Highlights from the 2023 DAF Report

This week National Philanthropic Trust (NPT) released our 2023 Donor-Advised Fund Report, the annual in-depth analysis of the donor-advised fund (DAF) sector in the United States.  
 
Last year proved a pivotal year for DAF donors. DAFs reached yet another record-breaking milestone in grantmaking, as well as an increase in contributions; all in the face of a challenging year in the U.S. financial markets. 
 
NPT’s 2023 Donor-Advised Fund Report looked at 2018 through 2023 fiscal year data from 1,151 charitable organizations offering DAFs.  
 
These are the most pivotal takeaways and notable findings in this year’s report:  

2023 Donor-Advised Fund Report Highlights  

• DAF donors, once again, granted at historic levels. Grants from DAFs to qualified charitable organizations totaled an estimated $52.16 billion, representing a 9 percent increase compared to 2021. This is the first year where grants from DAFs exceeded $50 billion.  
   
• The total number of individual DAF accounts in 2022 increased by 2.9 percent to 1,948,545.  
   
• The DAF payout rate was 22.5 percent. While down 6.2 percentage points compared with 2021’s high-water mark, the DAF payout rate has remained above 20 percent for every year on record. 
   
• Charitable assets under management declined 1.1 percent and totaled $228.89 billion. Strong donor activity offset the effects of constricting global financial markets.  
   
• DAF contributions totaled $85.53 billion in 2022, a 9 percent increase from $78.44 billion in 2021.  

Read the full 2023 report for more findings, including a breakdown by DAF sponsor types and additional statistics.