_{Pictured above: Ginger Phalen & Jeff Chan, Community Foundation DAF Advisors}

When wildfires swept through communities in Washington this summer, Ginger Phalen and Jeff Chan knew they wanted to help. They had friends in the Spokane area and had seen the fires’ tremendous damage to people’s homes and lives. Because they had opened a donor advised fund at the Community Foundation of South Puget Sound late last year, they had an easy path to respond quickly.

The resources they had already set aside in their donor advised fund, or DAF, were ready to go. Like several other donors, they reached out to our team for recommendations for where their gift could be most useful. We connected them with trusted organizations responding to the fires, and they chose where they wanted their grant to go.

Their DAF made it easy to mobilize money when an unexpected need arose.

"We had the money there, which made it easier to say, ‘We’re going to do this now,’” they shared.  

That readiness is one of the many things a donor advised fund can make possible. People in the South Sound use DAFs not only to respond to urgent needs quickly, but also to sustain organizations they care about, discover new opportunities to make a difference, and build an ongoing practice of generosity.

A Simple Tool for Giving

The term donor advised fund can make the idea sound more complicated than it is.

Think of a DAF as a charitable account. A donor contributes cash or other assets and receives any applicable tax deductions at the time of the contribution. From then on, those resources are committed to charitable purposes. The gift cannot be taken back, but the donor can recommend grants from their DAF to eligible nonprofits whenever they are ready.

Ginger and Jeff first explored opening a DAF after talking with their financial advisor. They were already longtime donors but initially saw the fund as a practical way to organize their giving and align their charitable contributions with their financial planning.

Then they started using it and discovered it was not only useful, but fun.

Setting aside resources for generosity without having to decide immediately where every dollar would go gave them more freedom. They could continue supporting organizations they already cared about while leaving room for opportunities they hadn’t anticipated.  

“It’s like, why did we wait so long?” Jeff said.

That flexibility is important to Jim Lazar, too. It allows him to separate the timing of setting aside resources from deciding where they can do the most good. He can make larger contributions when the timing works well for him, then recommend grants as opportunities arise.

A DAF can also simplify the logistics of giving. At the Community Foundation, a fund can be established with $10,000 and built over time. We invest and administer the fund, conduct due diligence, issue grants, and handle the recordkeeping, giving fundholders more space to focus on what they want their gifts to accomplish.  

Local Funds, Local Impact

Today, the Community Foundation is home to 41 donor advised funds, including five newly established in 2025. These funds are being put to good use. In the past year, 36 of those funds were actively used to make grants, with most of that giving supporting local nonprofits.

The difference those funds make is as varied as the people, families, and businesses behind them. The Thurston County Children, Youth, & Families Fund, for example, focuses on women and children, while L&E Bottling Company's Holiday Support Fund supports nonprofits during the holiday season. Others direct resources to health, arts and culture, basic needs, the environment, and much more.

That variety shows up in Ginger and Jeff’s fund too. They support work they have cared about for years, from conservation and education to organizations like GRuB and the Thurston County Food Bank. Jim’s fund supports crucial environmental work, scholarships, and other community priorities.

Each grant responds to something different—protecting land, helping a student pursue an education, making sure neighbors have food, creating opportunities for young people, or strengthening organizations doing important work throughout our region. There are many ways to use a DAF well. What matters is keeping the generosity flowing and moving resources to the people and organizations who can use them to make a difference.

The Value of Local Knowledge

Jim had a DAF with a large national financial institution prior to establishing one at the Community Foundation about 15 years ago. That national fund was easy to use, he said, but it felt impersonal, especially when most of his giving was happening here.

“With the Community Foundation it’s local, it’s better service, and it feels friendlier,” Jim said. He also appreciates how quickly grants through us can move to the organizations he wants to support.

Ginger and Jeff are excited to strengthen that local connection. Historically, they have supported organizations across Washington, but they want to keep learning about opportunities closer to home.

“We have ideas, but we know that there are many other opportunities out there that we’re not necessarily aware of,” Ginger said. One of her goals is to draw on the Community Foundation’s knowledge to become more connected to local giving.  

A community foundation can offer insights rooted in relationships with people who know the communities they serve. Our team is in regular conversation with nonprofit leaders, donors, and volunteers throughout Lewis, Mason, and Thurston counties. Those relationships help us understand local needs and opportunities, as well as the organizations doing meaningful work to address them.

Sometimes fundholders come to us with an issue they care about and want to learn who is working in that area. Other times we reach out when we see an opportunity that might align with their interests. And sometimes, as Ginger and Jeff did after the wildfires, a fundholder simply asks, “Where can we help?”

Those connections can also support more coordinated giving. When a larger project or need emerges, the Community Foundation can help people see where their generosity might complement the generosity of others and contribute to something bigger.

Remembering the Big Picture

We don’t limit our knowledge and support to funds held at the Community Foundation. What's important isn’t the vehicle for giving—it’s helping local generosity flourish, deepening connections, and ensuring community well-being is resourced.

People throughout South Puget Sound with DAFs administered by other organizations often turn to our team to learn about local needs and nonprofits. Some recommend grants from their DAFs, while others use their DAFs to contribute to charitable funds held at the Community Foundation.  

We see this frequently during Give Local, when South Sound nonprofits share their work on spsgives.org. As donors hear from their favorite nonprofits or discover new ones, some of them make Give Local gifts through their DAFs.  

Much of this happens behind the scenes. A nonprofit participating in Give Local may never know that a donor advised fund helped support its campaign. From their perspective, they do good work, share the story of that work, and people respond.

What matters most isn’t how the support gets there, but what all of these contributions make possible together. The bigger picture is a place where nonprofits do their valuable work, volunteers share their time, donors contribute resources, and everyone shows up around what they value. A DAF is simply one tool that helps donors find their place in this vibrant, bigger picture.

A Practice of Generosity

Jim’s practice of generosity began long before he opened his fund at the Community Foundation.  

“My mother got me started on charity,” he said.

Decades ago, his mother used a donor advised fund to set aside charitable resources for each of her children. Jim had made small donations before, but charitable giving on that scale was new to him.

The gift did more than give him money to distribute. It introduced him to a practice he has continued throughout his life.

Now, Jim is thinking about what happens to that practice after him. He has named people he trusts to advise the fund in the future—including members of younger generations who share his values—and made plans to ensure the grants continue. Jim has also designated the taxable portion of his retirement account to the DAF—a tax-smart strategy that maximizes his charitable impact while reducing the tax burden on his estate.

What begins as a practical way to organize charitable giving can become an ongoing habit of paying attention, making choices, and giving with purpose. DAFs can help nurture this practice over time and across generations.

Ginger and Jeff are at an earlier point on that journey. Less than a year after establishing their fund, they are already discovering how a DAF can become part of an ongoing practice of generosity—helping them respond when something unexpected happens, support the work they value more consistently, and become more connected to opportunities. Over time, that practice can grow and change along with the people behind it.

Find Your Way to Give

Donor advised funds are a tool for generosity, and there are many ways to join the work of caring for our communities and one another:

• ‍If you’re curious about donor advised funds, let’s talk. If a DAF could help you make your giving simpler, more intentional, or more connected to the community, we’d be glad to explore what that might look like and learn more about what matters to you. Email us at giving@thecommunityfoundation.com to start a conversation or give us a call at 360.705.3340.
• ‍If you already have a DAF, put it to work. Consider making a gift through Give Local, supporting organizations you already know and love, or reaching out to our team to learn about needs and opportunities across South Puget Sound. Whether your DAF is held with us or somewhere else, we’re happy to help you connect your generosity with good work happening here.
• ‍Start building your practice of generosity today. If you are new to giving you can start small by learning more about what your neighbors need and keep showing up for the people around you. There’s no correct way to get started and everyone’s journey is a little different.

Generosity takes many forms, and each of us has something to give. Together, when we share what we have—resources, knowledge, time, or care—we make more possible for our neighbors, our communities, and the place we call home.