How Donor-Advised Funds Can Expand Impact Investing

Jul 23, 2026

Donor-advised funds hold more than $300 billion in charitable assets in the U.S. Learn how they can support impact investing and help create new funding opportunities for mission-driven startups.

Key Takeaways

 

  • Donor-advised funds (DAFs) hold more than $300 billion in charitable assets in the U.S., making them one of the country’s largest pools of mission-driven capital.
  • A gap exists between sustainable investing and philanthropic capital deployment: while almost three-quarters of U.S. respondents in our Sustainable Signals survey hold sustainable investments in their portfolios, only 27% use philanthropic assets for impact investing.
  • As impact investing opportunities within DAFs expand, they may help increase the pool of mission-aligned capital available to impact-driven startups and founders.

 

Donor-advised funds (DAFs) enable charitable grantmaking. But they can also be used to invest in companies and funds that seek measurable social or environmental impact. Assets held in U.S. donor-advised funds doubled between 2020 and 2024, reaching $326 billion, with around 25% distributed to charities as grants each year. That makes DAFs one of the largest and fastest-growing pools of charitable assets in the country.

 

A new report from the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing, Impact Investing and Donor-Advised Funds, explores how donor-advised funds can support the full spectrum of mission-driven capital allocation.

 

Building on findings from the Institute's April 2026 Sustainable Signals: Individual Investors survey, the report highlights a clear gap: nearly three-quarters (73%) of U.S. individual investors in our Sustainable Signals survey include sustainable investments in their personal portfolios, but just 27% use philanthropic assets for impact investing today. More than a quarter (26%) have not heard of a donor-advised fund, and 39% say they have little or no knowledge about using philanthropic assets for impact investing.

 

The findings suggest many donors may not yet be leveraging the full range of ways charitable assets can be deployed to pursue impact goals. Donor-advised funds may help address that gap by enabling donors to complement traditional grantmaking with impact investments. For founders of mission-driven companies, that could help expand the pool of mission-aligned capital available to support innovation and growth.

 

What Donors Want Their Capital to Achieve

For investors who already understand how philanthropic assets can be used for impact investing, the survey points to three priorities: scale, alignment and flexibility.

 

1. The potential for initial funding to scale to larger impact is important. Almost 90% agree that using philanthropic assets is a way to provide initial funding for an idea that could scale to larger impact.

 

Source: Institute for Sustainable Investing, April 2026.

 

2. The same real-world outcomes matter, regardless of the type of capital. More than three-quarters say they want to support similar outcomes with both their investing and philanthropic activity.

 

Source: Institute for Sustainable Investing, April 2026.

 

3. Expectations on financial returns vary. The most common approach is to seek market-rate returns for impact investments (39%), while 20% generally recommend grants with no expected return. A smaller group (13%) consider below market-rate instruments such as concessionary loans while 27% take a flexible approach depending on the opportunity.

 

Source: Institute for Sustainable Investing, April 2026.

 

How Impact Investing Fits into Donor-Advised Funds

Donor-advised funds are charitable giving vehicles that allow individuals, families and organizations to contribute assets, which are then invested in line with donor preferences and have the potential to grow tax-free. The original capital and any investment returns remain inside the DAF, creating a pool of charitable capital that can potentially grow before being granted out. Over time, the DAF structure has evolved to accommodate the full spectrum of impact-oriented capital allocation, from market-rate return investments to below market-rate structures, as well as philanthropic options like recoverable grants, which may return capital for future charitable use.

 

Through Morgan Stanley’s donor-advised fund program, Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust, Inc. (MS GIFT), donors can recommend a range of investment options, including those available through Morgan Stanley’s Investing with Impact platform, which help clients align more of their capital with the causes and outcomes they care about.

One of the most exciting opportunities we’ve created for donors is the ability to magnify the impact of their donor advised fund investments and grantmaking while extending the reach and effectiveness of every philanthropic dollar. Collaborative initiatives like MS GIFT Cures, the Next Gen Dynastic Cohort, and our recoverable grants program transform DAFs into platforms for collaborative innovation and catalytic philanthropy.
President, Morgan Stanley GIFT. Managing Director, Head of Family Office Resources Field Engagement.
Enabling access to impact investing for donors means addressing two challenges: identifying the opportunities that best deliver on donors’ goals and amplifying the impact donors are having with their dollars. Aligning individuals’ and families’ missions across financial, philanthropic and human capital can secure legacies for the long term.
Executive Director, Head of Investing with Impact, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

As of 2026, Morgan Stanley will support the Morgan Stanley Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures (MSISV) accelerator program via a donation to MS GIFT, creating a new pathway to deploy mission-aligned equity investments in early-stage companies and provide grants to nonprofits that are creating measurable impact.

The Effect of DAFs on Impact-Driven Startup Founders

Startup founders can consider DAFs as a potential source of funding for innovation. This could be a direct investment, if the DAF provider can support efforts such as due diligence, or a DAF acting as a Limited Partner (LP) in a fund. DAFs are of particular interest to impact-driven startups for three reasons:

 

Mission-alignment

One of the most compelling opportunities in impact investing is the alignment between what donors care about and what early-stage founders are building. In 2025, nearly two-thirds of MS GIFT donor-giving went to causes aligned with MSISV’s impact categories, suggesting that DAF capital can help advance many of the same outcomes donors are already seeking through grantmaking.
Managing Director, Global Co-Head, Morgan Stanley Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures

Patient capital to support scale

Early-stage ventures solving complex social and environmental challenges often need patient capital to scale. DAFs represent one of the largest pools of mission-driven capital, from donors who recognize the opportunity to support an idea as it grows. When deployed thoughtfully, they can be an important complement to other sources of funding for founders focused on delivering measurable impact.
Managing Director, Global Co-Head, Morgan Stanley Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures

Potential to continue mission after an exit

 

Over time, founders may wish to explore making DAF contributions themselves. Many DAF providers accept donations of appreciated public or private company equity, offering founders a tax-advantaged way to continue their mission after an exit.

 

For both donors and founders, the opportunity is to think more broadly about how charitable capital can be used. When aligned with clear impact goals, DAF assets may help bridge the gap between giving and investing—supporting innovation today while preserving the potential for future charitable impact.

Read the 2026 "Impact Investing and Donor-Advised Funds" Report

Click the link below to download and read the full report.