Highlights from the 2024 DAF Report

National Philanthropic Trust (NPT) recently released our 2024 DAF Report, the annually anticipated, in-depth analysis of the donor-advised fund (DAF) sector in the United States. Now in its 18th edition and examining data through the end of 2023, the Donor-Advised Fund Report—published as a public service—is the most comprehensive historical data set on the state of DAF philanthropy in the United States.

There continues to be increased public interest and curiosity about changes and innovations in philanthropy, and the DAF Report provides valuable insight into this transformative tool for charitable giving.

In 2023, DAFs continued to mirror the giving trends in the philanthropic sector, with donors returning to pre-pandemic giving patterns and responding to economic disruptions in the U.S. financial markets.

NPT’s 2024 Donor-Advised Fund Report looked at 2019 through 2023 fiscal year data from 1,293 charitable organizations offering DAFs.

These are the most pivotal takeaways and notable findings in this year’s report:

• Grants from DAFs to qualified charitable organizations totaled an estimated $54.77 billion, declining only slightly from the year prior. This one-year drop marks only the second decline in grantmaking since we began recording data in 2007.
• $54.77 billion in support to nonprofits is the second-highest aggregate grantmaking value on record, nearly doubling the 2019 pre-pandemic grantmaking total.
• Contributions to DAFs dropped significantly to $59.43 billion in 2023, a 21.7 percent decline. It is the most precipitous one-year drop on record and comes two years after the sharpest one-year increase (from 2020 to 2021). Contributions seem to be returning to historical growth patterns.
• Total charitable assets increased almost 10 percent to $251.52 billion as the stock market rebounded in 2023 after posting losses in 2022.
• DAF payout rate remains near 24 percent. The DAF grantmaking payout rate, which is a function of grants issued relative to the charitable assets available, has been at or above 20 percent for every year on record.

You can read the full 2024 report for more findings, including a breakdown of DAF sponsorship types and additional statistics.