When COVID-19 unsettled the global landscape and shattered our expectations for 2020, Jennifer and David Risher knew the philanthropic community needed to step up. They created #HalfMyDAF, a donor-advised fund challenge that calls on people with donor-advised Funds to pledge to disburse half of their charitable funds to nonprofits in need.
Will you take the pledge to #HalfMyDAF for AdoptAClassroom.org?
Take the pledge to half your donor-advised fund and nominate AdoptAClassroom.org to be eligible for up to $25,000 in matching funds.
A donor-advised fund is a charitable giving vehicle that helps people and organizations manage their charitable donations. Donor-advised funds are incredibly valuable, as people can use them to secure tax-deductions up front and make strategic giving plans over the years. However, sometimes that money is slow to make its way out to the organizations who need it. #HalfMyDAF calls this stagnation due to overwhelming decisions the “paradox of choice.”
While making big financial decisions can be overwhelming, it’s important for donors to step forward and put the money in their donor-advised fund to work. $120 billion in charitable donations are currently sitting in donor-advised funds unspent. Now more than ever, AdoptAClassroom.org needs the help of philanthropic leaders who want to invest in education and see teachers and students succeed. Your donor-advised fund can be a catalyst to great change.
Here are a few examples of what support from your donor-advised fund accomplishes:
- Racial-bias training in schools to promote educational equity for students of color. A bright future for us all starts in the classroom. AdoptAClassroom.org works to connect teachers with anti-racist professional development that builds stronger relationships between teachers and students of color and closes the achievement gap.
- Distance learning tools for students learning from home. It’s not back-to-school as usual in the Fall. Teachers will need to get state-of-the-art technology into the hands of students so they can continue learning. In the Spring, we delivered hundreds of laptops to students so learning didn’t stop.
- Fill the gap between school budgets and teacher spending. According to our 2020 survey, teachers spent on average $745 out-of-pocket on supplies for their classroom. This spending is unsustainable and unfair to our educators. Support from your donor-advised fund will help eliminate teacher spending while ensuring students get the learning tools they deserve.
Are you ready to take the next step? 2020 has been a difficult year for everyone, educators included. We hope you will join us to support teachers in making the pledge to half your donor-advised fund.
Remember, if you nominate AdoptAClassroom.org, we will be eligible for $25,000 in matching funds!