What would count as progress
A model that ties the payout rate to measurable inputs, such as investment returns, how fast the best opportunities are used up and discount rates, and gives ranges a funder can act on.
Why it matters
The Annual DAF Report 2025 estimated about $326 billion in donor-advised fund assets in 2024. Whether assets should be spent sooner is a substantial allocation question; the asset total alone cannot answer it. See Parked Money.
Where to start
Economists have written “give now or give later” models. The open problem is grounding them in real data on how the cost of doing good changes over time.