WellFunded has launched Canada’s first comprehensive public dashboard tracking where donor-advised fund (DAF) money flows, analyzing 283 DAFs representing approximately 90% of all DAF giving in Canada—$1.6 billion distributed to charities in 2023. The dashboard reveals surprising patterns in Canadian philanthropy, including which causes attract the most DAF support, regional giving trends, and the largest recipients of DAF dollars.

The launch coincided with the inaugural DAF Day in Canada on October 9, which saw unprecedented participation from over $2 billion in DAF assets across major foundations and financial institutions, including Benefaction, Toronto Community Foundation, TD Private Giving Foundation, GiveWise, Abundance Canada, Oakville Community Foundation, CIBC Private Wealth, and many more. It was truly inspiring to see so many come together to raise awareness and participation in this growing way to give.

“For the first time, Canadians, DAF administrators and charities can see how DAF money moves and which DAFs align with their mission. There’s incredible potential to build off of this momentum,” says Jeff Golby, founder of DAF Day Canada and Co-Founder of WellFunded. “This tool is just the beginning of helping our sector give with greater insight and inspiration.”

The project also highlights significant data quality challenges in Canada’s philanthropic infrastructure. “Open data from the Canada Revenue Agency varies considerably across its own reporting systems, and many DAFs struggle with complex filing requirements,” notes Jeff. “This creates gaps in transparency that make it difficult for the sector to understand where philanthropic dollars flow. The charitable sector deserves better data, and that’s exactly what we’re building for the future.” WellFunded’s dashboard represents a first step toward a comprehensive philanthropic data infrastructure in Canada, giving donors and charities unprecedented visibility into how charitable dollars flow through the ecosystem.

For further information or to access the dashboard, click here.