DAFs 2.0 - How Can Individuals Build Resilient Communities; Regulatory & Community Foundation Focus

With over $250B in Donor-advised Funds in the United States, DAFs are recognized as a source of great generosity and also as a sleeping giant in the world of philanthropic direct investing. Some progress has been made in using DAFs for global investing and granting, but there is still an opportunity to further activate the use of donor-advised funds to support community economic development and resilience. Join Abundance Capital’s Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer, Margaret Gifford; Neil Grayson, Nelson Mullins’ (+$700MM Revenue) head of the firm’s financial institutions corporate and regulatory practice group and founder of the firm’s social impact practice; Bob Morris, president and CEO of The Greenville Community Foundation (+$100MM AUM) as they discuss how communities of all sizes can use direct, catalytic private credit and equity investing for community development. The panel will review the leading edge work being done in the Southeast US and beyond to activate and scale the direct investing and lending opportunities for donor-advised funds and provide guidance on opportunities and challenges for DAFs in supporting funding for small and mid-sized business, social impact companies, and affordable housing financing. Innovative structures such as multi-donor pooled funds arranged thematically as well as disaster resilience emergency relief loans are just two of the structures that will be discussed.