Epic Philanthropy

Name: Epic Philanthropy
Address: 5613 S. Prince Street Suite E, Littleton, CO, 80120, US
Telephone: (720)8182357

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Epic Philanthropy

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You want your giving to matter. To create real change. To reflect what you truly value.

We help individuals, families, and organizations transform generous intentions into strategic, lasting impact.

10/12/2026

I went to the balance sheet on the 990 and that's where it fell apart.

An EIN tells you a nonprofit is legal but it doesn't tell you if the donation is making an impact.

If you advise clients with donor-advised funds, December is when this gets tricky. Your client picks the charity, you process the grant, and everyone moves on. You're likely too busy, up against the year-end deadline, and the grant has to go out before 12/31.

I once saw a family foundation fund the same nonprofit for years. Over $500K in liabilities. About $5K in assets. Zero active programs. The 990 showed a board with no financial oversight and programs that hadn't changed in a decade. All of it sitting in the financials, waiting for someone to look.

Before your client's December grants go out, pull the financials and ask what changed this year. Your clients trust you with their money. Make sure the nonprofits they fund deserve that same trust.

10/08/2026

Today is DAF Day, the national day of donor-advised fund giving started by Chariot in 2024.

In nearly twenty years in philanthropy, I have raised money for nonprofits, worked inside a DAF sponsor, and advised my own family's foundation, so I have seen a DAF grant from more than one side of the table. On the receiving end, the gift may show up with no name attached. The nonprofit knows a DAF sent it but has no idea which family to thank.

If you hold a DAF, today is a good day to send a grant to an organization you care about. Many nonprofits are stretched thin right now due to grant cuts.

This matters, and I believe I speak for most nonprofits. Please let your sponsor add your name, at minimum, to the grant letter. The nonprofit just wants to say thank you.

Pick one organization and send your grant today, then tell me who you picked in the comments.

If you aren't sure how your DAF works, what it can be used for, or how to put it to use, reach out to me. I'm happy to walk you through it.

10/06/2026

Dear inheritor of a DAF,

You're probably weighing two options, and both likely feel like a decision about the person who left it to you as much as about money.

The first is to give it all away soon, perhaps on a date that matters to your family. The causes they loved get one last generous gift, and the fund ends cleanly at zero.

The second is to keep it open for the next generation. Your family steers it toward the causes they care about, and the fund stays a shared project for years.

Both are good answers, but the one families can regret is the answer reached by default, before anyone has really thought it through.

Before you choose, write down which orgs they gave to and what they cared about, in their own words if you have them. Then see which path carries those causes forward best. Some people find that answer in a single afternoon, and a Master Giving Strategy gives that afternoon a structure.

epicphilanthropy.com

09/10/2026

Has your DAF balance moved much this year?

$326 billion is currently held in DAFs nationwide, according to the 2025 Annual DAF Report from the Donor-Advised Fund Research Collaborative. The payout rate last year was just 25.3 percent.

That means for every dollar in a DAF, about 75 cents stayed in an account instead of reaching a nonprofit in 2024.

A DAF is almost a permanent parking spot for money you've already decided to give away. It's not going to give itself away (well, maybe eventually, but that's another story).

Being a responsible donor means treating that parking spot as short-term, not long-term. Actually moving that money to the organizations and causes you care about, on a timeline you set, instead of letting the balance sit there because deciding feels harder than contributing.

The dollars in your fund already got you the tax deduction. The only thing left to do with them is give them away according to your giving priorities.

It's a decision you're making by not deciding.

A Master Giving Strategy sets a payout target for your fund up front, so the money moves to the causes you actually care about on a schedule, instead of sitting until year-end scrambling, or worse, indefinitely.

Knowing where that money should go is a separate question, one we'll get into soon.

09/08/2026

For families with a giving vehicle (a DAF, a family foundation, or just a checkbook and good intentions), I want to save you some time, and probably a headache or two.

When you plan out what you do want to fund, make sure to also plan out what you don’t want to fund.

One of the components of a Master Giving Strategy is a giving priorities audit. Before the next gift goes out, answer three questions in writing, together:

1.Which two or three issue areas get the majority of what you give, and why those and not others.
2. What size of gift actually moves the needle for your family, versus what size just feels good to write.
3. Which requests you'll decline on sight, regardless of who's asking.

Families who skip this end up giving to whatever lands in the inbox that quarter. This “strategy” makes charitable giving seem like another bill to pay because reactive giving is not joyful.

If your family happens to give through a private foundation, the same three questions apply, just with a board table instead of a kitchen table.

A Master Giving Strategy starts here. Everything after gets easier.

08/31/2026

Today's the last day for early bird pricing on the 8-week Activating DAFs for Nonprofit Leaders learning cohort.

Nearly 1 in 4 charitable dollars now flow through a donor-advised fund. Two-thirds of DAF gifts are under $1,000. It's not just a major donor game.

Small gifts move real volume. If your fundraising strategy only chases major donors, this is the audience sitting outside your pitch. The cohort shows you how to reach it.

epicphilanthropy.com/dafs

08/27/2026

Close to 1 in 4 charitable dollars flows through a donor-advised fund. The largest charity in the country is...Fidelity Charitable. Yep. A DAF.

2/3 of DAF gifts are under $1,000. That’s completely opposite of the idea that DAFs belong only to people that have their names on buildings.

If you have a DAF, you’re already part of this giving system. The next step is using it with intention, supporting the organizations and causes you care about while keeping your Giving Strategy clear.

Being a responsible donor includes deploying those funds and not saving all of it for the next gen. Being a responsible nonprofit involves understanding how to better cultivate and steward this demographic.

08/25/2026

Dear Wealth Advisor,

Not every client who mentions giving back needs a private foundation.

Some do but it's your job to know for sure before they ask you to set one up.

A foundation is custom. It's expensive and slow to set up. They'll need a dedicated board, staff, or a hired administrator, but they'll have full control over investments and grantmaking. It fits a client who wants complete oversight but they know they will pay for it in complexity and cost.

A DAF is relatively simple, pretty much off-the-rack. It's usually quick to set up, low cost, the sponsor handles compliance and filings, and your client still recommends where the money goes. It fits a client who wants to give seriously without running a small foundation on the side.

Neither is better because they each solve different problems. A client with a Master Giving Strategy already in place will tell you which one they actually need. A client without one will ask for a foundation because it sounds impressive, not because it fits.

Match the vehicle to the client, not the client to the vehicle.

Sincerely,
Liza

P.S. Some DAF sponsors will even let you name the fund something like "The Epic Family Foundation," so your client gets the name without the overhead.

08/20/2026

Nonprofit leaders, check your commitment cards before a donor-advised fund grant gets stuck in compliance review.

There's a small wording snafu that can come with a big problem. When a donor signs a pledge, that commitment is what the IRS views as a legally binding debt and a DAF grant can't satisfy a personal debt, which will likely disqualify the gift.

Use the word "intention" when documenting a donor's charitable direction. It preserves the donor's intent without creating an enforceable promise.

This is the kind of detail we cover in Epic Philanthropy's upcoming 8-week Activating Donor-Advised Funds for Nonprofit Leaders cohort, beginning September 8. We'll work through compliance rules, DAF-ready systems, messaging, gift flow, tracking, stewardship, and more. You'll walk away with a fully workable DAF fundraising plan specific to your organization.

If your nonprofit wants to build DAF fundraising into its overall strategy, you know where to find me.

Address

5613 S. Prince Street Suite E
Littleton, CO
80120

Telephone

(720)8182357

Website

http://epicphilanthropy.com/

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