A donor advised fund is convenient way to handle charitable contributions for many Chaptops donors.  The DAF is an account held by a large charitable foundation. The donor makes irrevocable charitable donations to the foundation rather than directly to charities.  The donor can use the funds to direct grants to 501(c)(3) charities immediately or at a later time.  The donation is tax-deductible at the time the money passes to the foundation.

Thousands of organizations large and small sponsor DAFs, but most funds are held in charitable foundations set up by the large brokerage houses such as Fidelity Charitable.  Fidelity Charitable processed $10.3 billion in grants for 287,000 donors in 2021.  By contrast, the North Carolina Community Foundation processed $25.5 million in grants for 4,200 donors.

- The DAF can receive all sorts of assets, not just cash.  Many donors use DAFs to contribute appreciated stock to avoid capital gains tax, but one could even donate appreciated real estate investments.
- If the DAF foundation is associated with a brokerage, it's likely that the brokerage's website is integrated with the foundation's so that stocks can be donated in a few clicks.  Donating stocks directly to a charity (that accepts them) is more challenging administratively.
- A donor can donate in one year (e.g., while stocks are up or when a tax deduction is desirable) and make grants in later years.
- A donor receives only one charity tax receipt for the year, from the foundation, which can save some work at tax time.

DAF Direct is a cooperative arrangement among three of the biggest sponsors, Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, and BNY Mellon Charitable,  to provide a PayPal-like interface to their DAFs.