DAF Commons

DAF holders in the U.S. steward roughly $330 billion. Most of us opened our DAFs to do good. Yet much of that money sits in conventional market funds, often invested against the very things we give to. Many DAF holders want to do more than make grants, but we lack the resources, examples, and peers to learn from. The institutions holding our money have little incentive to show us what's possible.

DAF Commons is our answer: a community of more than 2,000 DAF holders and practitioners, built by DAF holders ourselves. Our work rests on three pillars:

1. Raise awareness of the opportunity. Many DAF holders don't know where their DAF dollars are invested, or that impact-first investing is an option. Our webinars, education library, and Substack show what's possible.
2. Build the knowledge and tools to act. The real barriers are practical: choosing a sponsor, knowing what to ask, how much to allocate, and where to invest. We're building frameworks and tools, like a DAF sponsor matching tool. We also work with the field through our Entrepreneurs in Residence program.
3. Create the community to move the money. This work can be isolating. Doing it together overcomes practical hurdles like investment minimums, finding deals, and due diligence. It also challenges fixed ideas about how philanthropy "should" be done. We run learning cohorts and support multi-donor funds so people can move money together.

We're sponsor-agnostic and fiscally sponsored by CataCap. We believe DAF reform is needed. We also believe the hundreds of billions sitting in these accounts could and should be put to work for impact today. Your support helps us grow the community, expand our education work, and change the story about what DAFs can do.