As the year winds down, generosity ramps up. But for corporate social responsibility (CSR) program leaders running international giving programs, year-end can feel like a logistical maze — currency conversions, compliance hurdles, nonprofit due diligence requirements and disbursements can turn good intentions into global headaches. Giving season can intensify every step of the process.
For most grantmaking and CSR program leaders tasked with scaling employee giving or donation matching worldwide, there are other, sometimes less intuitive, challenges: banking regulations vary, foreign exchange fluctuations can delay payments and finance teams in multiple time zones can require time-consuming coordination. Any missed deadline can result in nonprofits not receiving donations during their most crucial fundraising season. And without reliable, prepositioned funds, CSR leaders may miss key moments to mobilize employee generosity or support nonprofits when they need it most.
It is why more CSR teams are turning to CSR software that integrates Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) and specifically Global DAFs. The Benevity Enterprise Impact Platform powers seamless global giving by integrating directly with the Benevity Global DAF offering. Together, they reduce the complexity of managing multinational donation programs, while giving companies the scale, compliance and control they need to maximize impact.
What is a Donor Advised Fund (DAF)?
A Donor Advised Fund (DAF) is a charitable giving tool provided by charitable foundations. Donors make donations to the charitable foundations and are given advisory privileges to recommend grants (or disbursements) to eligible nonprofit organizations (also known as “donor advice”). The foundation provides the tax receipt for the donation and handles the rest — nonprofit due diligence, disbursement and tracking — ensuring funds reach recipient nonprofits efficiently and compliantly.
Because donations are made upfront, DAFs allow companies to support nonprofits quickly and flexibly without needing to navigate dozens of donation reports or release corporate budgets on off-cycle timelines. They also relieve donors of administrative burdens and legal hurdles while enabling strategic generosity aligned to company values.
For these reasons, DAFs have become a strategic tool for corporations seeking to scale their impact globally. Through solutions like a Corporate DAF or Global DAF, companies that support multiple giving and granting programs can unlock greater speed, security and efficiency in their giving programs.
In the U.S. alone, DAFs held over $251 billion in charitable assets at the end of 2023. While economic pressures led to a 20 percent dip in overall charitable contributions that year, grantmaking from DAFs stayed strong — down just 1.4 percent. That resilience shows why more corporations are turning to DAFs to maintain consistent support for nonprofits, even in uncertain times.
How Corporate DAFs support CSR leaders and their programs
A Corporate DAF is a Donor Advised Fund that a company (rather than an individual) establishes with a sponsoring organization (charitable foundation) and makes donations to. Like any DAF, the charitable foundation legally owns the funds and issues the tax receipt, while the donor (in this case, the company) retains advisory privileges to recommend grants (or disbursements) to eligible nonprofit organizations.
For employee engagement programs, the corporate donor advice reflects the nonprofits that its employees have recommended for support with their donations. For corporate giving and grantmaking, the corporate donor recommends the nonprofit(s) it wishes to support.
The Corporate DAF offering from Benevity helps grantmakers and CSR program administrators manage disbursements and donation flows with less manual effort. The DAF can be funded through donations in advance, separating social impact budgets from operational ones and streamlining support for multiple nonprofits through a single solution.
For grantmaking and CSR teams, this offers:
- Immediate tax benefits at the time of donating to the DAF
- The ability to recommend disbursements on a flexible timeline
- Fewer end-of-year escalations, currency mismatches, or missing receipts
With a Corporate DAF, CSR program administrators can often enable funds to activate during seasonal or unexpected times of need without waiting for certain internal approvals or budget releases. This means:
- Faster response times during critical moments
- Reduced administrative load for finance and program teams
- Consistent, compliant support for nonprofits
Simply put, Corporate DAFs offer infrastructure built for efficiency and consistency, so granting and giving programs don’t miss a beat, even when pressure is highest.
The benefits of Global DAFs for international giving
For multinational companies managing large donation volumes, multiple currencies, or requiring consolidated international tax reporting, the Global DAF offering from Benevity delivers a premium, managed solution with advanced compliance and white-glove support.
The Global DAF offering accommodates international infrastructures for tax-effective giving, local nonprofit due diligence, and regulatory compliance, creating a more secure, scalable way to bring purpose to life — globally. With Global DAF, CSR leaders can:
- Enable fund movement across currencies and regions with confidence
- Align giving with local laws and cultural expectations
- Centralize governance and reporting for audit readiness
- Offer equitable giving access to employees around the world
How leading companies use global DAFs to scale impact
Before adopting the Global DAF offering from Benevity, Cisco’s Community Impact and Inclusive Community team juggled regional disbursement reports, conversion fees and fragmented timelines. Today they have streamlined processes, reduced manual work, and are able to support global communities faster — with less friction.
👉 See how Cisco accelerated its global corporate giving with Benevity and Global DAF.
A smarter path through CSR giving season
For many companies, DAFs have become the backbone of a resilient, responsive corporate giving and granting program — one that empowers CSR leaders to reduce risk, scale globally, and make a real difference when it matters most.
For any CSR or granting team navigating another year-end giving season, the opportunity to improve employee giving and/or granting infrastructure with a DAF is worth serious consideration. Corporate and Global DAFs, like those offered through the Benevity Enterprise Impact Platform, provide a streamlined structure to simplify operations, improve compliance, and maximize impact — not just during giving season, but all year long.
Ready to streamline a global corporate giving program?
Connect with Benevity to learn more.
