We recently sat down with Daffy member Trish Davis, Vice President of Major Gifts and Planned Giving at Susan G. Komen. In our conversation, Trish shared how Daffy has helped her stay intentional with her giving and why she now recommends it to just about everyone she knows.

Q: Can you introduce yourself and share what you do?

Trish: Hi, I’m Trish Davis, and I’ve been a member of Daffy for almost a year now. I am the Vice President of Major Gifts and Planned Giving at Susan G. Komen. We are the largest organization focused on breast cancer, and it’s been such a pleasure not only to give through a donor-advised fund myself, but also to focus on increasing gifts from DAFs as part of our revenue strategies. Having the insight as a DAF donor has helped inform how we engage with others, and I’ve learned so much through the process.

Q: How did you first hear about Daffy?

Trish: I learned about Daffy from Mitch Stein, Head of Strategy at Chariot. Chariot is our incredible partner for DAF Pay, which we’ve integrated into many of our donation pages. Mitch introduced me to Daffy as an accessible option, especially for someone like me working at a nonprofit. It was app-based, which was really important to me, and it allows me to give every single month to grow my giving throughout the year. I didn’t realize how much I was giving during the year until I started a donor-advised fund. Now, my husband and I can see it all in one place, have one receipt, and be able to give to all of our friends and colleagues who are fundraising throughout the year. It’s just been incredible.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about Daffy?

Trish: I think my favorite thing with Daffy is how it is so simple, and I love the giving goals. I’ve been introducing it to my friends, my family, honestly, anyone who will listen.

Now they’re trying to set up a Daffy account too. It’s just so user-friendly. It’s so approachable. It’s a DAF that truly is for anyone. You don’t have to be giving thousands or tens of thousands or millions of dollars to charity every year. You could be someone who is setting aside hundreds of dollars during the year, and it still makes it a joy to see that, to have that goal, to sit down with your kids and pick who you want to make that gift to, and do it in the app. To see it go out and still be able to track it all in one place, that is really important and meaningful.

Q: Had you used a donor-advised fund before Daffy?

Trish: Before having a donor-advised fund, we really lost track of our giving throughout the year. I think working in nonprofits specifically, you end up with lots of colleagues and friends who are fundraising and asking for gifts for various events. So we would make gifts throughout the year to lots of different things, not just the organization I work with, although I support that as well.

I honestly couldn’t tell you how much we were giving during the year. Having a DAF with Daffy is the first time we were seeing, all in one place, where we were giving, which organizations we were supporting (often more than once), and how much we were giving overall.

It allowed us to increase our giving goal and be very strategic about how much we wanted to set aside. It’s neat to be moved in the moment to want to make a gift and to know: “Oh my gosh, I already have money set aside for that.”

Q: Would you recommend Daffy to others?

Trish: Yes! I recommend Daffy to everyone. I think it is an incredible DAF. It is approachable if you’ve never tried a donor-advised fund, but you make any gifts to charity throughout the year. And I truly mean any gifts, of any amount, try setting up a donor-advised fund and see the difference between being intentional with your giving and having it in one place. Setting a goal for yourself and having just one receipt was eye-opening for my family. And for the friends who’ve tried it too, that’s also been their favorite part.

Whether you’re giving hundreds, thousands, or millions of dollars in a year, Daffy will work for you. You can use your phone, transfer stock, transfer crypto, or give via Apple Pay. If you have another DAF from another provider, you can even transfer into this one. I know donors who have done that because Daffy is so user-friendly. It really is remarkable.

Q: Why are donor-advised funds valuable from a nonprofit’s perspective?

Trish: Donor-advised funds are an incredible effort to undertake. Increasing revenue from donors who have DAFs is so important. These are donors who are intentionally setting money aside because they want to support important work at nonprofits. And they can make a gift at any point, it’s not just about year-end giving.

You can ask them to support your work all year round. I think it’s really important to remember that and to approach DAF donors directly. Include them in the work you’re doing. Make those asks, because they’ve already set aside that money and they want to fuel the work happening with causes they care about.

Final Thoughts?

Trish: It’s easy to give through Daffy. It’s easy through the app. It’s easy through DAF Pay. It’s just easy in general.