Stop Sending Thank You Notes to Fidelity

Let’s talk about something that’s wasting time, money, and a whole lot of paper in nonprofit offices everywhere: thank you notes sent to Fidelity Charitable and other commercial donor-advised fund (DAF) providers.

Yes, I said it. Please, stop sending them.

Every week, massive DAF institutions like Fidelity, Schwab, and Vanguard receive piles of mail from nonprofits. And the majority of these are form thank you letters—often addressed generically to “Fidelity Charitable”—thanking them for donations they technically didn’t make.

Worse, some of these letters include tax receipts, which could get you in trouble with the IRS.

Here’s why this matters, and what you should be doing instead.

Why Are We Still Doing This?

Let’s break this down with a few key reminders about how DAFs actually work:

1️⃣ DAF Providers Approve Grants – Fund Holders Make Them

DAF providers like Fidelity Charitable are simply the mechanism through which individual donors recommend grants. The individual—the fund holder—is the one who initiated the gift. Fidelity is the facilitator.

Sending a thank you to Fidelity is like thanking a bank for someone else’s check. It won’t mean anything.

2️⃣ DAF Providers Should Get the Hard Credit – But Not Your Stewardship

Yes, for legal and accounting purposes, the DAF provider is the entity you credit in your CRM as the donor. That’s required.

But let’s be clear: Fidelity Charitable is not your donor.

There’s no stewardship value in sending them a thank you letter—especially when it’s for a one-off gift and not part of a larger institutional relationship (like you might have with a community foundation). These big commercial DAFs are going to be more transactional relationships than individuals, family foundations or your local community foundation.

3️⃣ DAF Gifts Are Not Tax-Deductible to the Donor

This part trips up a lot of people: donors receive their tax receipt when they contribute into a DAF. Once they direct a grant from their fund to your organization, it is not another tax-deductible event. Sending a tax receipt at that point is not only unnecessary—it’s legally incorrect.

The onus is on you, as the nonprofit, to know the difference and ensure you’re not issuing redundant or invalid tax documentation.

No, it’s not intuitive. Yes, it’s annoying. But it’s the rule.

4️⃣ Thank the Actual Donor – Not the Middleman

Here’s the kicker: if you’re not thanking the person behind the DAF, you’re probably missing out on a future gift.

I’ve heard countless stories of DAF donors who never gave to an organization again— unhappy because they never received a thank you. A donor who feels ignored is a donor who disappears.

But what if you don’t know who the actual fund holder is? This can be a real challenge. Many DAF grants arrive with limited identifying information. That doesn’t mean you should default to sending a generic letter to the DAF provider. They likely don’t even get opened. 

So What Should You Do?

If you want to meaningfully steward your DAF donors (and you really should), try these tips instead:

✅ Search your CRM for keywords from the gift details. You’d be surprised how often a name or fund title matches an old record or a past donor.

✅ Bring your team together. Set up a regular check-in to review “mystery” DAF gifts. Maybe someone on your team was expecting a gift of that size or had recent contact with a donor who mentioned a DAF.

✅ Call the DAF provider. If it’s a large commercial DAF like Fidelity, you can try calling their support line. It’s not a perfect system, but diligent gift processors often do end up getting helpful information or assistance passing on items to the donor. 

✅ Engage your community foundations. These DAF providers are often a little easier to get in touch with and engage with. If the grant came from one of them, try sending a tailored note or email requesting that your message of thanks be passed along to the donor. Many are more than happy to help facilitate that connection.

Bottom Line: Steward Smarter

Sending a form thank you note to a massive DAF provider like Fidelity isn’t just ineffective—it’s wasteful. Save your postage, your staff’s time, and your envelopes.

Instead, focus your efforts on uncovering and connecting with the real person behind the gift. Because when it comes to stewardship, relationships matter. People want to be seen and appreciated. And if they’re not? They move on.

So this week’s top tip: stop sending Fidelity Charitable thank you letters—and start doubling down on thoughtful, intentional donor stewardship that actually works.

Your future fundraising self will thank you.