SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Daffy Charitable, an online community based on an innovative new financial platform for giving, emerged from stealth today with a mission to help people be more generous, more often. Previously known as Silverback Ventures, Daffy is a highly anticipated consumer fintech company co-founded by veteran executive Adam Nash (Acorns, Wealthfront, LinkedIn) and veteran software engineer Alejandro Crosa (Slack, Twitter, LinkedIn). Daffy, the Donor-Advised Fund for You™, reimagines what charitable giving looks like. With Daffy, members easily choose how much money they want to set aside for charity every year, watch it grow tax-free in one of nine modern investment portfolios, and can donate to more than 1.5 million charities in the U.S., right from their phone. Contributions to a member’s Daffy fund can be made with a linked bank account, a credit or debit card through Apple Pay™, most publicly traded stocks, and crypto. Plus, Daffy stores all donations in one place, so members never lose a donation receipt again.
“What we find time and time again is that people want to be generous, they want to help those less fortunate than themselves, but people are busy, and life gets in the way,” said Nash. “Alejandro and I spent a lot of time talking with people about their giving practices, the hurdles that interfere with good intentions, and what would make an outstanding, guilt-free giving experience. To that end, we built Daffy to be as flexible or as structured as our members want it to be.”
The Daffy Pledge
Founded in the midst of the pandemic, when people across the country were resetting their priorities and looking for ways to help the world around them, Nash and Crosa became convinced that many of the innovations that have helped millions of people save and invest could also be applied to helping people give to those in need.
Daffy members are bound together by a simple commitment called the Daffy Pledge, a promise to proactively put money aside to help others. At sign-up, members select how much money they want to put aside for charity every week, month, or year. Daffy also helps members understand what amount to give by sharing the median amount of charitable giving in their area. The member can then donate at any time to over 1.5 million charities. Whether making a donation to a national non-profit or just wanting to contribute to their child’s school fundraiser, it’s just a click away.
"Right now, there are millions of people struggling, and so many who want to help,” added Nash. “Just like other companies have made it easy to shop and save, we've built a platform from the ground up to make giving easier for everyone."
A Donor-Advised Fund for All
Daffy was established as a donor-advised fund (DAF), which is a tax-deductible financial account for the purpose of charitable giving. Daffy members can make charitable contributions to the fund at any time and receive an immediate tax deduction for their contributions. Those contributions are also invested tax-free in a modern portfolio of their choice, and then at any time, members can donate to over 1.5 million charities.
Traditionally, donor-advised funds have made money by charging based on a percentage of assets on accounts, leading them to focus primarily on high-net-worth individuals. Daffy changes this, charging only a $3 per month membership fee to join the Daffy community.
Daffy members benefit from this model in several ways:
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Save, Invest, and Give: Members put money aside any time and watch it grow in an investment portfolio of their choice. Daffy’s nine different portfolios are separated into three categories: Standard, ESG, and Crypto. Each category features portfolios that range from conservative to aggressive so that every member can pick the option that best suits their needs. When members want to give, they know how much they can afford, and their entire donation history is available in one convenient place.
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Save Money on Taxes: Every contribution to Daffy is considered a tax-deductible charitable donation in the year it is made. Members can put money aside when income and tax rates are higher, and donate anytime. Depending on the members' individual tax situation, they may be able to deduct as much as 60% of their adjusted gross income in a given year.
- Save More with Stock and Crypto Donations: When someone sells assets like stock or crypto, they will owe federal, state, and local taxes on the capital gain. However, when stocks or crypto are contributed to a donor-advised fund, the member gets full credit for the value of the asset when it’s donated. There are no taxes on the capital gain.
Backed by Visionaries
Nash and Crosa built Daffy based on the simple idea that everyone could put something aside for those less fortunate than themselves. Leveraging their deep experience with social media and fintech, they recognized that the technology that has helped billions shop and save can be applied to help people give; they believe Daffy’s unique model and platform is poised to convert charitable intention into action.
The company has raised over $4.8 million in seed funding and is backed by an impressive list of investors, including Ribbit Capital, XYZ Ventures, and Coinbase Ventures, as well as technology and fintech visionaries including Amy Chang (Cisco), Mauria Finley (Google), Josh Reeves and Tomer London (Gusto), Eric Wu (Opendoor), Dylan Field (Figma), and Rahul Vohra (Superhuman).
To learn more about Daffy and join a community committed to putting money aside for those less fortunate than themselves, visit daffy.org or download the Daffy app in the App Store today.
About Daffy
Daffy is the Donor-Advised Fund for You™, a not-for-profit community built around a new, modern platform for giving, one built around the commitment to give, not the amount you give. It empowers people to be more generous, more often through a seamless mobile experience that helps members set money aside, watch it grow tax-free, and donate to more than 1.5 million charities. Started by technology veterans and backed by Ribbit Capital, XYZ Ventures, and Coinbase Ventures, as well as prominent individual investors, Daffy provides a number of member-focused features that make giving an easy habit to keep. To give with Daffy, simply visit daffy.org or search for “Daffy” in the App Store.
About Adam Nash
Adam Nash has served as an executive, angel investor, and advisor to some of the most successful technology companies to come out of Silicon Valley. He is currently on the Board of Directors for Acorns, the country’s fastest-growing financial wellness system, and Shift Technologies (Ticker: SFT). Nash has previously served as President & CEO of Wealthfront. He has held executive and technical roles at Dropbox, LinkedIn, eBay, and Apple. Nash also serves as an Adjunct Lecturer at Stanford University, where he teaches “Personal Finance for Engineers.” As an angel investor, Nash is well known for being an early investor in Firebase (sold to Google), Opendoor (Ticker: OPEN), Figma, Gusto, and over 90 other startups. Nash holds BS and MS degrees in Computer Science from Stanford University, as well as an MBA from Harvard.
About Alejandro Crosa
Alejandro Crosa has a long career as both an engineer and executive. Originally born in Argentina, he moved to the U.S. to work for LinkedIn, where he became well known for the development of innovative new search capabilities between LinkedIn and Twitter. Since LinkedIn, Alejandro has served in technical roles at Twitter and Slack, where he focused on mobile development. He originally developed his passion for philanthropy as a volunteer for DonorsChoose, one of the largest not-for-profit organizations dedicated to raising money for public schools.
