Donor-advised funds experienced growth in every key charitable giving benchmark in 2017, National Philanthropic Trust reported Tuesday in releasing its annual report on DAFs.
Assets destined for charitable grant making in all DAF accounts totaled $110 billion, up by 27.3% from 2016. DAF assets surpassed the $100 billion mark for the first time last year.
Grants from DAF accounts to qualified charities totaled $19.1 billion in 2017, compared with $15.9 billion the previous year. The grant payout rate was 22.1%, up 1.5 percentage points.
DAFs' payout rate is nearly four times higher than that of private foundations, according to NPT.
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Contributions to DAFs in 2017 totaled $29.2 billion, a 16.5% increase over 2016. DAF accounts in the U.S. surged to 463,622 from 298,628 the year before, making them the fastest growing giving vehicle in the U.S., the report said.