confirm your donation, you’ll be prompted to use our referral link to set up your Daffy account, which is required to manage your donation. Daffy allows you to grow your charitable funds tax-free while you choose which causes to support, all for a fee starting at $3 a month. 
  6. Once you’ve created your Daffy account, you’ll be able to log in there to direct your donations to nearly any charity you’d like to support. 

Some important notes:

  • If you don’t create a Daffy account, you’ll still receive a tax receipt, but you won’t be able to designate charities to receive your funds until you do. 
  • All donations are final upon submission and should complete by the end of the next trading day. When your donation is complete, we’ll provide a finalized receipt as a record of your donation.
  • For more information, please see our charitable giving disclosures.

You can learn more about the potential benefits of donating shares here