Chariot
“Can DAF giving be turned into a one-click payment option and become the default financial infrastructure for the $326B donor-advised fund market?”
Founded2022
HQNew York, NY
FoundersSalo Serfati, Aaron Kahane, Drew Schneider
Total raised$15.1M
IndustryVertical SaaS / Nonprofits
The story
Chariot was founded in 2022 by Salo Serfati, Aaron Kahane and Drew Schneider (YC-backed) to build a DAF payment option — 'DAFpay' — so donors could give from Donor-Advised Funds as easily as with a credit card. It has since evolved from a single payment option into a broader financial infrastructure layer for the nonprofit sector, adding a Chariot Deposit Account (via Column N.A.), Gift Processing to unify offline gifts, and Disbursements for grant payments. Not to be confused with the earlier Chariot commuter shuttle startup acquired by Ford in 2016 — that is a distinct company.
Product timeline
2022
Founded and accepted into Y Combinator with the idea of a DAF payment option· pivot
2023
Launched DAFpay, the first DAF payment option embedded on nonprofit donation forms· banking
2024
Launched DAF Day nationwide activation with major nonprofits including ACLU, American Cancer Society· pivot
2025
DAFpay named one of TIME's Best Inventions 2025; recognized by Fast Company Most Innovative Companies· pivot
2025
Expanded to full financial infrastructure: Gift Processing platform, Disbursements, and Chariot Deposit Accounts via Column N.A.· banking
The stack
5 layers disclosed in Chariot’s embedded-finance stack
Payments / PSP
Money movement
in the full report
Banking / BaaS
in the full report
Sponsor bank
in the full report
Accounting
in the full report
Accounting gap: minor
10 more providers across 4 layers, with confidence-scored evidence and source URLs, are in the Embedded Finance Index report.