Chariot is a third party platform that enables clients to accept Donor-Advised Fund (commonly referred to as DAF) distributions (also commonly known as "grants," "gifts," and "donations"). Donor-Advised Funds are accounts that users donate to with cash, stocks, or non-publicly traded assets such as private business interests, cryptocurrency, and private company stock, all of which are eligible for an immediate tax deduction. Users can then direct these funds to charities. Chariot connects with DAF providers so that Neon Pay clients that are enrolled with Chariot can accept DAF distributions on their Neon Fundraise forms.
Chariot’s payment method is branded as DAFpay.
Table of Contents
- Neon Pay and Chariot DAFpay
- Enabling DAFpay in Neon Fundraise
- The Donor Experience
- Managing DAF Distributions
- FAQs
Neon Pay and Chariot DAFpay
Neon One clients must be enrolled in Neon Pay and use Neon Pay on payment forms to utilize DAFpay on their forms. Enrollment for Chariot starts in Neon Pay during the merchant application or on the DAF Manager tab. To learn more about how to enroll, click here.
To learn more about how to manage DAF payments in Neon Pay, click here.
Enabling DAFpay in Neon Fundraise
Once an organization is enrolled with DAFpay in Neon Pay, the DAFpay button and flow can be added to Neon Fundraise donation forms. To enable DAFpay on your donation form, follow these steps:
- Log into the Neon Fundraise Admin
- Navigate to the desired group or campaign (click here for more on entities)
- Click Forms > Donation Settings > Payment Options
-
Toggle "Accept DAF payments through Chariot" on
- If DAF distributions should count towards goals and triggers immediately upon submission, toggle "DAF Distributions require verification" off
- If DAF distributions should NOT count towards goals and triggers until manually completed by an administrator, toggle "DAF Distributions require verification" on
Administrators can also personalize the emails that are sent to users throughout the DAFpay flow. This can be done in the Admin, under Email > Automated Emails > Offline Donation Emails. The relevant emails include:
-
DAF Distribution Confirmation
- Sent to donor of upon submission of a DAF distribution.
-
DAF Distribution Completed
- Sent to donor of DAF Distribution when an unverified distribution is verified or completed by an administrator.
- Fundraiser Received Donation
- Sent to fundraiser when a donor submits a verified donation towards their goal. Applies when "DAF Distributions require verification" is toggled off.
- Team Received Donation
- Sent to team captain when a donor submits a verified donation towards their goal. Applies when "DAF Distributions require verification" is toggled off.
-
Fundraiser Received Unverified Donation
- Sent to fundraiser when a donor submits an unverified donation towards a team member's goal or the team goal. Only applies when "DAF Distributions require verification" is toggled on.
-
Team Received Unverified Donation
- Sent to team captain when a donor submits an unverified donation towards a team member's goal or the team goal. Only applies when "DAF Distributions require verification" is toggled on.
The Donor Experience
With DAFpay enabled, donors will have the opportunity to submit distributions through their preferred DAF provider, directly on the donation form. The DAFpay button appears on the donation form next to the other payment options (credit card, bank account, etc.). Donors enter their donation amount, then click the DAFpay button to be guided through the DAFpay flow to choose their provider and submit their distribution.
Donors can view submitted distributions (and their status) with the rest of their transactions in their donor portal, under User Profile > Payments > Transactions.
Managing DAF Distributions
DAF distributions are treated like most other donation types in the Admin, and can be viewed and managed in the same ways. DAF distributions can be managed in the donations grid (under Transactions), and can be reported on in transaction and donation reports like other donations. They can be differentiated (grouped/filtered, etc.) using donation type, which is "DAF Distribution".
To learn more about managing DAF payments in Neon Pay, click here.
Completing a DAF Distribution
DAF distributions can have a status of "Requested" or "Completed". Completing a DAF distribution indicates that the funds for this distribution were received by the nonprofit. If the "DAF Distributions require verification" toggle is ON, completing a DAF distribution also causes its amount to count towards goals and triggers in the Neon Fundraise system.
DAF distributions can be "completed" by an administrator manually, either in the Neon Pay interface (click here), or in the Neon Fundraise interface. To complete a DAF distribution, administrators can simply click the completion link included in the notification email sent when a donor submits a DAF distribution, or through the Admin by following these steps:
- Once logged in as an administrator, locate the relevant DAF distribution record
- Click the "Complete DAF Distribution" button
If a DAF distribution is completed in the Neon Pay interface, the change will be reflected in the Neon Fundraise record automatically as well.
FAQs
Can DAFpay be used to submit recurring donations?
DAFpay does not support recurring gifts. If a donor selects a recurring option on the donation form, the DAFpay button will not appear.
Can donors cover fees when using DAFpay?
Yes, donors can choose to cover fees when using DAFpay. However, some DAF providers require whole dollar amounts, which in most cases will not be compatible with the total amount including fees. In this scenario, the amount will be rounded to the nearest whole dollar within the DAFpay modal itself, and the donation will NOT record fees as having been covered.
Similarly, if the donor opts to cover fees but then changes the donation amount in the DAFpay modal, the donation will not record the fees as having been covered.
Do distribution amounts count towards goals and triggers?
If the "DAF Distributions require verification" toggle is OFF, amounts will count towards goals and triggers immediately, even before funds are received by the nonprofit. To ensure that administrators must manually complete distributions before amounts are counted towards goals and triggers, toggle "DAF Distributions require verification" (under Forms > Donation Settings > Payment Options) on.
Are DAF distributions represented on PDF receipts or summary letters?
DAF distributions are not tax deductible, being that the donor already received a tax deduction when donating to the DAF provider. As such, PDF receipts are not generated for DAF distributions in Neon Fundraise, and DAF distributions are not included in summary letters.
How are distributions sent to the nonprofit?
When a donor creates a distribution using DAFpay, the donor’s DAF provider sends a check or EFT to the nonprofit directly. The nonprofit can then update the distribution’s status within Neon Pay to track their DAF distributions. The funds are not processed or tracked directly by Chariot nor Neon Pay.