School is a formative part of most of our lives. It’s where fond memories are made, important lessons are learned, and intellectual and personal growth occurs. People give to their schools for the same reason they give in general: a strong emotional connection. Educational giving is one of the largest categories in philanthropy annually. In 2021, donors gave a total of $70.8 billion to K-12 schools, colleges, and universities. On Daffy, educational giving was the second-largest donation area in 2022. Daffy members donate to their schools for a variety of reasons: to support a special program, to benefit future generations of students, or simply to show gratitude to a place that played a meaningful role in their lives or the lives of loved ones.

Benefits of giving to your alma mater or child’s school with Daffy

Giving to your school through Daffy, a fast-growing donor-advised fund provider, has many benefits for donors and the schools they support.

• Automate your giving — On Daffy, you can plan the timing of your gift and automate it to ensure you don’t forget to donate to your school every year. You can set a donation every year for the Alumni Fund or during Class Reunion Weekend. You can even become a monthly supporter of your school with a few quick clicks.
• Donate non-cash assets like stock and crypto — Donating non-cash assets has significant tax advantages. Unfortunately, most schools are not set up to receive non-cash assets like stock or crypto donations thereby creating a barrier for these types of donations. Even if a school is set up to accept non-cash donations, giving can sometimes be cumbersome or incur additional fees that reduce your donation. Daffy makes donating stock and crypto convenient and painless.
• Save time — Daffy simplifies the donation process so you don’t have to create a donor account, fill out a long form, or go through a different platform to donate. Whether you’re at a football game, a PTA meeting, or an award ceremony, when you are inspired to give, Daffy makes it easy. Donations can be made with a few quick taps from our mobile app. And, all your tax-deductible contribution receipts are in one place at the end of the year instead of having to track down individual emails during tax season.
• Customize/designate your donations — Daffy makes it easy to specify your donation for a specific purpose or occasion. You can customize your donation for a cause, program, department, or campaign (i.e. Alumni Weekend, capital campaign, financial aid, student groups, etc.). You can even designate a donation for a special project in your child’s classroom.

How to donate to colleges and universities

Donations to colleges and universities are the most common type of educational giving. Most higher education institutions have fundraising and development teams that are familiar with donor-advised funds. You can find your college or university on Daffy by searching their name or tax ID. Searching by the tax ID will always give an exact match for your school or program.

Since some universities use several Tax IDs for different locations or purposes, make sure you use the correct Tax ID for the part of the school you want to support. You can usually find their Tax ID on the donation section of their website. If it is not listed, reach out to the school’s development team and they’ll easily be able to provide it.

Donate to your alma mater on Daffy today.

How to donate to K-12 private schools

Most K-12 private schools in the United States are run by 501(c)(3) nonprofit or tax-exempt organizations, which make them eligible for a donation through your donor-advised fund. You can search these schools on Daffy by using their name or tax ID.

Similar to colleges and universities, private schools usually have a tax ID that will provide an exact match on Daffy. Some schools list this information on their website, but if they don’t, reach out to them and ask if they can provide it. Private schools run by a religious entity are usually tax-exempt, but may not always have their own tax ID with the IRS. Reach out to us and we can help you check their eligibility for a donation through your Daffy fund.

How to donate to K-12 public schools

Public schools are government-funded entities, which means they are tax-exempt and eligible to receive charitable donations. Unlike most private schools, however, public schools are not 501(c)(3) organizations. They are also organized into large school districts, which makes giving to individual schools a little more complex. Although less straightforward, giving to a public school through Daffy is still possible!

Here are a few ways Daffy members have given to a public school:

• The individual school or school district has set up a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization through which they can receive private (non-governmental) donations.
• A school PTA (parent-teacher association or similar group) has established a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to receive donations from parents and other supporters.
• The school district is able to receive charitable gifts through their Tax ID and then route those donations internally to individual schools.

If you’d like to give to a K-12 public school, reach out to them directly to ask what’s the best way to send them a tax-deductible donation. Let us know if we can help.

Start donating to schools on Daffy

Donations to educational institutions make up a large part of philanthropic giving every year. Donating to your alma mater or child’s school through Daffy has many benefits, including the ease and convenience of a mobile app.

We’re always adding schools to Daffy. Reach out to us if you can’t find your school or need any help.

Note: You can donate in honor of a school event or fundraiser, but donor-advised funds cannot be used to purchase tickets to school events, fundraisers, or galas. Additionally, donor-advised funds cannot be used to purchase auction items or to fulfill a contractual or legally binding pledge.