I am considering starting a donor advised fund this year from which to pay my annual synagogue membership dues in future years. This way I can front load my income tax charitable deduction in a high income year (25% federal bracket + 9.3% state bracket) and use the money in my FIRE years (low tax bracket and/or no itemized deduction). Does this strategy make sense or there any hidden "gotchas"? Has anyone done this or something similar?
IRS has ruled that synagogue dues (but NOT tuition fees) are allowable as charitable deductions, but I have not found definitive documentation that IRS allows synagogue dues to be paid out of a DAF. (I have found a few random internet sources but nothing really official-looking.) Other concerns are that the DAF organization (which in fact has total legal control of the money) could say "no, we won't do that, pick another use for the money", IRS interpretation could change, or the money might not be recognized by my synagogue as a donation on my behalf. I'm wondering if you folks have answers to any of these concerns.
I am also thinking about which DAF manager to pick. I've seen somewhere that Vanguard offers this, but that the minimum initial contribution has to be at least $25,000 (I am looking for something more like $10,000 this year, possibly the same amount again for the next few years depending on circumstances.) Recommendations? Any particular things to watch out for?