Zelle and Bank of America announced the first-of-its-kind use of the American digital payments network to allow charitable disbursements from Donor Advised Funds (DAFs). This replaces the multi-week paper-based process, allowing non-profits to receive charitable grant funding in near real-time using the Zelle network.
The new capability is part of the network’s innovation agenda titled “Zelle Forward.” The digital payments network is working with financial institutions to explore ways to expand the innovation into new, practical use cases. According to Zelle, Americans now send more than USD 1.2 trillion annually using the platform, increasingly relying on it for daily needs like rent and childcare.
“Bank of America is introducing the new DAF proof of concept through the bank’s Charitable Gift Fund, the bank’s donor advised fund, enabling donors to send charitable grants to a list of preapproved nonprofit organisations through Zelle for a speedier, secure delivery that may enable the flow of charitable dollars from regular, planned giving to immediate needs such as natural disasters and community-level crises, providing access to resources by nonprofits on demand,” the financial venture said in a press note.
The initial proof of concept is with the Bank of America Charitable Gift Fund. The ultimate goal is to enable broader use by financial institutions that offer Zelle and have donor-advised fund programmes.
“Zelle is a staple of the American economy, and Americans are ready for it to do more. Through Zelle Forward, we are advancing practical new applications of the Zelle network, and this charitable grant delivery capability represents the first of many ways Zelle will continue to innovate and grow. By bringing the speed and reliability of Zelle to charitable grant delivery, we are helping funds reach nonprofits faster so organisations can stay focused on their missions,” Denise Leonhard, general manager of Zelle, said.
The “Charitable Gift Fund” at Bank of America offers customers a structured, adaptable, and tax-efficient way to support the causes they are passionate about. Donors can include family members, invest for possible long-term effects, and provide a range of assets. The Charitable Gift Fund gave nonprofits more than 100,000 grants totalling more than USD 1.3 billion in 2025 alone.
“For nonprofits, deploying their resources quickly and effectively matters – whether responding to community needs or scaling vital services. By partnering with Zelle to develop this innovation, we’re giving both donors and nonprofits a more modern and responsive way to take in and make use of charitable contributions. This advancement strengthens our clients’ ability to support the causes they care about and accelerates the impact of nonprofits,” remarked Donald Greene, Donor-advised Fund Executive, Bank of America Private Bank.