AI Wealth Is Changing Philanthropy. Is Your Giving Plan Ready?

A wave of extraordinary wealth is building across Silicon Valley — and nonprofits are positioned to benefit. As major artificial intelligence (AI) companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic, prepare for what could be the largest initial public offerings in history, philanthropic advisors estimate that between $37 billion and $100 billion in new charitable dollars could flow to nonprofits annually.¹ For nonprofit leaders, board members, and the newly high-net-worth tech employees who want to give strategically, understanding the range of charitable planning tools available can help support informed giving decisions.

Is your nonprofit ready to receive a transformational gift from this wave of new donors? The first step starts with identifying the charitable vehicles these donors will use, as well as having the financial governance in place to steward major gifts effectively.

The Mercer Advisors Endowments and Foundations team works with nonprofit organizations to assess exactly that, aligning investment management, planned giving strategy, and board governance so your organization can confidently say yes when a significant gift arrives.

Why this moment is different

If industrial fortunes produced the first wave of American philanthropy — the Carnegies and Rockefellers building libraries and foundations — and internet and software wealth produced the second. AI is launching the third, which is being framed as a generational shift in how capital flows to charitable causes, and the scale of potential giving tied to AI-company liquidity events is unlike anything the philanthropic sector has seen in decades. ²

• Estimates suggest the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation alone holds equity valued at approximately $220 billion.³
• Anthropic’s seven founders have each pledged to give away 80% of their wealth — a commitment potentially worth $90 billion in aggregate.⁴
• SpaceX’s IPO earlier this year minted an estimated 4,400 millionaires, many of whom are now evaluating how to direct their newfound wealth.⁵

What distinguishes this cohort of potential donors is their relationship with technology and efficiency. Many come from backgrounds shaped by effective altruism — a philanthropic movement that believes individuals should “earn to give.” Effective altruism focuses on data-backed interventions that perform the most good per dollar, from distributing bed nets and financing cheap eye surgeries to funding AI safety research.⁶ The movement has entered the mainstream of Silicon Valley culture, influencing how a generation of tech professionals thinks about the purpose of wealth — and the causes they choose to support.

That’s a meaningful shift for how nonprofits engage with major donors. Development teams that invest in planned giving expertise and build relationships with wealth advisors are better positioned to help capture this moment.

Charitable vehicles that work for today’s donors

Donor-advised funds (DAFs): The flexible starting point

For tech employees bracing for a liquidity event, the DAF has become the tool of choice for charitable giving.⁷ In short, a DAF is a charitable account held at a sponsoring organization that allows donors to contribute assets, receive an immediate tax deduction, and then recommend grants to qualified nonprofits over time.

The tax advantages are compelling. When a donor contributes appreciated stock to a DAF rather than selling the stock first, the related capital gains tax could be eliminated entirely. This means the charity can receive the full fair market value of the shares, not the after-tax proceeds.

Selling appreciated assets before donating can reduce the value of a gift by 20% or more because of capital gains taxes. For someone sitting on $10 million of low-basis AI company stock, the difference between donating shares directly versus selling and donating cash can amount to millions of dollars in additional giving capacity.

For nonprofits, this means having the right infrastructure in place to accept these gifts efficiently. Clear gift acceptance policies for appreciated securities, coordinated processes between your development and investment committees, and streamlined transfer documentation can all reduce friction for donors. These practices may also signal to prospective major donors that your organization is ready to receive and steward complex gifts.

DAFs also offer tax-efficient flexibility that private foundations cannot typically match. There are no annual distribution requirements, no staff or overhead costs to manage, and no complex tax filings. Donors can give in a high-income year and direct grants to their chosen organizations for years or decades afterward.

Donor-advised fund vs. private foundation: Understanding the trade-offs

When donors move beyond the basics of charitable giving and begin thinking about legacy, the donor-advised fund vs. private foundation comparison can become an important conversation. It can be one of the most important decisions in a philanthropic plan.

A private family foundation offers maximum control, including over grant-making decisions, investment management, and the ability to employ staff or conduct direct charitable activities. Historically, major philanthropists like the Rockefeller and Gates families built their charitable legacies through private foundations.

However, a foundation’s complexity may not suit every donor. Foundations require annual minimum distributions, public disclosure of grants and financials, and ongoing legal and administrative oversight. For many tech employees who have just experienced a liquidity event, a DAF is the more practical starting point with the option to layer in a foundation structure later as the philanthropic mission evolves.

Mercer Advisors can guide donors through this decision, evaluating how each structure aligns with their financial plan, tax strategy, and giving goals over time.

Charitable remainder trusts: Income with a charitable legacy

For donors holding large, highly appreciated positions — as many AI-company employees now do — a charitable remainder trust (CRT) can serve as an effective complement to a DAF strategy.

A CRT is an irrevocable trust funded with appreciated assets. The trust sells those assets without triggering an immediate capital gains tax, reinvests the proceeds, and provides the donor (or designated beneficiaries) with an income stream for a defined period. When the trust terminates, the remaining assets transfer to the donor’s chosen charity. Donors also receive a partial charitable deduction in the year the CRT is funded.

The tax benefits of a charitable remainder trust are particularly relevant for donors who want to convert a concentrated stock position into diversified income. This is a challenge for employees holding a large share of their compensation in a single company’s equity.

How Mercer Advisors can help your nonprofit

Nonprofits seeking to attract major gifts from the AI wealth wave can benefit from having a financial partner who understands both sides of the philanthropic equation. The Mercer Advisors Endowments and Foundations team provides nonprofit boards with integrated financial support, including investment management aligned with your spending policy, guidance on board governance and fiduciary responsibilities, and planned giving education for your development team.

Below are strategies you can discuss with the Mercer Advisors Endowments and Foundations team to find the best fit for your nonprofit board.

1. Establish a planned giving programNonprofits that proactively educate major donor prospects on charitable vehicles are better positioned to be named as beneficiaries. These include DAFs, bequests, and charitable remainder trusts. It’s also helpful to understand how comfortable your donors are planning their giving, which differs by generation. A structured planned giving program, developed with professional guidance, creates a clear pathway for donors to make lasting commitments.
2. Encourage pre-IPO charitable contributions
   Donors who contribute appreciated private shares to a DAF or charitable trust before a company goes public seek to capture the most favorable tax treatment. Development officers can work alongside our wealth advisors to help clients time these contributions strategically to maximize both the donor’s tax benefit and the nonprofit’s gift.
3. Align your portfolio with a spending policy
   A well-governed endowment or foundation portfolio starts with a clear investment policy statement (IPS) and spending policy. Mercer Advisors helps nonprofit boards build diversified, long-term portfolios designed to support their organizational mission while maintaining intergenerational equity. As AI-influenced investment strategies become more common, boards should also ensure their IPS explicitly addresses how AI-driven recommendations are evaluated and what human oversight is required.⁸ This is a meaningful governance step as the tools that boards and advisors use continue to evolve.
4. Consider making your organization a DAF beneficiary
   Nonprofit development teams can encourage DAF holders to designate the organization as a beneficiary of the fund’s remaining balance. Total DAF assets in the U.S. reached $327.87 billion in fiscal year 2024, representing a substantial and growing pipeline of deferred charitable giving.⁹ Our Endowments and Foundations team members offer donor education on best practices for giving.
5. Protect the mission
   Life insurance gifted to a nonprofit or structured as part of a planned giving strategy can provide organizations with a significant, predictable gift upon a donor’s death. At Mercer Advisors, we understand both insurance and charitable planning and can help ensure these arrangements are structured appropriately.

A note on compliance and coordination

Charitable planning is complex, and the stakes are high — both for donors seeking to reduce their tax burden and for nonprofits counting on significant gifts. The rules governing charitable deductions, including the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s new 0.5% AGI floor and 35% deduction cap for top-bracket donors effective Jan. 1, 2026, add new layers to consider. Working with our team of advisors and specialists can help donors navigate these rules correctly and help establish your nonprofit as a credible, well-governed recipient.

Mercer Advisors integrates financial planning, tax services, estate planning, and investment management, all managed by a single team for donors, providing a comprehensive approach to charitable planning that serves both donors and the organizations they care about.

Removing the barriers that keep donors on the sidelines

Even motivated donors hesitate. Research from our Endowments and Foundations team identifies several barriers that keep philanthropic dollars idle: uncertainty about how gifts will be used, a lack of perceived urgency, and concern that their contribution may not make a measurable difference. For nonprofits preparing to engage with AI-wealth donors — many of whom think like investors and demand accountability — these barriers are especially relevant.

Nonprofits that proactively address these concerns can be more effective at turning interest into commitment. That means communicating clearly how donated assets are invested and governed, demonstrating the real cost of deferred gifts, and pairing compelling stories with transparent financial data.

Partnering with Mercer Advisors can serve as an extension of your board’s credibility and speak directly to donors about the mechanics of DAFs, CRTs, and appreciated securities. This may lead to meaningfully reducing friction in the giving process.