Last week, philanthropist and Arnold Ventures co-founder John Arnold appeared on CNBC’s The Exchange to discuss the need for DAF reforms. With billions of charitable funds sitting on the sidelines, he explained how reforms are necessary to ensure DAF funds make it to the community in a timely manner.
Below are some notable quotes from John during the interview:
“What we’re trying to do is think about how to make sure that tax benefit aligns with – in a timely manner – that that money gets to the community.”
“In a donor-advised fund, there’s no requirement to ever give this money. And the data bears this out. Last year, when the call on philanthropic resources was greatest, 35% of DAF accounts didn’t make a single dollar in distributions. In the past four years, 10% of accounts haven’t made a distribution.”
“[T]here are some DAF sponsors who have virtually no requirement on activity, and that money can sit there in a wealth warehousing vehicle forever. It’s received the tax benefit on day one, but that money never has to go to the community.”
Watch the full interview here.
CNBC’s online story is also available here.