The Rise of Donor Advised Funds: Should Congress Respond?
The Rise of Donor Advised Funds: Should Congress Respond?
October 23, 2015
Donor-advised funds (DAFs) have emerged from relative obscurity to become one of today’s most prominent—and sometimes most hotly contested—charitable vehicles. The subject of donor-advised funds is discussed regularly at conferences and in the halls of Congress as well as in newspapers, newsletters, blogs and every other place where formal and informal conversations about the charitable sector occur.
However, despite their ubiquity, conversations about DAFs are rarely as informative as they might be. Too often they occur in silos—critics in conversation with critics and advocates in conversation with advocates. The result is that policy makers and others seeking to follow the debate are often left at sea by a public discoursethat is conflicting and limited by a lack of common principles.
This conference helped move the conversation forward. By bringing together scholars and practitioners from all sides of the DAF debate with the goal of identifying points of agreement and explicating points of disagreement, important policy were able to be better evaluated by policy makers.
Become a Co-Sponsor
For more information about becoming a co-sponsor, please contact Professor of Law and Forum Convenor Ray Madoff.
Conference Schedule
| Friday, October 23, 2015 | |
|---|---|
| 8:30-9:00am | Light Breakfast |
| 9:00-9:15am | Welcome and Introduction Ray D. Madoff, Boston College Law School |
| 9:15-10:30am | Setting the Stage Moderator: William A. Schambra, Hudson Institute History of DAFs Lilia Corwin Berman, Temple University Warm Glow and DAFs: Insights from Behavioral Economics James Andreoni, University of California, San Diego DAFs and the Financing of the Nonprofit Sector Andrea Levere, Corporation for Enterprise Development |
| 10:30-10:45am | Coffee Break |
| 10:45-11:15am | DAFs By the Numbers Brian Galle, Georgetown Law School Paul Arnsberger, Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income |
| 11:15-12:00pm | A View from the Hill Moderator: Alexander Reid, Morgan, Lewis and Bockius Panelists: Gordon Clay, Senior Legislation Counsel, Joint Committee on Taxation Chris Conlin, Tax Counsel, Senator Grassley Harold Hancock, Tax Counsel, House Ways and Means Committee Alan Lee, Tax Counsel, House Ways and Means Committee |
| 12:00-12:45pm | Lunch |
| 1:00-2:15pm | Debate: Should Congress Respond? Moderator: Rick Cohen, Nonprofit Quaterly Panelists: Victoria Bjorklund, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett Alan Cantor, Alan Cantor Consulting Roger Colinvaux, Columbia School of Law, The Catholic University of America Joanne Florino, Philanthropy Roundtable |
| 2:15-3:30pm | Discussion: Should All Sponsoring Organization Be Treated the Same? Moderator: Stacy Palmer, The Chronicle of Philanthropy Panelists: Thomas W. Bridge, Fidelity Charitable Howard Husock, The Manhattan Institute Terry Mazany, Chicago Community Trust Alicia Philipp, The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta |
| 3:30pm | Concluding Thoughts William Bagley, Boston College Law School |
