Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) are one of the fastest-growing giving channels for nonprofits and universities. Until now, accepting them on Almabase meant redirecting donors off the form, or worse, losing the gift altogether.

Today, that changes. 🎉

We’re excited to announce the launch of DAFpay on Almabase, powered by Chariot. Institutions can now offer DAF as a native payment option, right alongside Cards, ACH, PayPal, and Venmo. Donors complete their gift without ever leaving the form, while DAFpay automatically tracks fulfillment in the background. The result: higher conversion, cleaner data, and less admin work.

But the real impact comes from the fact that DAFpay expands giving potential. In Chariot’s 2025 DAF Fundraising Report, donors who began using a DAF to give to the same organization increased their annual support by a median of 100%, showing that DAFs meaningfully grow overall generosity.

That means every time you enable DAFpay, you’re not just making it easier to give, you’re unlocking access to significantly larger contributions that might have otherwise gone untapped.

Why we built DAFpay into Almabase

Here’s the reality: many donors already have money available in their Donor-Advised Fund, earmarked for giving. If they can’t use those funds easily on your page, chances are the gift never happens, because why would they dip into other accounts when they’ve already set aside tax-free dollars to give?

That’s the gap we wanted to close. We asked ourselves: what if giving through a DAF felt as natural as paying with a card or PayPal?

That’s exactly what DAFpay does. Powered by *Chariot, it shows up as a payment option right inside your Almabase giving forms. Donors use the funds they’ve already set aside, without ever leaving your page, and Almabase tracks the gift automatically in the background.

At the end of the day, we built DAFpay into Almabase because we don’t want institutions to lose donors, and we don’t want donors to feel excluded just because they prefer giving through their DAF.

What this means for your institution

For institutions, DAFpay is more than just another payment method; it’s a way to align with your constituents’ giving preferences and expand your total giving pool.

By offering multiple payment options, Cards, ACH, PayPal, Venmo, and now DAFs, Almabase enables institutions to meet donors where they are, leading to higher conversion rates and larger average gift amounts.

When donors can give through their preferred method, everyone wins: you increase participation, streamline fulfillment, and make generosity frictionless.

What this means for your donors

Think about it this way: sometimes a donor wants to give, but the process gets in the way. Maybe they’ve already set aside money in a Donor-Advised Fund, but actually moving that gift feels clunky or confusing. With DAFpay, that hesitation disappears.

Now, when someone resonates with your cause, they can act on it right away without detours, redirects, or second-guessing.

Here’s what they experience:

• No detours → They stay right on your page, from start to finish.
• Familiar checkout → DAF shows up right next to Cards, ACH, Venmo, and PayPal.
• Peace of mind → They see exactly when their gift is initiated and when it’s received.

The bottom line: it’s giving without friction.

How it all comes together

Enabling DAFpay is simple. Institutions complete a quick onboarding with Chariot, and once connected, “DAF” appears as a native payment method right inside your Almabase giving forms.

From there, donors can choose DAF the same way they’d pick Card or PayPal. Gifts are tracked automatically in Almabase, with statuses updating in real time, so admins always know whether a grant is initiated, received, or cancelled, without touching a spreadsheet.

Recurring monthly gifts are also supported. The first gift shows up in Almabase, while future cycles are seamlessly handled through the donor’s DAF portal.

Ready to get started?

Philanthropy works best when generosity meets simplicity. Donors shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to support the causes they already believe in, and institutions shouldn’t lose gifts because of outdated workflows.

That’s why DAFpay matters. It bridges the gap between intent and action, helping donors use the funds they’ve already set aside, while giving your team a cleaner, smarter way to track every gift.

With DAFpay on Almabase, giving through Donor-Advised Funds no longer feels like the exception, it becomes just another effortless choice.

👉 Get started with DAFpay today and make giving feel as simple as it should.

Disclaimer - Chariot is a financial technology company, not a bank. Chariot Deposit Accounts are a Demand Deposit Account through our banking services partner, Column, N.A., Member FDIC. Deposits in Chariot Deposit Accounts are eligible for FDIC insurance up to $250,000 per depositor, for each insurable capacity in which the account is held.