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You opened your DAF because you believed in something.Now it's sitting in the S&P.
What if it backed a founder pulling clean water from air?
Or building the first non-surgical endometriosis diagnostic?
Or redirecting retail returns to the schools that need them?
Works with your existing DAF sponsor
Fidelity CharitableSchwab CharitableVanguard CharitablePrudential / PGIMBNY Mellon CharitableGoldman Sachs PhilanthropyMorgan Stanley GIFTNational Philanthropic TrustAmerican Endowment FoundationGreater Horizonsand 100+ other DAF sponsors
You got the tax break. Then nothing happened.
Your accountant recommended a DAF. Money went in. Deduction taken. Done.
Then it sat. Most of it parked in the stock market, quietly backing companies you'd never pick yourself.
Nobody told you there was another option.
That's not your fault. It was too hard. Until now.
Your easy button for funding the future.
A Play Money Personal Impact Fund lets you back early-stage startups with your DAF. No fund manager. No foundation. No full-time commitment.
You've been sitting on capital that could change things. Let's go change them.
Fund what matters to you.
Climate. Women's health. Diverse founders. Impact with upside.
Sourced and backed by fund managers and domain experts who see what the rest of the market misses.
Don't see your thing? Bring a deal and fund it with friends.
Mothership
Agricultural waste to power the bioeconomy.
Bold Reuse
Reusable packaging for enterprise foodservice.
Aquaria
Reliable, abundant, clean water right where you need it — made from the air.
LiquiDonate
Matches and moves excess inventory and customer returns to the nonprofits and schools that need them.
How it works
Three steps
(we told you it was easy)
Step 1
Tell us you're in.
Fill out a short form. We'll send you the grant paperwork and answer any questions. It takes about a minute.
Step 2
Fund your fund.
Grant from your DAF to Inspire Access, our 501(c)(3) partner. When your grant arrives, your Personal Impact Fund is live.
Step 3
Back what you believe in.
Invest in one company or build a portfolio. Returns recycle into your next investment or back to your DAF.
People who've already made the switch.
We can now be active stewards of those DAF funds, by angel investing in entrepreneurs who are solving problems that matter.
Paul S.
Managing Director, Snapdragon Group LLC
I had capital sitting in my DAF with no clear plan for it — this gave me a way to put it to work in companies I actually believe in.
Beth L.
Marketing Consultant
When I signed in it felt like, Oh my Gosh! There is a whole new world out there, and it's just being served up and democratized, which is a really beautiful thing. Play Money is a game-changer!
Wendy Y.
Public Company President & Board Member
None of my Angel List syndicates or funds are delivering deal flow like this! How are you doing it? I am allocating more of my budget to Play Money.
Anonymous
Experienced Angel & LP
For advisors
The shortest advisor conversation you'll ever have.
Your Play Money Personal Impact Fund is a charitable grant. Your DAF makes a contribution to Inspire Access, a 501(c)(3), the same way it would grant to any nonprofit. Your advisor doesn't need to evaluate deals, do legal paperwork or educate you about angel investing.
Play Money handles all of that.
FAQ
How does this work? Can DAF money really invest in startups?
Yes. Your DAF makes a grant to Inspire Access, a 501(c)(3) whose mission is investing in underrepresented founders and fund managers. Every startup investment on Play Money runs through an SPV, a mini-investment fund for one company. The fund manager on each one is a woman. That means every deal on the platform is automatically eligible for DAF capital.
There's no extra paperwork and no additional approvals required on your end. You tell us which companies and how much, and we handle the rest. Returns stay charitable: recycle into new investments or return to your DAF. The full guide to investing with a DAF →
What kinds of startups are on Play Money, and how do I know they're good?
Opportunities span multiple industries and stages, available exclusively to accredited investors. Every deal is sourced by a professional fund manager or angel group that did the diligence and invested their own capital. We curate for quality and fit, and we disclose everything, including the hairy parts. Down round? We'll tell you. First-time founder? You'll know. Our job is to create a clean, well-lit platform. Browse the current deal flow →
I already have a DAF — what am I committing to with Inspire Access and Play Money?
You are not opening a new DAF. You're using your existing DAF to make a philanthropic grant to Inspire Access, a 501(c)(3). From there, you direct the dollars on the Play Money platform.
Instead of leaving your DAF balance to grow in a money market or index fund — paying AUM fees to your sponsor every year — your capital goes to work for early-stage founders, with you choosing every investment.
Which DAF sponsors work with this?
All major sponsors. Inspire Access is a registered charity and shows up in the grant dropdown at Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, and 100+ others.
How long does it take for my Personal Impact Fund to be set up?
Your side takes about 10 minutes. DAF sponsors can take one to three weeks to process the grant. Once Inspire Access receives it, your Personal Impact Fund activates within days.
Can I use DAF and personal funds on Play Money?
Yes. You can invest with DAF funds, taxable funds, or retirement funds. Each investment is funded from one source, but nothing stops you from making multiple investments in the same company from different sources.
Is this tax-deductible?
No. Your tax deduction was already taken when you funded your DAF. Grants out of your DAF — including grants to Inspire Access — are not separately deductible.
What happens if a startup exits?
Returns flow back to Inspire Access on your behalf. From there, you choose: redeploy the capital into another investment on Play Money, recommend it to a different mission-aligned fund manager through Inspire Access, or return it to your original DAF sponsor.
Either way, the capital stays charitable.
Does the founder have to do anything different?
No. Every deal on Play Money is already structured for this.
What are the fees?
When you create your Personal Impact Fund, you will pay a 3% one-time setup fee to Inspire Access. There are no annual management fees and no Assets Under Management (AUM) fees. Your DAF sponsor charges an annual management fee on your balance. The Inspire Access fee is one-time, and the math on that comparison gets better every year you hold.
Play Money is free to join. You can browse deals, watch pitches, and read diligence materials for free. When you invest, Play Money charges a 10% platform fee, capped at $1,500.
What's the minimum?
It takes $25K to open a Personal Impact Fund. After that, you can invest in any deal on the platform from $1,000, and you can top up your fund anytime with another DAF grant.
Is anyone else doing this?
Yes — a small set of trailblazing 501(c)(3) intermediaries have been mobilizing DAF capital into private markets for years: Realize Impact, ImpactAssets, Prime Coalition, CataCap. Inspire Access is part of that lineage.
What's different here is the friction. Those programs typically require $25K to $50K minimums per individual startup investment, custom paperwork from each founder, and several weeks to several months of process per deal. Play Money drops the per-deal minimum to $1,000, and every company on the platform is already structured to accept DAF capital — no extra work from the founder, no waiting. Read more on the blog →