About the fund

A short note on why this exists.

We started the Dai Impact Fund in 2025, the year our family decided we wanted to give more carefully — and more publicly — than we had before.

It's a donor-advised fund: a small bucket we top up each year and grant out to organizations doing work we believe in. Nothing fancy. Most of what we do is read, ask questions, and write checks.

We picked the name because Dai is our family name. We picked the sprout because we like things that grow slowly. We picked the .org because we wanted the site to feel like a place, not an account.

— The Dai family


Our giving principles

01

Trust is the gift

We don't ask for a logframe, a theory of change, or a five-year roadmap. If we trust you with the money, we trust you with how to spend it.

02

Quiet over loud

We don't do branded press releases. We list grantees so others can find them, and that's it.

03

Slow over fast

Most of what matters compounds. We try to give multi-year so people can plan past their next quarter.

04

Personal over portfolio

We give to people we'd want to share a meal with. The fund is small enough to do that.

Practical questions

How big is the fund?

Small. Individual grants typically range from $5,000 to $50,000. We don't publish a total — we'd rather you not anchor on it.

Are you a 501(c)(3)?

We grant through a donor-advised fund, so we recommend grants to qualified 501(c)(3) public charities and equivalents. International orgs are welcome via fiscal sponsors.

Do you fund individuals?

Rarely, and only through a fiscal sponsor. We're not set up for direct individual grants.

How do I get in touch?

Email hi@thedai.org — or just apply. Applications are the fastest way to reach us.