This fall, Internet-savvy donors will have access to an innovative way to manage their Federation donations. Through a system similar to an online charitable checking account, donors will be able to give money to Federation and request distributions from donor-advised funds with the click of a mouse, any time, day or night.

Currently, about 600 donors have "donor-advised funds" through Federation's Endowment Department. These donors put money into their own funds and then advise Federation of charities to which they would like those funds to go, says Seth Feldman, Federation Endowment Director. Depositing funds or making a donation currently requires filling out several forms, mailing and/or faxing them, and waiting for statements. But as of October 1, 2004 – after a summer of testing and training – these donor-advised funds will be accessible to individual donors online.

"It's a great device for people to simplify their lives, help them organize their records and be more efficient," says Feldman, who moved to Atlanta eight months ago after working in non-profit in Chicago. "Instead of having to fax or mail a donation, they can make it instantaneously."

Donors began asking for the service about a year and a half ago, according to Feldman, who adds that it took time to research possible online services and pick the best vendor. Federation staff partnered with Federations in Chicago, Cleveland, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco to select the best vendor to automate each city's program. While commercial entities offer similar donation management programs, Federation donors prefer to work directly with the agency "because our fees are low, because they prefer to have access to people to ask questions and because using our service rather than a commercial one supports Federation," Feldman says.

Who is most apt to use online giving programs? Last year, the Endowment Department conducted a customer satisfaction survey that found that while young adults are comfortable with online services, women over age 55 also prefer the online giving program. "It's empowering," Feldman explains. "They want to do things themselves when and how they want to."

Online giving and online access to account information in general offers that perk, he adds. "People will be able to go online and make grants at 3 o'clock in the morning if they want or see their up-to-date balances whenever they want," Feldman explains. This summer, Federation will offer training days and launch a marketing campaign to raise awareness of the new online service, he says. "It's very exciting to be able to provide this."

For more information about Federation's Endowment, contact Seth Feldman at (404) 870-1625 or sfeldman@jfga.org.