---
title: "How to Thank a Donor Who Gave Through a DAF"
slug: daf-gift-thank-you
description: "A DAF gift still deserves a real thank-you, just not a tax receipt. Here's how to find the donor, what to say, and what to leave out of the letter."
publishedAt: 2026-10-02
status: published
category: thank-yous
tags: [donor advised funds, DAF gifts, donor thank you, acknowledgment letters]
featured: false
readingTime: 7
takeaways:
  - "A donor-advised fund (DAF) is a fund held by a 501(c)(3) sponsoring organization. The donor recommends grants, but the sponsor has legal control of the money."
  - "Thank DAF donors personally and quickly, just as you would anyone else. Leave out tax-deductibility language, because the sponsoring organization already gave the donor their tax acknowledgment."
  - "DAF grants often arrive with little or no contact information, and sometimes anonymously. That's how these donors get lost. Read the grant letter, check the sponsor's portal, and if the donor is anonymous, ask the sponsor to pass your note along."
  - "DAF grants peak in December. Have a plan before the year-end rush, and follow up a few weeks later with what their gift made happen."
---

A check arrives in December from an organization you've never heard of, something like "Community Giving Fund." The memo line says "Recommended by the Patel Family." There's no email, no phone number, and the address is the sponsor's, not the donor's. You deposit it, add it to the year-end pile, and that's the last anyone thinks about it.

That's how most small nonprofits lose DAF donors. So here's the direct answer to how you thank a donor who gave through a DAF: **thank them personally and promptly, the same way you'd thank anyone, but leave out the tax receipt language, because the sponsoring organization handles that.** The harder part is often finding the donor at all. This guide covers both.

*This is general information, not tax or legal advice. If a gift raises a real tax question, talk to your accountant.*

## What is a donor-advised fund?

**A donor-advised fund is, in the IRS's words, "a separately identified fund or account that is maintained and operated by a section 501(c)(3) organization," called a sponsoring organization.** The donor puts money into the fund and gets their tax deduction then. Later, they recommend grants from the fund to charities they care about. Once the money is in, the [IRS explains](https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/donor-advised-funds), the sponsoring organization has legal control over it. The donor keeps advisory privileges.

In practice, that means the money comes to you from the sponsor (a community foundation, a national charity attached to a brokerage, a religious federation), not from the donor's own account.

DAFs are not a niche thing anymore. The [DAF Research Collaborative](https://www.dafresearchcollaborative.org/research/annual-daf-report) reported that grants from DAFs reached $64.60 billion in fiscal 2024, across a record 3.59 million accounts. Some of your donors almost certainly give this way, whether or not you've noticed.

## Do DAF donors need a tax receipt from you?

No, and you shouldn't imply that your letter is one. The donor already got their tax acknowledgment from the sponsoring organization when they put money into the fund. The grant to you is the sponsor's grant.

So the practical guidance is simple. **Your letter to a DAF donor is a thank-you, not a receipt.** Leave out lines like "no goods or services were provided in exchange for this contribution" and "please keep this for your tax records." Those belong on acknowledgments for direct gifts, which we cover in [what a donation receipt must include](/learn/donation-receipt-requirements).

One thing that's worth a quick check: if the grant was meant to pay for something the donor receives, like a gala ticket, that's a question for the sponsor and your accountant. Most DAF sponsors don't allow grants to cover benefits the donor gets personally.

## Why DAF gifts so often go unthanked

The relationship moment gets lost in the paperwork. A few reasons:

- **The check comes from the sponsor.** Your system records "Community Giving Fund" as the donor, and the real person never makes it into your list.
- **Contact details are thin.** Many grant letters include a name and nothing else. Some include only the sponsor's address.
- **Some grants are anonymous.** Donors can choose not to share their name at all.
- **They arrive at the busiest time of year.** DAF grants cluster in December, right when you're buried in year-end gifts.

The result is a donor who gave, maybe generously, and heard nothing. For a first-time donor, that silence matters. The Fundraising Effectiveness Project's data shows fewer than one in five new donors give again the next year, and a missed thank-you doesn't help.

## How do you find out who the DAF donor is?

Start with what came with the gift.

1. **Read the grant letter or check stub carefully.** Most sponsors include the fund name ("The Patel Family Fund") and often the donor's name and mailing address, unless the donor chose anonymity.
2. **Check the sponsor's grantee portal.** Many larger sponsors let charities look up grant details online, sometimes including donor contact information the donor agreed to share.
3. **Look for a match in your own records.** "The Patel Family Fund" is probably Raj and Anita Patel, who came to your spring event. Match carefully. A wrong guess is worse than no guess.
4. **Ask the sponsor to pass a note along.** If the grant is anonymous or you can't find contact details, call or email the sponsor's grants team. Many will forward a letter to the donor without revealing who they are.

**Respect anonymity.** If a donor chose to give anonymously, don't try to work around it. Send your thanks through the sponsor and let the donor decide whether to reach out.

## What should a DAF thank-you letter say?

The same things any good thank-you says, minus the tax language. It should be prompt, from a person, specific about what the gift will do, and free of any ask. (Here's [how to write a donor thank-you letter](/learn/donor-thank-you-letter) that isn't a receipt.)

A few DAF-specific touches help:

- **Thank the person, not the fund.** Write "Dear Raj and Anita," not "Dear Patel Family Fund."
- **Mention the fund name once** so they recognize which gift you mean.
- **Say what the gift will do.** Specifically.
- **Invite them to stay in touch** directly, since you may not have their email yet.

Here's a sample for a named donor:

> Dear Raj and Anita,
>
> Thank you for recommending a grant from the Patel Family Fund to our tutoring program. It arrived this week, and I wanted to thank you personally.
>
> Your gift will cover a full semester of one-on-one tutoring for four students at the Westside branch. I'll send you a short update in the new year so you can see how they're doing.
>
> If you'd like to hear from us by email, just reply here or write to me directly. Either way, thank you for thinking of us.
>
> Warmly,
> Marcus, Executive Director

And a note to send through the sponsor for an anonymous grant:

> To the donor who recommended this grant:
>
> We don't know who you are, and that's okay. We wanted you to know your gift arrived and will help fund our weekend food program, which sends meals home with 140 kids every Friday.
>
> If you'd ever like updates on what your gift makes possible, you're welcome to reach out at the address below. Thank you.
>
> Priya, Executive Director

## When should you thank a DAF donor?

As soon as the grant arrives. The same timing rules apply as for any gift. Aim for a couple of days, which is the standard behind [how soon you should thank a donor](/learn/thank-donors-48-hours).

The practical problem is volume. Because DAF grants peak in December, set yourself up before the rush:

| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| November | Make a short DAF thank-you template you like, plus a version to send through sponsors. |
| As each grant arrives | Record the donor's name, not just the fund. Send the thank-you within a few days. |
| Late December | Check for any grants you deposited but haven't thanked yet. |
| January to February | Send each DAF donor a progress update about what their gift did. |

## What happens after the thank-you?

The thank-you is the first moment. The one that earns their next grant is the follow-up a few weeks later, a short note about what their gift actually made happen. DAF donors often recommend grants once a year, so if they hear nothing between December and next December, you're starting over each time.

A January progress note sets you up for the next year. We wrote a whole guide on [what to send December donors in January](/learn/january-donor-follow-up), and it applies to DAF donors too. If you have a direct email by then, use it. If not, send it through the sponsor again.

## Where Perennial fits

The hardest part of DAF stewardship is making sure the real donor gets onto your list instead of the fund. When you import your gift records into [Perennial Giving](/), each gift is matched to a donor record and duplicates are merged, so a returning DAF donor shows up as the person you know. From there, Perennial treats them like any other donor: it drafts the thank-you in your voice, then flags them a few weeks later for a progress update. You approve each note. You can do the same with a spreadsheet column for "real donor name" and a reminder in January.

## Thank the person behind the fund

A DAF gift comes through an intermediary, but the decision to give was made by a person who chose you. Find out who they are if you can. Thank them like a human, leave the tax language to the sponsor, and follow up with what their gift did. That's how a December grant from an unfamiliar fund becomes a donor who comes back every year.

---

Source: https://perennialgiving.com/learn/daf-gift-thank-you

*Perennial Giving is a donor retention engine for small nonprofits. It notices who needs to hear from you, drafts the message in your voice, and you approve it in seconds. https://perennialgiving.com*