As we navigate a technology-driven landscape where managing finances, grocery shopping, and stock market investments are effortlessly executed with a simple click, it’s high time that charitable giving is granted the same level of convenience and accessibility.
Enter Daffy, a new app reimagining the act of giving, transforming it into a natural and routine part of our daily lives.
With Daffy, charitable giving becomes a seamless and habitual part of one’s life.
Gone are the days of cumbersome donation processes or the tedious task of tracking contributions across multiple charities.
With just a few simple clicks, individuals can set annual giving goals, contribute in various forms – whether it’s cash, stocks, index funds, or cryptocurrency – to any charity, and effortlessly monitor their entire giving portfolio, all within a user-friendly interface.
Below is an interview with Adam Nash, Co-founder and CEO of Daffy.
Q: What was the Lightbulb Moment and Origin Story for Daffy?
Adam: Two years ago, my co-founder Alejandro and I launched Daffy because we believe many people want to be more generous and give back to causes and organizations they care about, but simply fall out of the habit as adults.
Similar to how technology has helped us save, shop, and invest, we believe technology and design can help people give more easily and more frequently.
We believe that automation and accessibility could change default behavior from inaction to action, making it easier for individuals to give.
So we created Daffy, a platform and community for charitable giving, built-from the ground-up to help people make giving an easy habit to keep.
With just a couple clicks, you’re able to set an annual goal for you giving, donate cash, stock, index funds, or crypt to any charity, and track all your giving in one place.
Also under the hood of Daffy is a brand-new donor-advised fund platform.
Similar to a 401(k) for retirement or 529 plans for college savings, donor-advised funds are tax-advantaged accounts for the sole purpose of charitable giving.
They allow you to set money aside, watch it grow tax-free, and give to any charity in the U.S. from one place. My introduction to donor-advised funds came in 2011 during LinkedIn’s IPO.
Suddenly, private wealth managers were everywhere on campus, promoting the tax benefits of giving via donor-advised funds.
The concept of a DAF appealed to me, but it raised an important question: how much should you contribute to a donor-advised fund?
I had no idea.
My accountant suggested a simple strategy: contribute ten times the annual charity donation to a DAF, potentially funding multiple years from returns.
This approach gave me a clear giving goal, significantly boosting my actual donations. Historically, DAFs have been targeted only to the ultra-wealthy.
We founded Daffy to expand access to DAFs and make charitable giving easier for everyone. Since our launch in September 2021, thousands have joined our community, with account sizes ranging from $10 to over $2 million.
Daffy allows you to give over 1.5 million charities, schools, and nonprofit organizations across the U.S.
Our mission is crucial because research shows that automating and pre-committing to giving could increase donations by 32%, potentially resulting in up to $1.27 trillion in additional contributions by 2023.
Daffy, as the first full-featured DAF app, allows individuals to open accounts, contribute (in various forms), and give anytime, anywhere, making charitable giving more accessible to all.
Q: What is Daffy’s Mission and Vision?
Adam: Daffy is a not-for-profit community that is committed to making the process of giving to charities and causes easier and more frequent.
The mission of Daffy is to help people be more generous, more often.
Our vision is a world where everyone sets something aside for those less fortunate than themselves and the causes and organizations that matter most to them.
If you’re someone who wants to be more intentional with your giving or just have a better system for it, we hope you consider joining Daffy.
Q: How Daffy Impact Lives and/or the Environment in a Positive Way?
Adam: Daffy is driven by the goal of providing accessible philanthropy for all. We currently help our members to support nearly any nonprofit organization, ranging from those focused on environmental conservation to charities dedicated to helping the less fortunate and everything in between.
By offering access to such a wide spectrum of nonprofits, Daffy ensures that individuals can make a positive impact in areas that align with their values, ultimately contributing to a better world for everyone.
How has the Organization Been Funded Thus Far?
Adam: At Daffy, we are building a new platform and community, from the ground up, dedicated to charitable giving. It’s a mighty task, but we’re optimistic and have the backing of some of the best investors in the world.
We have raised a $17.1M Series A financing for Aside, Inc., the company building the technology behind Daffy.
The funding round was led by Ribbit Capital, joined by XYZ Capital and Coinbase Ventures, as well as over 50 notable angel investorss, including industry luminaries like Reid Hoffman, Aaron Levie, Amy Chang, Dylan Field, John Lilly, and Mike Schroepfer.
What Tools Do You Use to Run Daffy?
Adam: At Daffy, we leverage all that latest tools and technologies to build a great product, keep the team connected, and deliver a great member experience to our community of thousands of generous members.
A team favorite is Figma for cross-functional team collaboration on new features and UI. We’re also lucky to have Dylan Field, Figma co-founder and CEO as an investor and member of Daffy.
