Increase the Power of Your Donations - Comparing Fee Structures for International Giving

When contemplating making international donations, a prime consideration is what percentage of your contribution will help enable organizations to reach their goals. One of the ways to measure the impact your donation will have is to understand the structure of fees and operational assessments, and how the amount of your gift affects those costs.

Operating Costs and Fee Structure Comparison 

The way fees are assessed is one of the significant differences between DAFs. 

TrustBridge Global Foundation

Structured as a charity that sponsors a DAF program, TrustBridge does not charge fees. Instead, it shares the cost of operating the foundation among the DAFs equitably by assessing them based upon their proportionate balance or activity. These assessments are made against amounts already held within the foundation, not paid separately as a fee might be. Members of the TrustBridge Global network collectively comprise more than four billion dollars in assets, representing more than 50,000 donors.

Cost savings can range dramatically, depending on the DAF. TrustBridge offers a fixed, one percent regardless of the size of the gift, with a CHF 300 minimum. However, many DAFs calculate the structure of the fees and the operational assessment based on the size of the gift, which can make a substantial difference in the percentage of a donor’s contribution that is provided to the charity. For example, CAF America starts at eight percent for single gifts and 5 percent for DAF gifts. Global Giving starts at twelve percent, and reduced amounts are only available for larger gifts. 

For example, a $50,000 or $100,000 gift to South Africa:

Assessment percentages significantly impact the portion of the gift designated for charitable causes, which enables more of the donor’s gift to flow to TrustBridge’s 70,000 charities in more than 70 countries on six continents. 

Unlike contributions through TrustBridge Global, the portion of your gift that reaches a charitable organization is determined in large part to the size of your gift with CAF America and Global Giving. So, although smaller gifts are accepted, only large contributions qualify for lower assessment percentages. 

Over $300,000 contribution is required to reduce the charge to one percent for anything over $300,000 for a CAF America single gift contributor, and a CAF America DAF donor must gift at least one million dollars to reach one-percent fee, with a five-percent fee on the first $500,000 and three-percent on the next $500,000. 

Global Giving starts at 12 percent, with a reduced rate of seven percent only after the initial $5,000 contribution and remains at seven percent for any higher donations.

Maximize Your Philanthropic Gifts

A lower assessment of operational costs and lower fees means that more of your money remains a donation to be appropriated to where it’s needed most, rather than to administrative costs. Find out how TrustBridge Global can expand the reach of your gift.