John,
Here is the information I received from the Giving Block. Lots of word salad but explains where they are coming from. No, I haven't contacted Chariot because we only have an incidental relationship with them in that we have a relationship with Giving Block, and they decided to contract with Chariot for the DAF functionality. The Chariot DAF functionality exists for us but has scarcely, if ever been used by our donors. It was mostly "throw-in functionality" added to our core service relationship of receiving crypto. So, not investing too much more into it. See the explanation below:
"I definitely understand the hesitation to share this type of sensitive information. Unfortunately, it is part of the upgraded compliance protocol Chariot instituted. It comes after a lot of work by their legal and compliance team, in partnership with their various financial institutions and community foundation partners.
Identify verification of a control person is a standard requirement for payment gateways, done as part of the federal legal requirements for Know Your Client "KYC" checks. One of the legal requirements is that Chariot collects the SSN or ITIN of every customer during the onboarding process to help verify their identity. This information is used by their identity verification provider, Footprint, to run their KYC checks. Footprint also takes this very seriously and stores all data in secure enclaves.
Most importantly, Chariot added these checks to make sure they know that only your organization can get access to the data and payments that can arrive to you via Chariot."
Thanks,
John Smilde
Director of Development Operations | Cato Institute
1000 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001
jsmilde@cato.org
202.216.1451
Original Message:
Sent: 3/3/2026 9:47:00 AM
From: John Taylor
Subject: RE: Chariot DAF Portal (SSN requirement)
That makes no sense, John. They are still distributing funds with or without the SSN. Have you contacted Chariot directly to get a fuller explanation?
John Taylor Principal, John H. Taylor Consulting, LLC 919.816.5903 Big ideas; small keyboard
Original Message:
Sent: 3/3/2026 9:16:00 AM
From: John Smilde
Subject: RE: Chariot DAF Portal (SSN requirement)
Hi Martha,
I did reach out to Giving Block, the organization that connects us to Chariot. They indicated that, if we aren't willing to provide the info, we will eventually just get paper checks for DAF gifts with a fee of 10% capped at $25. Not sure if that constitutes an easier (or better) way in your view, but it is an alternative. I also don't know if that fee applies to all situations/organizations since our direct relationship is with Giving Block, who is then using Chariot.
Thanks,
John Smilde
Director of Development Operations | Cato Institute
1000 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001
jsmilde@cato.org
202.216.1451
Original Message:
Sent: 3/2/2026 7:19:00 PM
From: Martha Lauria
Subject: RE: Chariot DAF Portal (SSN requirement)
That is correct, CJ.
At our organization, either the CFO or the President is the account owner for the merchant gateway and they were required to share personal credentials (SSN or Driver's License) in addition to EIN and 501c3 letter for both PayPal and Stripe. The account owner can then add other users for day-to-day access and reporting.
There should be an easier way.
Best, Martha
The Legal Defense Fund
New York, NY
Original Message:
Sent: 3/2/2026 12:08:00 PM
From: CJ Jones
Subject: RE: Chariot DAF Portal (SSN requirement)
I think with Chariot, you have to supply the EIN in addition to the SSN for whoever the person is that will serve as the
account owner/control person. We considered signing up at one point but did not go through with it. At a previous organization, we had to do a similar process to implement PayPal.
Original Message:
Sent: 3/2/2026 11:55:00 AM
From: John Taylor
Subject: RE: Chariot DAF Portal (SSN requirement)
Yes, that is what I am suggesting, and if that does not work, call the vendor.
Only Venmo, back in the day, required an SSN before allowing nonprofit organizations to create an account. I've haven't found a vendor that refused an EIN yet (but some need a "talking to." For DAFs, they only need to verify that the payment is made to a qualified organization. An EIN does that.
John
John H. Taylor, PrincipalJohn H. Taylor Consulting, LLC
2604 Sevier Street
Durham, NC 27705
919.816.5903 (cell/text)
Serving the Advancement Community Since 1987
Original Message:
Sent: 3/2/2026 11:39:00 AM
From: Karen Sims-Harrell
Subject: RE: Chariot DAF Portal (SSN requirement)
Hello,
I am curious to know how other colleagues get around this requested requirement. Fidelity Marketplace requires an SSN for logins with Stripe and I believe Paypal has very personal identification rules for individuals as well. I am unsure of others, but I know they exist.
@John are you saying to just provide the EIN instead of the SSN when they request those details?
Karen
Karen A. Sims-Harrell, M.Ed.
Director, Advancement Gift Processing
National Geographic Society
Advancement Operations
Original Message:
Sent: 3/2/2026 10:16:00 AM
From: John Taylor
Subject: RE: Chariot DAF Portal (SSN requirement)
You should be able to provide your EIN. That is a fairly common requirement for many funders. I would not share an employees SSN.
John Taylor Principal, John H. Taylor Consulting, LLC 919.816.5903 Big ideas; small keyboard
Original Message:
Sent: 3/2/2026 10:12:00 AM
From: James Holzbach
Subject: Chariot DAF Portal (SSN requirement)
Has anyone felt uncomfortable providing their SSN # to Chariot in order to facilitate receiving a DAF payment? We aren't Chariot customers, but a donor has facilitated a gift to our university through them and will not transfer funds to us without our signing up Chariot with our employee's SSN for the person. Our other DAF providers (Fidelity, Vanguard, etc.) never request this. Is this a legit request to protect their interest/security, but then potentially put our employee's SSN at risk?
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James Holzbach
Trinity University
jholzbac@trinity.edu
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