If you already have a donor-advised fund (DAF), you can recommend a grant to Best Friends Animal Society through your fund sponsor or financial adviser, request an electronic funds transfer (EFT) or check, or use DAFpay if your sponsor participates. Best Friends advertises a dollar-for-dollar match on DAF gifts up to $500,000 throughout 2026; check its current campaign page for terms before recommending your grant. The potential tax deduction is generally tied to your earlier contribution to the DAF—not the later grant recommendation—and your sponsor, not you, has legal control of contributed assets.
What is a donor-advised fund and how can it help homeless pets?
A DAF is a charitable account held and administered by a sponsoring organization. You contribute cash or other assets to the sponsor, then advise it about grants to eligible charities. You may also have advisory privileges over how assets are invested while they remain in the fund.
Once you contribute assets, however, the sponsor has legal control over them. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) puts it plainly: “Once the donor makes the contribution, the organization has legal control over it.” Your grant recommendation is advisory, and the sponsor decides whether to approve it. See the IRS overview of donor-advised funds.
In practice, a DAF can let you contribute to a charitable account and recommend grants to Best Friends and other charities over time. Best Friends describes the basic sequence as opening a fund with a provider or financial adviser, contributing cash or assets, and recommending a grant. It lists Fidelity Charitable, Raymond James, DAFGiving360 (formerly Schwab Charitable), and Vanguard as examples of providers; this list is not an endorsement or evidence of an affiliate relationship.
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How do I give through a donor-advised fund?
- Start with your sponsor. Sign in to your DAF or contact your financial adviser and ask how to recommend a grant to Best Friends Animal Society. Confirm the sponsor’s processing time and any fees.
- Enter the recipient details. Best Friends gives its legal name as Best Friends Animal Society, tax ID 23-7147797, and mailing address as 5001 Angel Canyon Road, Kanab, UT 84741. Confirm current instructions directly with Best Friends before submitting the grant.
- Choose the available delivery route. Best Friends says EFT is preferred and also accepts DAF checks. Its DAFpay tool can provide an online grant-recommendation route if your sponsor participates. The sponsor’s interface and available payment options determine what you can use.
- Help Best Friends identify the gift. Include your name, the fund name, contact information, and donor ID or account number if available. For DAF checks, Best Friends lists PO Box 26236, Salt Lake City, UT 84126-0236; verify the address before mailing.
Best Friends describes recurring grant schedules as available. Ask your sponsor how to set one up and whether it supports recurring EFT or check grants.
What does Best Friends’ 2026 DAF match cover?
Best Friends’ campaign page advertises a dollar-for-dollar match on DAF gifts up to $500,000 throughout 2026. The $500,000 figure is the campaign’s overall match cap, not a per-donor limit. Because this is a time-limited offer, check the Best Friends DAF campaign page for the current terms and availability when you make your recommendation.
When can a DAF contribution qualify for a tax deduction?
Generally, any potential charitable deduction is associated with your contribution to the DAF sponsor. Recommending a grant later to Best Friends is a separate step; it is not a new deductible contribution by you. A DAF contribution is not automatically deductible, and the result depends on IRS rules and your circumstances, including the asset contributed, its valuation and holding period, applicable limits, substantiation, and whether you itemize.
For a DAF contribution, the IRS says the donor generally needs contemporaneous written acknowledgment that the sponsoring organization has exclusive legal control over the contributed assets. Keep the sponsor’s acknowledgment and contribution records with your tax documents. See IRS Publication 526 and ask a tax professional about your specific situation.
Itemizing and the tax-year 2026 non-itemizer rule
The IRS generally says charitable contributions are deductible only if you itemize. Its Topic 506 page also describes a tax-year 2026 deduction of up to $1,000 ($2,000 for joint filers) for certain cash contributions by taxpayers who do not itemize. That provision concerns qualifying cash contributions; it should not be treated as a deduction for a later grant recommendation from assets already contributed to a DAF. Review the IRS’s Topic 506 guidance or consult a tax adviser about eligibility.
Contributing appreciated assets
Best Friends says appreciated stock held for more than a year may, depending on the circumstances, avoid capital-gains tax and qualify for a deduction based on fair market value when contributed. Those outcomes are not guaranteed: IRS rules can adjust the deduction for donated property, and the asset’s type, holding period, valuation, and your tax situation matter. Ask your DAF sponsor and tax adviser how a proposed asset contribution would be treated.
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What DAF fees should you expect?
Best Friends provides generalized estimates of 0.6%–1.5% of the account balance for administrative fees and 0.4%–1% for investment management, with a stated combined range of 1%–2.5% annually. These are Best Friends’ general figures, not verified prices for every sponsor. Check your own sponsor’s current fee schedule, investment options, minimums, and grant-processing rules before contributing.
Should you use a DAF, give securities directly, or make an IRA QCD?
The right route depends on when you want to contribute, who should hold legal control, whether you want to recommend grants over time, what assets you plan to give, and whether the gift provides you with a benefit. These options are not interchangeable:
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| Route | How it works | Key consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Grant from an existing DAF | Recommend a grant through the sponsor; the sponsor controls the assets and processes the recommendation. | The grant is separate from your earlier contribution to the DAF. Check sponsor rules, processing time, and fees. |
| Direct gift of appreciated securities | Give securities directly to Best Friends; the organization says it sells securities donated to it. | Compare the timing, administration, and tax treatment with contributing assets to a DAF. An adviser can help assess the consequences for your situation. |
| Qualified charitable distribution (QCD) from an IRA | Make a separate eligible transfer directly from an IRA to a charity under QCD rules. | A DAF cannot receive a QCD. Check age eligibility, direct-transfer requirements, and current limits; a QCD’s tax treatment differs from an itemized charitable deduction. |
Best Friends has separate information on DAF giving and qualified charitable distributions. Check its current instructions for direct securities gifts and QCD eligibility before acting.
Can a DAF grant pay for an event ticket or sponsorship?
Generally, a DAF grant cannot pay for a ticket, table, sponsorship, or other arrangement that gives you more than an incidental benefit. If you want to attend an event or receive something in exchange for a payment, do not assume your DAF can cover it; ask the sponsor how to handle the charitable portion and any personal benefit.
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