Donor-advised funds hold US$328 billion while the median payout stays at 9 percent
Donor-advised funds in the United States hold US$328 billion across some 3.59 million accounts, yet the DAF Research Collaborative found a three-year median payout of only 9 percent. Brad Leibov, President and CEO of EarthShare, made the point in Alliance Magazine in October 2026. Fidelity Charitable, Vanguard Charitable and DAFgiving360 control more than 70 percent of those assets.
The story is less about how much donors put into donor-advised funds than about how little leaves them. Once the deduction is taken, the surplus can sit invested, earning fees for the sponsor and financing the industries the donor's grants were meant to counter. In a 2026 T. Rowe Price survey, 76 percent of wealthy US investors wanted philanthropic guidance; only 36 percent received it.
Source: Alliance Magazine · October 19, 2026