Giving Compass' Take:

• This Trib Live post explores donor-advised funds (DAFs) as an attractive tool of philanthropy, offering some tax perks coupled with a "relatively hassle-free" giving experience.

• Among the criticisms of DAFs is a lack of transparency and accountability. Many donors can get the benefits without having to distribute money. How can we address these concerns?

• Here's why impact investing may be the next big thing for DAFs.

For Marie Stapinski, giving isn’t necessarily tied to the holidays.

Throughout the year, she reviews lists of needs across the Pittsburgh region’s human services, education and arts sectors and meets with community advisers to narrow down her options. With that information, she periodically doles out grants of $1,000 to more than $15,000 to nonprofits whose work she believes in and whose leaders can produce evidence of their impact.

Stapinski doesn’t make spending decisions for a nonprofit or a foundation, nor does she merely cut checks for charity on her own.

She controls a donor-advised fund — the fastest-growing vehicle in U.S. philanthropy.

“It’s sort of like being Santa Claus all year long , ” said Stapinski, 38, of Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood.

Read the full article about how donor-advised funds is changing philanthropy by Natasha Lindstrom at TribLIVE.