PCA Foundation

What PCA Foundation does

PCA Foundation (legal name: Presbyterian Church in America Foundation, Inc.) is a Georgia-incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit established circa 1980 as a ministry of the Presbyterian Church in America, headquartered in Lawrenceville, GA with approximately 14 staff. The organization facilitates tax-efficient charitable giving for individual Christians, PCA churches, and affiliated ministries through a suite of donor-advised fund products (Advise & Consult Fund, Increase Fund, Single Charity Fund, Charitable Purpose Fund) and complex gift vehicles (non-cash assets including real estate, private business interests, and appreciated securities; charitable remainder and lead trusts; IRA rollovers; bequests; and charitable estate planning).

The Foundation's operating support comes from tiered balance-based fund management charges (75 bps on balances of $1K-$250K, scaling down to 15 bps above $5M), trustee fees on split-interest trusts and endowments, complex gift processing fees of 1% of fair market value (capped at $3,000-$120,000), third-party investment manager fees (e.g., 41 bps by Synovus), and direct contributions designated for operations. Distribution occurs via a self-serve donor portal (Spectrum/Blackbaud), direct website onboarding, church-hosted Smart Giving Workshops, partnerships with church-planting networks (Manifold Vision, The Detroit Project), and a professional advisor channel targeting financial advisors, estate planners, and CPAs.

Over 45 years, PCAF has distributed more than $492M to churches and ministries, with grants through donor-advised funds alone exceeding $271M to more than 3,300 ministries. The Foundation reported record gifts received and granted in 2025, added four staff members that year, and offers a free devotional program that has circulated 110,000+ copies in multiple languages, reflecting an active growth trajectory within the PCA denominational ecosystem.

Name

PCA Foundation

Legal name

Presbyterian Church in America Foundation, Inc.

Website

https://pcafoundation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PCA Foundation is a Georgia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, established ~1980, that facilitates tax-efficient charitable giving for Presbyterian Church in America donors through donor-advised funds, complex non-cash gifts, and trusts, having distributed over $492M historically to 3,300+ ministries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Giving Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

Keywords

• Donor-advised funds
• Charitable giving services
• Planned giving services
• Non-cash asset donations
• Charitable estate planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Lawrenceville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Fund Management Charges and Trustee Fees: The Foundation's operating support comes primarily from investment earnings, fund charges, and trustee fees assessed on various fund types including Increase Funds, Designated Funds, split-interest trusts (CRTs and CLTs), endowments, and invested Single Charity Funds. Charges are tiered based on balance levels.
2. Direct Charitable Contributions for Operations: The Foundation also receives contributions directly designated for operating costs from donors who choose to support the Foundation's operations in addition to their charitable giving.
3. Complex Gift Processing Fees: An operational grant request of 1% of fair market value of the donated asset for complex gifts, with a minimum charge of $3,000 and a maximum charge of $120,000. Applies to non-cash assets such as real estate and privately-held business interests.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

PCA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation that facilitates tax-efficient charitable giving for Christians, primarily within the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) denomination. It operates donor-advised funds, processes complex non-cash gifts (real estate, private business interests, appreciated securities), and administers charitable trusts, IRA rollovers, and bequests. The Foundation distributes grants to PCA-affiliated churches, ministries, and Christian nonprofits.

Product overview

The PCA Foundation operates as a donor-driven foundation serving the Presbyterian Church in America, offering a comprehensive suite of charitable giving products centered around donor-advised funds. The core offerings include the Advise & Consult Fund (fee-free), Increase Fund (pooled investment), Single Charity Fund, and Charitable Purpose Fund. The foundation specializes in complex giving strategies including non-cash assets (real estate, private business interests, appreciated securities), charitable trusts (remainder and lead), IRA rollovers, and bequests. Additional services encompass church-specific solutions (online giving, designated funds), investment pool options (Capital Preservation, Balanced, Growth), the Smart Giving Workshop educational program, and free devotional resources. Donors access their accounts through a secure online portal for grant management. The foundation distributes grants to churches, ministries, and Christian organizations advancing God's Kingdom.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Advise & Consult Fund®: A donor-advised fund with $0 fees, online access, and donor-advised grants. The foundation's foundational tool for facilitating charitable giving.
• Increase Fund
• Single Charity Fund

Products and services

• Advise & Consult Fund A donor-advised fund with $0 fees and online donor portal access that allows individual Christian donors to make charitable contributions, receive immediate tax deductions, and recommend grants to charities over time. The Foundation's foundational giving product.
• Increase Fund An investment-focused donor-advised fund that allows donors to grow charitable contributions through pooled investment options (Capital Preservation, Balanced, Growth) before distributing grants to charities. Subject to tiered balance-based annual charges.
• Single Charity Fund A donor-advised fund that directs all grants to a single, pre-designated charitable organization. Targeted at donors who have identified a specific charity to support.
• Charitable Purpose Fund A fund type for directing grants to a specific charitable purpose or field of interest rather than a single organization.
• Non-Cash Gift Facilitation Facilitation of donations of non-liquid assets including real estate, privately-held business interests, and appreciated securities. Includes tax-efficient strategies such as avoidance of capital gains tax and doubling the charitable deduction through non-cash contributions. Complex gifts carry a 1% FMV operational grant request fee with $3,000 minimum and $120,000 maximum.
• Public Stocks, Funds & Bonds Giving Donation of publicly traded securities, mutual funds, and bonds with avoidance of capital gains tax on appreciated positions.
• IRA Charitable Rollover Qualified Charitable Distributions from Individual Retirement Accounts for donors aged 70½ or older, enabling tax-advantaged direct transfers to the Foundation.
• Charitable Remainder Trust A split-interest trust that pays income to donors or named beneficiaries for life or a term of years before distributing the remainder to charity through the Foundation.
• Charitable Lead Trust A split-interest trust that pays income to the PCA Foundation for charity for a defined period before returning the remaining assets to donors or beneficiaries.
• Bequests Planned giving through wills and estate plans, including specific, percentage, residual, and contingent bequest options leaving assets to the Foundation.
• Online Giving for Churches A digital giving platform offered to PCA churches to accept congregational donations including cash, checks, and non-cash assets through the Foundation's infrastructure.
• Designated Funds for Churches Pooled investment funds offered to PCA churches with designated investment strategies and tiered balance-based charges to grow church assets.

Quantifiable outcome

• Distributed over $492M to churches and ministries across 45 years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Sola MediaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Founded in 1990 by theologian Dr. Michael Horton, Sola Media produces resources for reformation grounded in the historic Christian faith. PCA Foundation partnered with Sola Media in 2025 to co-create the generosity devotional 'The Gifts of God.' Content authored by PCA and Sola Media-connected candidates and elders, available in English, Korean, and Spanish.
• Manifold VisioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChurch planting network whose mission is to plant confessional PCA churches in America's urban communities. The PCA Foundation partners with Manifold Vision to open doors to generosity beyond the zip codes Manifold Vision serves, enabling donors across the country to support urban church planting through tax-efficient non-cash gifts.
• The Detroit ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChurch planting network using a missionary model to place pastors and families directly in communities they intend to serve, with a vision of 35 churches planted by 2035 (9 already planted). The Foundation enables The Detroit Project to involve the whole Church in their mission by accepting diverse donation types including money, property, stock, and business interests.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Signatry: A Christian DAF sponsor offering donor-advised funds, complex-gift facilitation, and global kingdom-giving strategies. PCAF staff member Nick Shimoda previously served as VP and Deputy General Counsel at The Signatry, and the two compete directly in the evangelical/Christian DAF market.
• National Christian Foundation: The largest Christian donor-advised fund sponsor in the U.S., offering DAFs, complex-gift services, and giving strategy to Christian donors across denominations. PCAF President Tim Townsend previously spent 13 years on NCF's executive team, and the two compete directly for Christian high-net-worth donors seeking faith-aligned giving vehicles.
• Christian Community Foundation: A community-based Christian foundation offering DAFs, complex-gift services, and giving strategy to Christian donors. Operates in the same faith-aligned DAF category as PCAF, with comparable services tailored to a Christian donor base.
• Barnabas Foundation: A Christian charitable giving foundation that facilitates donor-advised funds, complex gifts, and estate planning for faith-driven donors. Operates in the same faith-aligned DAF and giving-strategy category as PCAF, with comparable service offerings and donor persona.
• The Maclellan Foundation: A Christian family foundation that operates giving programs, DAFs, and grantmaking services for evangelical Christian donors. Overlaps with PCAF's faith-aligned DAF and complex-gift facilitation offering, with a comparable donor persona of high-net-worth Christians.

Others

• Generous Giving: A generosity movement organization that educates Christians on biblical generosity and giving strategy. Adjacent ecosystem participant to PCAF rather than a direct competitor; helps cultivate the same donor base of generous Christians that PCAF serves with DAF products.

Broad incumbents

• Fidelity Charitable: The largest DAF sponsor in the U.S. with tens of billions in DAF assets, operated as a public charity within the Fidelity Investments ecosystem. Competes with PCAF for donor dollars but lacks faith-alignment or doctrinal restrictions on grants, making it the dominant secular alternative.
• Schwab Charitable: A large DAF sponsor affiliated with Charles Schwab, managing significant DAF assets with integration into Schwab brokerage accounts. Competes with PCAF for donor-advised fund dollars with similar product structure but without the faith-aligned grant distribution guarantees.
• National Philanthropic Trust: One of the largest independent DAF sponsors in the U.S., managing billions in DAF assets and offering donor-advised funds to a broad donor base. While not denominationally focused, it competes for the same donor dollars and offers similar DAF and complex-gift infrastructure as PCAF.

Emerging players

• Daffy: A newer digital-first DAF platform targeting everyday givers with a modern UX and lower friction. While not faith-aligned, it competes for donor-advised fund dollars from younger and middle-income donors who might otherwise use traditional DAF sponsors like PCAF.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pca-foundation
• Xx.com/PCAFGenerosity
• Facebookfacebook.com/Pcafoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PCA Foundation