– Funding the future. Even when they are not the breadwinners, women tend to make many of their households’ financial decisions, including charitable giving. And with the impending great wealth transfer, in which women in particular are expected to inherit trillions upon trillions of dollars, that could have profound effects on charitable giving throughout the country in the near future.
That’s according to Margaret Richardson, GoFundMe’s chief marketing and corporate affairs officer, who I talked to last week about women and philanthropy and the company’s newest product launch. According to Richardson, women are busier than ever. And while they can and have managed many of these household tasks, many are also looking for ways to make managing their finances more seamless.
“Women are often the charitable decision makers already in their families, and we see that that trend just continuing as women have more resources and more responsibilities,” says Richardson.
That is one of the reasons GoFundMe is launching its newest product today, one it hopes will make charitable giving easier and more impactful—and attract some of those trillions. Called Giving Funds, it is a type of donor-advised fund that will allow users to contribute to the charitable investment accounts right on GoFundMe’s site.
Donor-advised funds, or DAFs, are growing in popularity, as I wrote last year. They are tax-advantaged accounts for charitable giving, in which lump sum or automated recurring contributions can be invested; eventually the contributions and gains will go to charity, and they grow tax-free. It can be helpful to think of DAFs as similar to a 401(k), health savings account, or 529 account. Money contributed to a DAF cannot be taken back, it is effectively a charitable contribution and donors are generally eligible to take an immediate tax deduction.
The benefit is that you can donate now, get that tax deduction now (if you itemize), invest the funds, and then have more to give in the future. GoFundMe is partnering with fund managers like BlackRock, State Street Global Advisors, and Vanguard to advise on the investment options, which are a number of exchange-traded funds.
Though plenty of financial institutions offer DAFs, Richardson says the benefit of doing it on GoFundMe is that users will have all of their charitable giving centralized, and receive one annual tax document. There are no management fees and no minimum balances, and users can give their funds to any of the 1.4 million charities on the platform.
Despite their tax benefits, DAFs are still fairly niche products—only about 1% of Americans use them, says Richardson, though an increasingly larger share of the U.S.’s total annual charitable contributions stem from them with each passing year. But a site like GoFundMe offering them could be the start to broadening their appeal—after all, the site has some 200 million users from all income levels, races, and genders. It could be many peoples’ first exposure to the investment tool.
And, she says, it makes it easier for people to plan ahead. Many users come to GoFundMe after a natural disaster or other event to find causes to donate to. If they already have a pot of money waiting there that they previously donated—and that has possibly grown as it was invested—it can make all of their charitable giving more seamless.
“This could be a really efficient and effective way for people to…get [funds] out the door quickly when organizations need it most,” she says.
Alicia Adamczyk
alicia.adamczyk@fortune.com
The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Today’s edition was curated by Nina Ajemian. Subscribe here.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- Funding gap. A reversal in disability benefits from the U.K.’s prime minister has eliminated £3 billion ($4.1 billion) in savings, leaving chancellor Rachel Reeves with the question: Where is she going to find the funds to stay on track in meeting her budget rules? Bloomberg
- Regional relocations. Following the protests in Los Angeles over ICE raids, Kelly Loeffler’s Small Business Administration (SBA) is moving some of its offices out of “sanctuary cities.” Losing these regional offices could have a real impact on the over 1.3 million small businesses in L.A., as founders will now have to travel to other offices for SBA services. Inc.
- Large losses. Since Roe was overturned in 2022, the U.S. has sustained $133 billion in economic losses annually, says a new analysis from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. Plus, abortion restrictions have kept over half a million women out of the workforce annually; Black and Latina women have been impacted the most here. Mother Jones
- Targeting tennis. Gambling companies are being called on by tennis authorities to close users’ accounts if they have sent abusive messages to female tennis players. A report from the Women’s Tennis Association and the International Tennis Federation revealed that 40% of social media abuse came from gamblers. Guardian
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Yinghua Chen is stepping down from her role as CEO of Allied Gaming & Entertainment and transitioning into a senior strategic position.
Renewable energy company EverGen appointed Maria O’Sullivan as interim CFO. She most recently served as manager, accounting and finance for the company.
401Go, a 401(k) provider, named Cheryl Morrison Deutsch chief experience officer. She is the founder and CEO of TriadHLTH.
Starbucks appointed Marissa Mayer and Dambisa Moyo to its board of directors. Mayer is the former CEO of Yahoo and is the founder and CEO of Sunshine AI. Moyo is co-principal of Versaca Investments.
Occupational health company Concentra appointed Brigid Bonner to its board of directors. She is president of Bonner Consulting.
ON MY RADAR
The Supreme Court just revived one of the worst anti-woman rulings of all time Slate
How Toni Morrison changed publishing Atlantic
Why does menopause treatment always include a diet? Time
PARTING WORDS
“I literally just sold myself like crazy.”
— Actor Kerry Condon on how she landed a lead role in F1
