Seventy-five percent of gifts to DAFgiving360 in the 12 months to 3 August 2026 were noncash assets, the fund reported, signalling a marked shift in how tech wealth is being donated. More highly appreciated tech holdings, including private and public company shares, real estate, art, collectibles and crypto, are now landing in donor-advised funds after tech employees and private shareholders moved stock into DAFs to avoid triggering capital gains tax. Donors transfer shares into a DAF, claim an immediate tax deduction, and later advise the fund which charities should receive grants, the report and DAFgiving360 president Julie Sunwoo explain. Recent IPOs, notably SpaceX earlier in 2026, have sharpened the shift by turning paper gains into cashable events for employees and early shareholders.

Charitable capital is changing hands because donors can convert illiquid or taxable gains into an immediately deductible gift, and avoid triggering capital gains tax that would arise on a sale. But that tax outcome, described in the DAFgiving360 report published on August 3, 2026 and repeated by Julie Sunwoo, is the core attraction for holders of concentrated tech equity.

The effect is visible in DAFgiving360's own intake. Three quarters of the gifts it received over the prior 12 months were noncash, the fund said. Sunwoo, who leads DAFgiving360, called gifts of private-company stock "especially strong" and said the fund had "more inquiries about private-business interests and pre-IPO shares than ever before in any other year." The fund is an affiliate of Charles Schwab, and its figures are presented in that context.

Large donor-advised funds tied to major firms are prepared to handle the operational strain that noncash gifts bring. Schwab-linked funds, and peers at Fidelity and Vanguard, have teams that value private shares, keep market-making capabilities and negotiate with private companies over transfer timing and any contractual restrictions.

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That infrastructure matters because private-stock donations require valuation work and often coordination with issuing companies before a transfer can proceed.

DAFgiving360 said it normally aims to sell donated noncash assets within six months, coordinating with donors and, where relevant, the private company involved. The ability to liquidate and redeploy proceeds to charities is central to the DAF proposition Sunwoo set out: "We have the infrastructure and the expertise to help people liquidate those assets in time and redeploy them to charity."

IPO activity has amplified the pipeline. DAFgiving360 pointed to the SpaceX initial public offering earlier in 2026 as an example of an event that unlocked realizable value for employees and early shareholders. Where private companies permit donations of their shares, employees who move stock into a DAF can sidestep capital gains liability on a sale and use the charitable deduction to offset taxable gains from other dispositions, the report notes.

Not every private holding can flow into a DAF immediately. The report warns that some private companies restrict or prohibit donations of their private shares to charities or trusts, which keeps certain holdings out of the DAF pipeline until they become publicly tradeable or a specific waiver is negotiated. That restriction means timing and contract terms remain material considerations for potential donors.

DAFgiving360 framed its recent experience as part of a broader pattern: wealth events tied to rising private valuations and IPOs are prompting donors, particularly younger tech employees with concentrated equity positions, to seek tax-efficient routes to give. The fund said the surge in noncash gifts over the 12 months to August 3, 2026 reflects exactly that dynamic.

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DAFgiving360 published its report on 3 August 2026 and said it generally seeks to liquidate noncash gifts within six months. Originally reported by CNBC.

This article was created with AI assistance.