This is great! But it would be even better if UK (non-founder) EAs had a cost-effective DAF option to donate to.
I think there are very strong reasons for many donors not to get all their money out the door within the tax year they receive it (principally: the ability to prioritise more, and wait for better opportunities).
As it stands, I'm not aware of any cost-effective DAF options for UK donors donating low to mid tens of thousands of £ per year. I'm currently forced to use an account with Charities Aid Foundation, which charges 4.5% fees and does not allow one to invest one's holdings (thereby foregoing significant gains).
I reached out to Founders Pledge, who seem to offer excellent UK DAFs (both free and investment options), but they do not seem to allow non-founders to make use of their service).
Yes, there does seem to be a lack of low-cost options in the UK below a few hundred thousand!
I had claude search and summarise what's available, as it was on my list of things to look into - I thought I may as well share it here too:
``` - CAF Charity Account (simple giving account) - Minimum to open: None - How you're charged: One-off fee on money paid in; nothing after - Headline cost: From May 2026, 4% + 20% VAT on a £1,000 contribution (£48 total, ~4.8%); lower rates on larger bands - Source: https://www.cafonline.org/personal-giving/effective-ways-to-give/giving-account/changes-to-gift-aid-charity-account-fees-from-1-may-2026
- Stewardship Giving Account (Christian causes) - Minimum to open: None - How you're charged: One-off fee on money paid in - Headline cost: 3.5% with Gift Aid, 3% without; no opening or monthly fee - Source: https://www.stewardship.org.uk/giving-account-fees
- Community foundations (UKCF network) - Minimum to open: Set by each foundation - How you're charged: Annual % of fund - Headline cost: Typically 1–3% of capital value per year - Source: https://www.ukcommunityfoundations.org/media/wi4dftck/ukcf-dafs.pdf
- CAF Charitable Trust (CAF's investable DAF) - Minimum to open: Not published - How you're charged: Bespoke - Headline cost: Varies by size and complexity; personalised illustration on request - Source: https://www.cafonline.org/personal-giving/effective-ways-to-give/charitable-trust
- Prism the Gift Fund - Minimum to open: Not published (aimed at wealthy donors) - How you're charged: Fixed quarterly fee - Headline cost: Set by level of administration needed, not a % of gifts - Source: https://prismthegiftfund.co.uk/?p=2460
- NPT UK - Minimum to open: £250,000 - How you're charged: Annual % plus investment fees - Headline cost: 0.85% or less per year, plus fund fees (UBS funds 0.40–0.70%) - Sources: - https://www.nptuk.org/donor-advised-funds/charitable-trust-vs-donor-advised-fund/ - https://www.nptuk.org/?p=206 - https://www.nptuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Donor-Advised-Fund-Investment-Reallocation-UKN.pdf
- C. Hoare & Co. Master Charitable Trust - Minimum to open: Not published (bank clients) - How you're charged: Annual fee with a floor - Headline cost: Minimum £3,000 + VAT per year, plus share of audit fee - Source: https://www.hoaresbank.co.uk/files/2025-04/The-Master-Charitable-Trust-Terms-and-Conditions.pdf
- CAF American Donor Fund (dual UK/US taxpayers) - Minimum to open: Varies by product - How you're charged: Entry fee or annual minimum - Headline cost: One-off gifts 4.5% on first £50k, 2% to £150k, 1.25% to £250k, 0.5% to £750k (min £400); DAF min £1,600/yr; Premier DAF min £2,000/yr with 4-year term - Source: https://www.cafonline.org/cadf/fees
- Cazenove Capital DAF (administered by NPT UK) - Minimum to open: £100,000 - How you're charged: Not published - Headline cost: Not published - Source: https://www.wealth.schroders.com/en/global/wealth-management/media-centre/cazenove-capital-launches-new-donor-advised-fund-to-meet-growing-client-demand-for-charitable-giving ```
If you donate significant amounts through Gift Aid, it's worth making sure you're claiming your higher-rate relief, either by filing a Self Assessment or by asking HMRC to adjust your tax code.
How do you call up HMRC to adjust your tax code? Do you need to know how much you will make / donate in advance to do this?
I've been filling out self assessments each year to do this and it's been getting more difficult each year. 2 years ago the online repayments stopped going through and I needed to call up their helpline. last year the helpline couldn't help me and I needed to write a letter to HMRC.
Hi - I filed a self assessment form which calculated the size of the rebate I was owed based on my giving. If you call their helpline (8am-6pm mon-fri) they should also be able to make the necessary adjustments. You’re probably better off asking Claude for details
Thanks, it's a good reminder to point that out. It's fairly generally a good idea to file a tax return in the UK and it's also surprisingly quick and easy in my experience!
In the past, you needed to file a tax return in the UK above £100k income, so declaring GiftAid was just a simple part of this anyway [1] and many EAs will still have the habit of doing this.
TL;DR: If you're a UK-based EA who pays higher-rate tax, you're probably not making full use of Gift Aid.
Warning: I'm not a tax adviser, so this isn't tax advice. Figures are for 2026/27 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Background
Most UK EAs know about Gift Aid, the nifty scheme where the government tops up your donation by 25%, making it stretch further. However, because most UK taxpayers don't file their own tax returns, they're probably unaware that donating via Gift Aid also lets higher-rate taxpayers claim back extra tax, and lowers the income figure HMRC uses for the Child Benefit charge.
For people who pay the higher rate of income tax (over about £50k) and donate a considerable amount, this turns out to be quite significant! It matters even more for parents, because HMRC claws back Child Benefit once the higher earner's income goes over £60k (and in full at £80k).
Numerical example
Suppose you earn £65k, have one child (and are the highest earner in your household), and give £6,500 a year under Gift Aid. You can claim back about £1,977 through Self Assessment or a tax code change, which is roughly 30p for every £1 you give. Combined with the 25% uplift, that means every £1 of real cost gets about £1.80 to the charity.
Here is a table to show how big the multiplier can be:
If you donate significant amounts through Gift Aid, it's worth making sure you're claiming your higher-rate relief, either by filing a Self Assessment or by asking HMRC to adjust your tax code. This applies particularly if you pay higher-rate tax and have kids.
If you end up doing this, save yourself some money and maybe donate a bit more, let me know in the comments 😁
TL;DR
* GOAL 3 is a social enterprise that created IMPALA, a patient monitoring and digital platform system for low-resource settings. There is also a GOAL 3 foundation that raises funds to ensure underserved communities will be reached.
* A recently completed report from Rethink Priorities calculated IMPALA to have a cost per DALY averted of $7–17 in paediatr...
This month effective altruism has gotten lots of attention, including a cover story in The Economist. It feels pretty surreal to be on the receiving end of it. But I feel grateful these ideas have caught on, and even more grateful for the drive, earnestness, and compassion of so many people who took strange but well-argued ideas seriously and then actually acted on them....
Note: This post was crossposted from the Coefficient Giving Farm Animal Welfare Research Newsletter by the Forum team, with the author's permission. The author may not see or respond to comments on this post.
Subtitle: On vegan advocacy, effective altruism, and FIFA
I turn 40 today. Here are some hot takes.
On factory farming
1. Our biggest challenge is salience. If factory farming led the evening news, it wouldn’t last lo...
This is great! But it would be even better if UK (non-founder) EAs had a cost-effective DAF option to donate to.
I think there are very strong reasons for many donors not to get all their money out the door within the tax year they receive it (principally: the ability to prioritise more, and wait for better opportunities).
As it stands, I'm not aware of any cost-effective DAF options for UK donors donating low to mid tens of thousands of £ per year. I'm currently forced to use an account with Charities Aid Foundation, which charges 4.5% fees and does not allow one to invest one's holdings (thereby foregoing significant gains).
I reached out to Founders Pledge, who seem to offer excellent UK DAFs (both free and investment options), but they do not seem to allow non-founders to make use of their service).
Yes, there does seem to be a lack of low-cost options in the UK below a few hundred thousand!
I had claude search and summarise what's available, as it was on my list of things to look into - I thought I may as well share it here too:
```
- CAF Charity Account (simple giving account)
- Minimum to open: None
- How you're charged: One-off fee on money paid in; nothing after
- Headline cost: From May 2026, 4% + 20% VAT on a £1,000 contribution (£48 total, ~4.8%); lower rates on larger bands
- Source: https://www.cafonline.org/personal-giving/effective-ways-to-give/giving-account/changes-to-gift-aid-charity-account-fees-from-1-may-2026
- Stewardship Giving Account (Christian causes)
- Minimum to open: None
- How you're charged: One-off fee on money paid in
- Headline cost: 3.5% with Gift Aid, 3% without; no opening or monthly fee
- Source: https://www.stewardship.org.uk/giving-account-fees
- Community foundations (UKCF network)
- Minimum to open: Set by each foundation
- How you're charged: Annual % of fund
- Headline cost: Typically 1–3% of capital value per year
- Source: https://www.ukcommunityfoundations.org/media/wi4dftck/ukcf-dafs.pdf
- CAF Charitable Trust (CAF's investable DAF)
- Minimum to open: Not published
- How you're charged: Bespoke
- Headline cost: Varies by size and complexity; personalised illustration on request
- Source: https://www.cafonline.org/personal-giving/effective-ways-to-give/charitable-trust
- Prism the Gift Fund
- Minimum to open: Not published (aimed at wealthy donors)
- How you're charged: Fixed quarterly fee
- Headline cost: Set by level of administration needed, not a % of gifts
- Source: https://prismthegiftfund.co.uk/?p=2460
- NPT UK
- Minimum to open: £250,000
- How you're charged: Annual % plus investment fees
- Headline cost: 0.85% or less per year, plus fund fees (UBS funds 0.40–0.70%)
- Sources:
- https://www.nptuk.org/donor-advised-funds/charitable-trust-vs-donor-advised-fund/
- https://www.nptuk.org/?p=206
- https://www.nptuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Donor-Advised-Fund-Investment-Reallocation-UKN.pdf
- C. Hoare & Co. Master Charitable Trust
- Minimum to open: Not published (bank clients)
- How you're charged: Annual fee with a floor
- Headline cost: Minimum £3,000 + VAT per year, plus share of audit fee
- Source: https://www.hoaresbank.co.uk/files/2025-04/The-Master-Charitable-Trust-Terms-and-Conditions.pdf
- CAF American Donor Fund (dual UK/US taxpayers)
- Minimum to open: Varies by product
- How you're charged: Entry fee or annual minimum
- Headline cost: One-off gifts 4.5% on first £50k, 2% to £150k, 1.25% to £250k, 0.5% to £750k (min £400); DAF min £1,600/yr; Premier DAF min £2,000/yr with 4-year term
- Source: https://www.cafonline.org/cadf/fees
- Cazenove Capital DAF (administered by NPT UK)
- Minimum to open: £100,000
- How you're charged: Not published
- Headline cost: Not published
- Source: https://www.wealth.schroders.com/en/global/wealth-management/media-centre/cazenove-capital-launches-new-donor-advised-fund-to-meet-growing-client-demand-for-charitable-giving
```