Fees and Minimums at The Signatry

Revolutionary generosity requires radical transparency

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As a donor, you want to be a good steward of the resources God has entrusted to you. Understanding the fees, expenses, and minimums associated with a donor advised fund is a critical part of developing a long-term, faith-based charitable giving plan. Below, you will find the details about costs and minimums associated with donor advised funds, designated funds, and charity funds at The Signatry.

Our Stewardship Commitment to You

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Integrity & Transparency

We will be straightforward about any fees and expenses associated with funds at The Signatry, and we will communicate clearly about any changes that may occur.

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Generosity Focused

Our goal is to send as many dollars as possible out to God’s kingdom. We continue to work hard to keep fund costs low because we value the heart behind your gifts.

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Kingdom First

From investment options to grant recipients, we take extra steps to ensure charitable dollars are aligned with values that reflect the kingdom of God.

Understanding DAF Fees and More

The various fees and expenses related to donor advised funds, designated funds, and charity funds can be confusing, especially if you are comparing one fund sponsor to another. We use three categories to define these items: fund fees and minimums, investment option fees, and transaction fees and expenses.

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Fund Fees & Minimums

These fees and requirements apply to a fund as a whole, inclusive of all of the assets within the fund

Fund Fees & Minimums

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Investment Option Fees

Donors can choose to recommend a portion of a fund balance be invested through various tools. These fees apply to those investment options.

Investment Option Fees

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Transaction Fees & Expenses

Transactions include both contributing to a fund and recommending a grant from a fund. Some transactions may involve fees and/or expenses.

Transaction Fees & Expenses

Fund Fees and Minimums

At The Signatry, we see donor advised funds as tools to facilitate revolutionary generosity, making it possible to solve the world’s greatest problems. Because of this, we minimize fees and minimums that apply to opening, maintaining, and using a fund, making them accessible to all.

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Fund Item

Amount

Administrative Fee

None

Minimum Opening Contribution

None

Minimum Balance

None

Grant Recommendation Fee

None

Minimum Grant Amount

$100

Fund Administrative Fee

Fund-level administrative fees, based on total assets under management (“AUM”), are a common fee charged by most donor advised fund sponsors. These are usually calculated as a percentage charged against the average daily balance of the fund.

As a reflection of our mission to inspire and facilitate revolutionary biblical generosity, The Signatry does not charge an administrative fee on donor advised funds, designated funds, or charity funds. 

Fund Minimums

Contribution Minimums

The Signatry does not have a minimum contribution requirement for donor advised funds, designated funds, or charity funds. We believe donor advised funds should be a tool available to every person seeking to live generously.

Investment Access Minimum

We also do not have minimum contribution or fund balance requirements for accessing investment options, including advisor managed accounts (AMAs).

Read more information on AMAs and how they work.

Grant Minimums

The minimum grant amount out of a donor advised fund, designated fund, or charity fund is $100.

Investment Option Fees

When stewarding the holdings of a fund at The Signatry, a robust set of investment options are available to recommend from, including our Biblically Responsible Investment Pools. Learn more about our investment options and associated expenses below.

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Money Market Pool*

Biblically Responsible Investment Pools

Advisor Managed Accounts

Alternative Investments

Minimum Investment Amount None None None Opportunity dependent
Investment Option Fee
(The Signatry)
None Included in pool returns Tiered by investment size Tiered by investment size
Setup Fee None None None 2% (not to exceed $60,000)
Investment Management Fee
(Fund Manager)
None Included in pool returns Set by advisor Varies by investment

*Money Market Pool

Our money market pool carries no minimum investment amount and no fees. We employ financial-industry-accepted best practices of sharing growth in our money market pool earnings with our donor advised funds, designated funds, and charity funds.

Biblically Responsible Investment Pools

Each of our biblically responsible investment pools is comprised of businesses screened for sustainable, ethical, biblically responsible business practices. These pools have no minimum investment amount and no setup fee. Investment option fees and any management fees related to the products in the investment pool are automatically included in pool returns. All performance is reported on a net return basis. View the full investment pool options here.

Investment Pool

Risk Profile

Investment Option Fee

Conservative Allocation Pool

Low to Moderate

35 basis points

Moderate Allocation Pool

Moderate to Moderately Aggressive

75 basis points

Aggressive Allocation Pool

Aggressive

75 basis points

Advisor Managed Accounts

Funds at The Signatry may have part of their balance placed in investments managed by an external advisor. Balances in advisor managed investment accounts are subject to an annualized investment option fee assessed quarterly on the assets allocated to this investment option according to the following schedule:

Asset Range

Investment Option Fee

Up to $24,999

90 basis points

$25,000 - $99,999

75 basis points

$100,000 - $999,999

60 basis points

$1,000,000 - $99,999,999

50 basis points

$100,000,000 and higher

25 basis points

Assets managed by an external advisor may also be subject to an investment management fee charged by the advisor and the investment products they choose. These fees are paid from the fund. The advisor’s management fees are not revenue for The Signatry. For more information on these fees, please contact your financial advisor.

To maintain liquidity for granting activities and for fees and expenses, funds may not initially invest more than 90% of their total balance in advisor managed accounts and alternative investments.

Click here for more information on advisor managed accounts.

Alternative Investments

Funds at The Signatry may have part of their balance invested in alternative investment options. When a portion of a fund balance is invested in an alternative investment, an origination fee of 2% of the invested value (with a maximum origination fee of $60,000) is assessed.

An annualized investment option fee is assessed on the assets invested this option according to the following schedule:

Asset Range

Investment Option Fee

Up to $2,999,999

75 basis points

$3,000,000 - $4,999,999

55 basis points

$5,000,000 - $9,999,999

35 basis points

$10,000,000 and higher

25 basis points

To maintain liquidity for granting activities and for fees and expenses, funds may not initially invest more than 90% of their total balance in advisor managed accounts and alternative investments. For more information on alternative investments, please contact investments@thesignatry.com.

Transaction Fees & Expenses

The Signatry does not charge a fee for contributions of cash or publicly traded securities, like stock. However, some contribution methods involve third-party payment processors; these processors charge transaction fees.

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Contribution Method

Contribution Fee

Transaction Fee (third-party processor)

Check / Wire

None

None

E-Check / ACH

None

Yes

Credit / Debit Card

None

Yes

Cryptocurrency

None

Yes

Publicly Traded Securities

None

None

Nonliquid Gifts

Minimum Stakeholder Grant

None

Credit Card and E-check/ACH Transaction

Credit/debit card and eCheck/ACH transaction fees for fund contributions are charged by our payment processor. The contributor will be receipted for the full amount of the contribution. The fund will reflect the gift amount minus the cost of the fee.

Visa / MasterCard / Discover

American Express

ACH / E-Check

2.2% + $0.30 per transaction

3.5% + $0.30 per transaction

0.8% per transaction with a cap of $5 (no transaction, regardless of amount will be charged more than $5)

Cryptocurrency Transaction Fees

Fund contributions of cryptocurrency are subject to a 2% transaction fee charged by our payment processor. There are no additional fees charged by The Signatry for contributions of cryptocurrency.

Nonliquid Gift Expenses

To offset costs related to accepting a nonliquid gift, funds at The Signatry that receive nonliquid gifts make a minimum stakeholder grant to The Signatry, following a tiered minimum schedule outlined below. If the nonliquid gift is held for longer than one year, an annualized management fee will be assessed according to a tiered schedule starting in the second year the gift is held.

Asset Range

Minimum Stakeholder Grant

Management Fee (for gifts held past 1 year)

Up to $2,999,999

$75,000

75 basis points

$3,000,000 - $4,999,999

$125,000

55 basis points

$5,000,000 - $9,999,999

$150,000

35 basis points

$10,000,000 - $49,999,999

$175,000

25 basis points

$50,000,000 and higher

$300,000

15 basis points

Grant Delivery Requests

Grants through The Signatry are typically paid via ACH transfer to the receiving nonprofit’s bank account. There are no fees for a typical grant payment.

There are occasions where a donor may advise a different method of payment for grants.

Wire Fee

Expedited Physical Check

If a grant delivery is requested via wire, a $25 fee will be assessed.

If a grant is requested to be paid by check via expedited overnight delivery, a $25 fee will be assessed.

Questions? Get in touch with us today.