The Catholic Foundation is grateful for all of our donor advised fund holders and we wanted to make you aware of the following information.
The IRS has reaffirmed its guidance that Donor Advised Fund (DAF) grants may not be bifurcated to purchase tickets to events or sponsorships (IRS Notice 2017-73 https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-17-73.pdf).
You may recommend grants from your Donor Advised Fund to sponsor charitable events, dinners, etc. However, the federal tax rules require that the full cost to attend such an event, including both the tax-deductible and non-deductible portions, must be paid from your personal funds and not from DAF dollars.
After personally paying for event tickets, any remaining sponsorship costs may be covered by your DAF, provided that any benefits received in exchange for the sponsorship are incidental, such as having your DAF recognized at the event. If you choose not to accept any benefits associated with a sponsorship (e.g., attending the event), the entire amount may be paid from your DAF.