195. Democratizing the Donor Advised Fund to Grow Philanthropy for All - John Bromley
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Overview
Meet John. He's tired of seeing donor advised funds sitting around unspent. He's democratized the DAF world, and he wants you and your kids to be an active part of the giving community. You see, once he recognized a need to make giving more accessible and more effective, he launched Charitable Impact which nurtures generosity within each person and bring resources for creating change in the world to everyone. In short, it's a super cool giving platform that makes even a $5 feel like a serious investment in philanthropy. Together, we're talking basics (what the heck is a donor advised fund?) but also talking about how to make our personal philanthropy intentional rather than reactive.
Today’s Guest
John Bromley, Founder and CEO, Charitable Impact
“When we’re not as fit as donors, I actually worry about donor fatigue, because it can push us away from the sector, blaming someone else and where I’m trying to get to, this is bad language, but blaming the self blaming the donor, or, and because it’s not really the donors fault.”
Episode Transcript
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Episode highlights
John’s story and journey to where he is today (2:00)
Donor fatigue and the current state of giving today (8:30)
Giving proactively vs. reactively (15:00)
An overview of Donor Advised Funds (18:00)
Features and benefits of DAFs (24:00)
Addressing hoarding within DAFs and Foundations (31:00)
An overview of Charitable Impact (34:00)
A powerful moment of philanthropy in John’s life (41:00)
John’s One Good Thing: Ask yourself: Are you charitable? (46:00)
Powerful quotes
“I started to get really fluent in philanthropy, and that's the blessing and sort of curse of my life. Why is it a curse, because it really makes me feel obligated to share what I know and do things in the sector.” -John
“When we're not as fit as donors, I actually worry about donor fatigue, because it can push us away from the sector, blaming someone else and where I'm trying to get to, this is bad language, but blaming the self blaming the donor, or, and because it's not really the donors fault.” -John
“There's not enough charitable literacy with the donor to be able to withstand these small little headwinds at times, which can lead to some fatigue, but it's actually just part of the game.” -John
“Donor advised funds are the solution because inviting people to participate in philanthropy has to, in my experience, be routed to some input to be sustainable over time with the individual. It has to be rooted in them and be driven over time intrinsically.” -John
“Why wouldn't you give in that scenario? Here's the only answer I can come up with: because you're not charitable.” -John
“If people are familiar with what a bank account is, I would I would say, donor advised fund is exactly analogous to having a bank account but just for charitable giving.” -John
“That's what's super important about the donor advised fund, whether you're a large donor or a small donor, it doesn't matter.” -John
“What I think we're gonna see the disruption is going to come from the empowerment of donors.” -John
“Fundraising was never developed for that it was developed to get money from the donor to the charity. And so where's the donor development coming from? The donor advised fund tool can do that, in part because it's for all donors, regardless of what chart causes you care about. Secondly, because it is at least in its natural place, it's it's an impartial, objective environment, not unlike your bank, my bank doesn't tell me whether to shop at store A or B, they facilitate me to do so.” -John
“So one benefit of a donor advised fund and there were many, and this is this is this is a derivative of the separation of the donation from the allocation is for example, you can be completely anonymous.” -John
“When you educate and empower the donor, disengagement starts to go away.” -John
“It invites accessibility but the theory of it is rooted in taking objections away from the donor.” -John
“Let me share the three beliefs at charitable impact with you guys. The first belief is that everyone in the world has something they care about changing. The second belief is that everyone has something to give towards creating that change. Whether It's time, talent or treasure. Okay, so these are the two precursors to the third belief, which is when you give, you get something in return. ” -John
“Just ask yourself, whether or not you're charitable. That's what I want people to do. And to be okay with themselves when the answer's no, because it can change. And by the way, if the answer is yes, that can change too. So are you charitable?” -John
connect with john and charitable impact
LinkedIn / Website / Twitter / Instagram
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Jonathan McCoy, Becky Endicott, Julie Confer and John Bromley
