Ramstad

The largest, though, are the nation’s giant asset firms like Fidelity, Vanguard and Charles Schwab. They manage DAFs similar to the way they do investment and retirement accounts.

Growing charitable assets is not itself a charitable act, however. It’s the turning over of that money to the charity that matters.

“With the DAF, this is kind of proof of your generosity. And if it grows, that actually shows that you’re even more generous,” he said. “And so there’s this psychological effect of pride. And then people can turn almost scientific about their charitable contributions. So they’re waiting for the perfect contribution.”

“This is not private property. Once you’ve got your tax deduction, the money is supposed to be a public benefit,” he said.

Some of the top administrators, or sponsors, of DAFs are community foundations, many of which do have guidelines to keep donors’ funds moving out the door. (Disclosure: The Minnesota Star Tribune’s new philanthropic effort includes a DAF sponsored by the Minneapolis Foundation.) Some nonprofit organizations, such as hospitals, themselves administer DAFs for people who want to concentrate their giving.

“If you have a 401(k), you look at it online, you can direct the investments and you’d like to see it grow. And if it goes down, you feel bad,” Pratt said.