On DAF Day 2024, Susan G. Komen received:
- 174 DAF gifts
- $267,000 in support
- One $88,000 gift
Susan G. Komen raised more DAF gifts on DAF Day than on any other day in the organization’s history. Gifts ranged from $20 to multiple 5-figure donations.
The first-ever DAF Day unleashed a wave of DAF giving on October 10, 2024. That same day the year before? No recorded DAF gifts.
Many DAF donors have a significant amount in their accounts, and this Komen supporter decided DAF Day was their moment.
The secret to Susan G. Komen’s success? Prioritizing DAFs with an integrated, proactive DAF strategy year round.
Trish Davis, Vice President of Major Gifts & Planned Giving, has led an organization-wide effort to proactively engage with DAF giving—even becoming a DAF thought leader beyond Komen. She is on Chariot’s Nonprofit Advisory Council, joined the inaugural DAF Fundraising Report, presented on DAFs at conferences, and spoke in industry webinars.
Invested in DAF education
Komen has introduced DAF Fundraising to their annual training, bringing in an outside expert to lead a team-wide workshop each year. For anytime access to DAF information, the organization has added DAF fundraising resources to their shared drive.
Embraced technology as a DAF giving driver
The team at Komen has charted a path to incorporate DAF giving in as many digital fundraising surfaces as possible— they’ve added DAFpay for 3-click DAF giving on their Ways to Give page and various peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns.
The implementation of DAFpay has resulted in:
A new $300,000 channel
Over $300k in digital DAF revenue since 2023 from over 430 gifts.
Larger gift sizes
The median DAFpay gift is $250, while the average DAFpay gift is $720 - 7x the online donation average.
Accessibility in DAF giving
DAF gifts made through DAFpay range from $18 to $50,000, empowering donors of all sizes to make a difference.
10% of total annual DAF revenue
Digital DAF giving grew by using DAFpay in peer-to-peer fundraising, emails, mailers, and event QR codes linking to a dedicated DAF giving page.
DAF Day drives DAF giving when you go all-in
All-in on leadership
Komen’s CEO, Paula Schneider, showed up for every DAF Day initiative. She was quoted in the DAF Day press, spoke on a DAF Day webinar, engaged board members to spread the word on social media, and posted about DAF Day on her own social channels.
DAF Day and DAFpay have been instrumental to our DAF strategy and sparked incredible success in the first year.
All-in on DAF Day activations
Komen launched their DAF Day campaign across channels and teams. They posted about DAF Day on social media, engaged major donors in one-on-one discussions, and sent a postcard mailer to their broader donor list.
All-in on rapid stewardship
On DAF Day 2024, Komen received 18 DAFpay gifts from supporters, with a median gift of $350. One of the biggest benefits of DAFpay is that the Komen team gets a notification with the donor’s email as soon as the gift is made.
Trish used this instant insight to send real-time, personalized thank you video messages to each donor.
As for non-DAFpay gifts made on DAF Day, the Komen team didn’t know about them until they arrived up to several weeks later and they typically only have a mailing address included. In those instances, Trish sent personalized thank you letters in the mail, but the DAFpay experience is the gold standard for donors and Komen!
Our partnership with Chariot has been a breakthrough for our DAF Strategy. Their innovative technology and creative initiatives are exactly what Komen—and the broader nonprofit sector—needs to capitalize on the immense opportunity DAFs have presented.