Before his death in 2000, Daniels spent his final years carefully defining the specific funding areas he wished to support through his foundation, the geographic regions that would benefit from that support, and the percentage of funding allocated for each region.

Following Bill Daniels' direction, the Daniels Fund provides grants to nonprofit organizations, awards college scholarships through two distinct programs, and operates an ethics initiative to promote principle-based ethics.

As decided by Mr. Daniels, each year, approximately 70% of charitable allocations are made through the Daniels Fund Grants Program in the funding areas that he defined for the foundation: Aging, Alcoholism & Substance Abuse, Amateur Sports, Disabilities, Early Childhood Education, Ethics & Integrity in Education, Homeless & Disadvantaged, K-12 Education Reform, and Youth Development.

Boundless Opportunity Scholarships support non-traditional students such as adult learners, GED recipients, former foster care youth, former juvenile justice youth, veterans, and students participating in ROTC on campus.

Each of the Ethics Initiative's eight components utilizes a specific approach to reach its target audience.