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Donor Advised Funds

Give from Your Donor Advised Fund

A donor advised fund (DAF) is a type of giving program administered by a third party that allows you to combine the most favorable tax benefits with the flexibility to easily support Operation Blessing. An increasingly popular charitable vehicle, donor advised funds are an excellent way to both simplify your charitable giving and facilitate your strategic philanthropic goals.

Main Benefits of Donor Advised Funds

  • Simplicity: You can support a number of charitable organizations and centralize your giving without having to retain records for separate contributions.
  • Convenience and timing: You can take a tax deduction now—when you make a gift to the fund—without immediately having to choose the charities you want to support.
  • Tax-efficiency: Contributions are tax-deductible and any investment growth in the donor advised fund is tax-free. It is also easy to donate long term appreciated securities, eliminating capital gains taxes and allowing you to support multiple charities from one block of stock.
  • Family philanthropy: Families can build a tradition of giving and teach their children God’s plan for helping others by involving them in the decisions about which grants to recommend.
  • No start-up costs: There is no cost to establish a donor advised fund. However, there are often minimum initial charitable contributions to establish the donor advised fund (typically $5,000 or more)**

** Sponsoring organizations generally assess an administrative fee on the assets in a donor advised fund. These fees vary by sponsoring organization.


How Donor Advised Funds Work

  • Establish your donor advised fund by making an irrevocable, tax-deductible donation to a public charity that sponsors a donor advised fund program (examples include National Christian Foundation, Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Schwab Charitable, Vanguard Charitable and similar charities).
  • At any time, make contributions to your fund, which are invested by the sponsoring charitable organization, which then provides a regular accounting to you.
  • Recommend that various amounts be distributed to Operation Blessing and/or other qualified charitable organizations of your choice.
  • Receive an income tax charitable deduction for gifts to your donor advised fund.

How DAF Direct Works

DAF Direct is an online tool that enables you to easily recommend a grant to Operation Blessing directly from our website. Current participating DAF Direct sponsors include Fidelity Charitable®, Schwab Charitable® and the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation. You can recommend a grant to Operation Blessing from your donor advised fund with these organizations by doing the following:

  • Select your sponsoring organization from the drop-down menu.
  • Enter Operation Blessing as the Designation.
  • Enter the amount of your donation to Operation Blessing.
  • Click on the NEXT button, which will connect you directly to your fund’s website to confirm your recommendation

What if My Sponsoring Organization is Not Part of DAF Direct?

Simply contact your sponsoring organization directly and recommend a donation in support of the lifesaving work of Operation Blessing. Provide the following information:

  • Charity
    Operation Blessing International Relief and Development Corporation.
    977 Centerville Turnpike, Virginia Beach, VA 23463
  • Federal Taxpayer Identification Number: 54-1382657
  • Gift amount: $x
  • Operation Blessing contact information:
    Ronda Sherman
    Vice President, Philanthropy
    757-226-3944; 804-677-7409
    ronda.sherman@ob.org

What Can Donor Advised Funds Do for Operation Blessing?

Donor advised funds provide an easy, flexible, low-cost method of giving which supports our mission to demonstrate God’s love by alleviating human need and suffering worldwide. These gifts have been essential parts of the lasting changes we make in the lives of vulnerable families in need through our various programs. For example, you can also establish planned giving beneficiary designations for your donor advised fund as part of your estate planning and legacy philanthropy. For more information click here.