About your account
What does it mean to have an IsraelGives Donor Advised Fund?
Just like with a charitable foundation, everything that you deposit into your IsraelGives DAF account is tax-deductible. You then have control over how, and when, the funds should be donated, and invested.
Who can create an IsraelGives DAF account?
Individuals, over the age of 18, can create an account. Parents and grandparents can also create sub-accounts for family members below the age of 18.
Companies can create accounts for themselves (Corporate accounts) and for their employees (Employee account).
Can I create multiple accounts?
Yes. For example, you might wish to create an account for your child for their bar-mitzvah, or an account to collect donations in memory of someone who has passed away. Each account is accessible to you through your online account, the same way that you would manage your two bank accounts using the same username and password.
Can I transfer funds between my accounts, or to someone else's account?
Yes, you can transfer funds between your accounts, and also into someone else's account. For example, if you have a Corporate account, you can transfer funds into the account of your employees.
Is there a minimum deposit amount?
No. There is no minimum amount for creating an account.
Additional Account Owners
You may add an additional Account Owner to your account (for instance, your spouse). The additional account owner will have full privileges over the account, just as you would.
Authorized Parties
As an account holder, you may authorize relatives, employees, advisors, or family members to take various actions on your behalf, such as investment decisions, donation allocations, and receiving other financial information. You create Authorized Users and set their authorizations through your online account. These Users can then access your account (or can contact us by telephone). and take the actions that you permit them to take.
Successors
You can decide what will happen to the funds in your account after you pass on: to pass them into the account of another individual (or individuals) or to donate them to a specific charity (or charities).
Creating an account online
Your account can be created and accessed online. When registering, you'll be asked to provide some information about yourself, and your giving preferences. When complete, your application will be sent to our onboarding team for review, who may reach out to you by telephone to schedule a brief chat to discuss your account (this may include a video conversation to verify your identity).
If you're opening an account for a company, we'll also need the company’s incorporation documents, and perform a video conversation with one of the company's principals (CEO, President, accountant, attorney), who must also be a signatory of the company.
Using your account
Your online account allows you to
View the value of your account
See the funds that you have in cash (and ready to donate), and the funds that are currently invested.
View and manage your investments.
View and download all of your transactions
Allocate your funds to charitable organizations
Receive updates and send messages from your favorite charities
Add additional owners, authorized users, and successors.
Create additional funds.
Fundraise for one of your accounts.
Depositing Funds
Are my account deposits tax-deductible?
There are four types of IsraelGives DAF accounts:
Set up an American account if you want to receive a U.S. tax-receipt.
Set up an Israeli account if you want to receive an Israeli tax-receipt.
Set up a Canadian account if you want to receive a Canadian tax-receipt.
Set up a British account if you want to receive a U.K. tax-receipt.
Who are the charities who host my IsraelGives donor advised fund?
American accounts are hosted by America Gives, Inc., a U.S. 501(c)3 public charity, which since 2008 has helped over 200,000 donors contribute to 1,400 different charities in the U.S. and in Israel
Israeli accounts are hosted by the IsraelGives Foundation, an Israeli charity founded in 2007 that has been on the forefront of the promotion of philanthropy in Israel.
Canadian accounts are hosted by Canada Charity Partners, a Canadian CRA-registered charity that since 2015 has been a leader in facilitating giving to Jewish charities in Canada and in Israel.
British accounts are hosted by U.K. Gives, a registered charity that facilitates giving to charities in the U.K. and in Israel.
What currencies can I donate in?
From any account you can donate in any currency. For example, if you set up an Israeli account you can donate in Israeli Shekels and in U.S. dollars. You will receive an Israeli tax-deductible receipts for all deposits.
Funding your account
You can deposit into your account in the following manners:
Check
Bank transfer
Credit card and Paypal
Virtual currencies
Publicly traded securities
Bonds
Mutual Funds
Fixed Assets and Real-Estate
When we receive your donation, we will work quickly to process your deposit and allocate it to your account (generally within 3 business days). You will then receive a tax-deductible receipt for your deposit, which is sent to you by email, and also stored in your account.
The value of your donation
The method of your donation affects how we calculate its value:
For cash and credit card donations, we issue you a tax-receipt for the amount that we receive from you.
For virtual currencies, bonds, mutual funds, or publicly traded securities, we issue a tax-receipt based on the value of the security at the moment that it is received.
In the case of fixed assets and real-estate, after receiving the contribution we will seek a value assessment and then base the tax-receipt on the valuation. We will then work to sell the asset at the first opportunity.
In the case of restricted or closely held stock, options, real estate, art, or other unusual assets: We will review the proposed contribution with our legal counsel and to ensure, among other things, that we do not assume any obligations or liabilities and that the contributed asset can be liquidated within an appropriate period of time. Acceptance of such contributions is at our discretion and may be subject to conditions and/or legal and accounting fees. Please call us to discuss your proposed contribution.
How to donate by credit card or PayPal
Enter into your account, enter your credit card or Paypal details, and select the sum you wish to contribute. You'll receive a tax-receipt the moment that the transaction is confirmed, and the funds will appear immediately in your account.
How to donate by check
When donating by check, first enter into your account and record your donation. This will help us to look out for your donation and record it promptly. If possible, please mark your account number on the "memo" section of your check. Once your check clears, we will record it, issue you a tax-receipt, and allocate the funds into your account.
If you have an American account, checks should be made out to "America Gives" and mailed to:
America Gives, Inc.
228 Park Ave S
PMB 71410
New York, New York 10003-1502
Please note that we changed our previous address (which is valid until 05/2023):
1732 1st ave. #27091
New York, NY 10128
If you have an Israeli account, checks should be made out to "IsraelGives Foundation" and mailed to:
IsraelGives Foundation
Chuchit 19/20
Zichron Yaakov
3091670
If you have a Canadian account, checks should be made out to "Canada Charity Partners" and mailed to:
Canada Charity Partners
5785 Smart ave.
Cote St Luc, Quebec
H4W2M8
If you have a British account, checks should be made out to "UK Gives" and mailed to:
UK Gives
483 Green Lanes
London, England
N134BS
How to donate by wire transfer
When donating by wire transfer, first enter into your account and record your donation. This will help us to look out for your donation and record it promptly. Once your wire transfer clears, we will record it, issue you a tax-receipt, and allocate the funds into your account.
If you have an American account and donating in U.S. dollars, please send your wire to:
Beneficiary Name: America Gives Inc.
Account Number: 9801745474
Routing Number: 084106768
Bank Name: Evolve Bank & Trust
SWIFT / BIC Code: FRNAUS44XXX
Click here for a formal bank letter.
If you have an American account and donating in Israeli Shekels, please send your wire to:
Account owner: America Gives
Bank: Bank Mizrahi (20)
Branch: 061
Account: 596977
IBAN: IL860204610000000596977
SWIFT: MIZBILIT
If you have an Israeli account, please send your wire (in any currency) to:
Account owner: IsraelGives Foundation
Bank: Bank Mizrahi (20)
Branch: 423
Account: 295902
IBAN: IL900204230000000295902
SWIFT: MIZBILIT
If you have an Canadian or British account, please contact us for wire details.
How to donate publicly traded securities
Please contact us for information on how to transfer publicly traded securities, bonds, mutual funds, fixed assets and real-estate, and virtual currencies. When they are received, we will record the fair market value at the moment that they were received by our brokerage, and issue you a tax-receipt for this amount. We will then attribute this amount to your account.
Gift Aid (British accounts)
When you make a deposit into your account, if you are eligible for GiftAid, we will submit the claim to the HMRC and if accepted, will add an extra 25% to the value of your deposit. Gift Aid claims are generally processed and applied within 30 days of deposit.
Can others donate into my account?
Yes, in two ways:
If you create a fundraising campaign, all funds donated (by others) will go into your account.
Someone with an account can transfer funds from their account into your account.
Donating Funds
To which charities and non-profit organizations can I donate?
All charities that you can donate to (what we call "qualifying organizations") are searchable through your account.
If you have an American account, you can donate to any charity in the U.S. and in Israel.
If you have an Israeli account, you can donate to any Israeli charity that holds a section 46 approval, or is in its first two years of operations.
If you have a Canadian account, you can donate to any charity in Canada and in Israel.
If you have a British account, you can donate to any charity in Canada and in Israel.
Placing the donation through your online account
Your online account will allow you to search through the charities that meet the criteria listed above. You can then select a charity, decide the amount you'd wish to give, when you'd like to give it (now, or in the future), and the frequency of your donation (one-time, monthly, yearly)
When do you distribute the funds that I donate?
After you decide how to donate funds from your account, we will confirm that the charity meets the criteria listed above. If everything is ok, we will make a wire transfer to the recipient organization, on Sunday of every week.
Minimum distribution requirements
If you have an Israeli account, you're required to donate 5% of your account assets every year. If you have an American, Canadian, or British account, there is no minimum that you need to distribute every year.
The Giving Committee
The Giving Committee plays a number of roles:
The Giving Committee will ensure that donations are only allocated to qualifying organizations.
If you are no longer able to make decisions about the use of the funds in your account (for example, if you pass away and have not appointed an additional account owner or a successor), the Giving Committee will decide where and how to distribute the assets in your account. The Committee will prioritize organizations within your favorite categories of activities.
The Giving Committee is also mandated to discuss and resolve outstanding and irregular issues that are faced with respect to the allocation of donations.
Investing funds
You can decide whether to invest the funds that you deposit into your account. If you do, you will view the investments as part of your Portfolio. Through your account, you can see the value of your portfolio (which we try to keep as updated as possible), as well as the impact of your investments. The value of your portfolio, plus the funds that you have not yet invested, make up the total value of your account.
Investment Principles
We have a number of investment options for you to choose between, all of whom meet our "investment principles", which are to:
Prioritize impact - on the world or on Israel - as an investment class
Be within reasonable limits of risk.
Provide reasonable liquidity, so that the funds can be donated.
Done in accordance with national charity and tax laws.
The Investment Committee
Guided by our Investment Principles, the Investment Committee, composed of investment professionals, selects the investment tracks that you may invest your account funds in.
Investment tracks and options
All investment options are pre-selected by the Investment Committee, and appear in your account (and on the website). However, there are a number of circumstances in which you can invest or hold stocks or securities that were not pre-selected by our Investment Committee:
If you deposit stocks or securities, you can (of course) hold them in your portfolio.
If you deposit more than $500,000, you can select an investment advisor who can recommend investments that are not pre-selected by our Investment Committee. However, the Committee must approve the advisor's recommendations, and if approved, the fulfillment will be performed by IsraelGives.
Investing methods
To make an investment, you'll first select one of two allocation methods:
In our manual method, every time you want to make a new investment, you'll select the amount and track you'd like to invest in. If you make a new deposit, you'll have to decide whether and how to invest it.
In our proportional method, every time you make a deposit, we'll allocate it according to the proportions that you define. For example, if you define that 50% of your assets should be held in cash (money-market) and 50% invested in investment track 1, then every time you make a new deposit, we'll automatically invest 50% of the new deposit in track 1.
We ask that you change your proportions only up to 4 times a year, because it requires rebuilding your portfolio.
Placing investment requests
In your account, you'll see the various tracks in which you can invest. Select the amount (or proportion of assets) that you'd like to invest, and submit the request. The system will know to limit your request to the amount of available funds that you have in your account (what we call your "cash balance").
The request will then be forwarded to the IsraelGives team, who will work to fulfill it promptly. When they do, they will record the value of the transaction, and deduct it from your account's cash balance.
Selling investments
You can sell investments at any time. You can sell one of your investments by clicking on the "sell" icon next to the investment. The request will be forwarded to the IsraelGives team, who will work to fulfill the request promptly. Once done, we'll record the value of the sale, and allocate the proceeds into your account's cash balance.
Disclaimer
Please note that investments are subject to risk. You may wish to speak with your financial advisor about a strategy for recommending the investment of the assets in your account. Market fluctuations may also cause the value of investments held to be worth more or less than the value of the original contribution. Past performance of investments does not guarantee future results.
Income that accrues to the fund is not subject to tax, but charitable deductions may not be claimed with respect to that income.
Fees
There is a 1% annual management fee on the assets in your account. This fee is deducted from your account's assets on a monthly (proportional) basis.
If you choose to invest your funds, some tracks may incur investment management fees. Contact us for details.
If you have an American, Canadian, or British account and wish to donate to a non-profit organization in Israel, a 2.5% allocation fee will apply, to cover the expenses that we incur in establishing the "charitable equivalence" of the organization, as demanded by law.
If you deposit funds by credit card or Paypal, a 2.9% transaction fee will apply.