An Argument Against Congressional Response

Abstract

Our conference title assumes that such danger lurks in the increased utilization of donor-advised funds for charitable giving that Congress may need to respond. Statistics from 2013 certainly reveal the broad popularity of this vehicle: 217,000 funds (up from 20,000 in the mid-1990s), charitable assets of $50 billion, and nearly $10 billion in grants. DAF critics choose to describe their growth as “unbridled,” and speak of the “warehousing” of charitable assets, but other observers maintain that DAFs are democratizing philanthropy and fostering more strategic and thoughtful giving.