Skip to main content

Liquidity Replenishment Process | Grant Making  | Getting Started  |  Brochure  |  Forms  | FAQ  |  In The News
  • Access My Fund Login
Partner Gateway Login
Existing Advisors  New Advisors

  • Home
  • About AEF 
    • Vision, Mission & Values
    • Policy Statements
    • Our Team
    • Careers
    • Board of Directors
    • Council of Advisors
    • Getting Started
  • Donors 
    • What is a Donor Advised Fund?
    • Library for Donors
    • Sign Up for Guidance for Good
    • Understanding the Granting Process for Donors
    • How to Make Grants
  • Trusted Advisors 
    • Investments
    • Partner Gateway
    • AEF Insights Newsletter Signup
  • Thought Leadership 
    • Choosing a Donor Advised Fund
    • Real Estate
    • Charitable Trusts
    • IRA Charitable Rollover
    • Retirement Planning
    • Life Insurance
    • Scholarships
    • Charitable Planning Conversation
    • Private Foundations
    • Tax Savings
    • Bequests
    • Building your Financial Practice
    • Estate Planning
    • Roth IRA Conversion
    • Closely Held Shares
    • Agriculture
    • Forced Capital Gains
    • Selling a Business?
    • Donors: Advice for Giving
  • Videos
  • Access My Fund Login
  • Contact
  • Forms

 

    You are here

  1. Home
  2. Blogs
  3. Establish Placeholder Funds, Avoid the Year-end Crush

Establish Placeholder Funds, Avoid the Year-end Crush

Submitted by American Endowment Foundation on September 13th, 2021

American Endowment Foundation (AEF) expects year-end to be extremely busy with advisors opening a huge number of new donor advised fund (DAF) accounts in Q4. There have already been a record number of new account openings, markets are at all-time highs, and client awareness and interest continues to grow. Every November and December, advisors and clients rush to open DAFs, and the pressure upon advisors and their associates and clients to rush to submit and process everything before the deadlines is enormous, yet this is often unnecessary.

Advisor and the Year-end CrushPlaceholder funds at AEF have become a very popular tool for advisors who do not enjoy this year-end crush. Nearly 20% of AEF DAF accounts begin as placeholder funds. They are a way, without charge, for advisors and their clients to complete, approve, and submit the regular DAF application to AEF in advance but simply check the Placeholder funds box on the application.

Placeholder funds should only be used when donors are very serious about opening DAF accounts. Ideally, DAF accounts should be opened and funded as part of one process, but for those clients who want to open DAFs soon but are just not able to decide which assets or how much to donate, these are a great way to at least get the application out of the way and enable AEF and advisors to begin the process of establishing the account.

If clients indicate that they may open a DAF account in a year or two, a placeholder fund is not appropriate, but if the funding will take place in the next several weeks or a month or two, this can save much time and frustration later. Please note that the placeholder fund is not to be confused with the AEF Legacy Fund which is to be funded at the death of the donor.

Many clients may want to open accounts at the last minute and also make grants to their favorite charities at the end of the year, but unfortunately, this is often not possible because the process takes longer at that time. Opening DAF accounts earlier will help advisors, their clients, and the charities the clients wish to support.

At American Endowment Foundation, we look forward to helping donors and advisors determine the best strategies for their charitable giving. Please contact us or call at 1-888-966-8170 with any questions.

Tags:
  • placeholder fund

Categories

  • 1031 exchange (1)
  • 401(k) (1)
  • accountant (1)
  • agriculture (1)
  • alternative assets (1)
  • alternative investments (1)
  • amt (1)
  • appreciated assets (3)
  • appreciated stock (1)
  • art donation (1)
  • bad market (1)
  • bargain sale (1)
  • beneficiary (1)
  • business exit (2)
  • business growth (1)
  • business sale (2)
  • c-corp shares (1)
  • capital gains tax (2)
  • cares act (2)
  • carried interest (1)
  • charitable bequests (1)
  • charitable bunching (1)
  • charitable bundling (1)
  • charitable donations (2)
  • charitable gift annuity (1)
  • charitable giving (12)
  • charitable lead trust (2)
  • charitable planning (16)
  • charitable remainder trust (2)
  • charity (1)
  • chnpts (1)
  • client relations (1)
  • closely-held shares (4)
  • clt (2)
  • commodities (1)
  • contemporaneous written acknowledgement (1)
  • corporate daf (2)
  • corporate donor advised fund (2)
  • corporate giving (2)
  • cpa (2)
  • crt (2)
  • divorce (1)
  • donor (1)
  • donor advises funds (1)
  • down market (1)
  • ESG (1)
  • estate planning (4)
  • grant making (1)
  • HNW (1)
  • impact investing (1)
  • independence (1)
  • insurance (1)
  • international giving (1)
  • ira (1)
  • ira charitable rollover (1)
  • legacy (1)
  • legacy fund (2)
  • next gen donors (1)
  • non-publicly traded stock (1)
  • noncash assets (1)
  • opening a daf (4)
  • philanthropic advisors (4)
  • philanthropic planning (10)
  • placeholder fund (5)
  • private foundations (6)
  • private-label DAFs (2)
  • qcd (1)
  • qualified charitable distribution (1)
  • real estate (4)
  • recession (1)
  • required minimum distribution (1)
  • retirement planning (2)
  • rmd (1)
  • roth ira (1)
  • scholarships (1)
  • stacking (1)
  • successor advisor (1)
  • tax breaks (1)
  • tax cuts and jobs act (1)
  • taxes (13)
  • terminating a private foundation (2)
  • transfer (2)
  • wills (1)

Custom:footer-contact Details

Office Location

5700 Darrow Road Ste. 118,
Hudson, Ohio 44236

Get Directions

Phone: 1-888-402-9179
Fax: 330-656-2063

© 2022 American Endowment Foundation. All rights reserved.

Website Design For Financial Services Professionals