- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
