Creating a world of philanthropists
1. Why does the Mutual Fund make the donations to the Davlin Foundation? Why doesn’t the Mutual Fund make the donation directly to the charities?
The Mutual Fund is a regulated entity run by a Board of Trustees with responsibilities as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940. The 40’s Act does not offer the flexibility needed to fulfill the investor’s philanthropic needs, so we created a 501(c)3 non-profit, private foundation and directed the investor’s donations into it. The Davlin Foundation’s independence from the mutual fund and philanthropic mission gives it the flexibility to fulfill the investor’s charitable needs.
2. What is the criteria for charities on the Approved List?
The Davlin Foundation reserves the right to evolve the criteria over time. At the moment, the criteria for charities on the Approved List stands as follows:
- The charity must be a 501(c)3 public charity.
- The charity must have a current, impressive, donor-friendly, website.
- The charity must be at least five years old.
- If the charity has an advocacy program, that must be supplementary and subordinate to more substantive activities.
- If the charity is faith-based, its programs must be open to people of all faiths.
- The charity must be of general philanthropic interest—addressing broad public issues and raising money from the general public—as distinct from charities of local interest, or of internal interest only to its membership.
- The charity must provide benefits directly to the public rather than being a conduit of funds to other charities.
3. Why are only roughly 300 charities on the Approved List?
For operational purposes, the Foundation wanted to start with a defined number of charities. The Foundation has every expectation of expanding this list over time, based upon the input of Davlin Fund investors.
4. How can I suggest a charity for the Approved List?
5. How often can I change my charities?
You may change your designated charities once annually. Please note that we calculate the annual donations on January 31st for the 12 month preceding period, so any change in designated charity must be in at least one week before that date to affect your donation.
6. How can I change my charities?
7. If I change my charities during the middle of the year, will half my donations go to my old charities?
No. While we will calculate the amount of your donations based on your average daily investment level, we will assign it all to the charities that you have listed on January 31st of each year.
8. Will the charities that I choose definitely receive my donations?
No, The Foundation reserves the right to take charities off the Approved List, impose a minimum donation size, or any other restriction that it deems appropriate. However, the Foundation was formed to make donations to charities and it views investor guidance as an important part of fulfilling that job.
9. What is the minimum donation size and why?
The Foundation has imposed a minimum donation size to save it from sending out checks less than $100.00. Donations are only made once a year and the donations to any one charity are the combined gifts of all the investors that choose that charity. As such, we expect that the minimum donation size will be easily exceeded. In those cases where the minimum donation size is not reached, the donation will be redirected to a similar charity.
10. How much does the Foundation spend on administration expenses and fund raising?
The Foundation is currently staffed by volunteers, so administrative expenses are limited to legal and accounting expenses and office supplies. Since the Foundation receives all of its donations from the Davlin Philanthropic Funds, its fund raising expenses are minimal.
