Giving, in crisis and in calm
By Sherry Ristau / President and CEO
Over the past year, I have been reminded time and again that—even during a global pandemic—generosity is alive and well. And in our work at the Quad Cities Community Foundation, we have seen an inspiring picture of philanthropy emerge out of the past year, a strong indicator of how vital and effective community foundations and their donors are during times of both crisis and calm.
Here’s the exciting news: As the world faced an unprecedented crisis last year, giving did not slow—it accelerated—with donor advised funds, which you can start at the Community Foundation. DAFs are a tried and true way to give swiftly and generously. Donor-advised grantmaking in 2020 actually outpaced donors’ contributions into their funds in 2019.
We are often asked what a donor advised fund actually is. DAFs are one of many tools to contribute assets such as money, investment income, and real estate. With your DAF, you can grant on your own schedule and also work with our team members who are on the pulse of the needs and opportunities of your community, to grant to the charities and causes you choose. Once a gift is placed in a DAF, it must ultimately be granted to IRS-recognized nonprofits. Donors have discretion over which charities receive grants—and when they receive them.
According to a survey by the Community Foundation Public Awareness Initiative, DAFs at 84 of the nation’s community foundations granted more than $6.7 billion to nonprofits in 2020. That means donors recognized the scale and urgency of the pandemic, and chose to give more to their neighbors. Time and again, my colleagues and I were heartened by the phone calls we received from donors who hold a DAF at the Community Foundation, telling us they wanted to give even more in 2020—and asking us to help them do that in the best possible way. To hear their passion for the community, and witness their desire to give in a time of need, is something I will always personally remember.
DAFs are just one way to help us do what we do best at the Community Foundation: equip and inspire people to take the resources they have, no matter the amount, and maximize their efforts to do the best good in their community.
The pandemic inspired a wave of giving that will ripple into our communities for years, but we don’t need an emergency or tragedy to inspire philanthropy. Every day, our donors find ways to give to causes and interests that matter to them. We are proud to partner with people like you to leverage your charitable dollars to earn a great rate of return, and offer more benefit to the community as a result of the grants that can go out.
Starting a DAF is easy, and when you do so at the Community Foundation, so is the grantmaking that follows. If you’d like to talk more about how you can give through the Community Foundation, please reach out to me and my colleague Anne Calder to talk about how we can help you transform the region through your generosity.