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Category Archives: Giving
January 10, 2013, 9:14 am
Fiscal-Cliff Tax Deal Expected to Boost Charitable Giving
The income-tax provisions adopted by Congress to avert the year-end “fiscal cliff” will increase charitable giving by an estimated 1.3 percent, or $3.3-billion, in 2013, according to a new Urban Institute analysis.
The boost will come mainly from the decision to increase the top tax bracket from 35 percent to 39.6 percent on income above $400,000 for individuals ($450,000 for married couples), the institute said.
Because the charitable deduction is tied to a person’s tax bracket, those donors will now save $39.60 in taxes for every $100 they give to charity. In other words, their gift will cost them only $60.40, down from $65 under the 35-percent rate.
People in the top 1 percent of income distribution will provide almost all of the higher giving, increasing their donations by an estimated 6.2 percent, the analysis found.
The study also took into account the decision to…
October 18, 2012, 3:09 pm
Council on Foundations Plans to Step Up Advocacy
In an e-mail last night to her group’s membership, Vikki Spruill, the new leader of the Council on Foundations, announced a campaign to convey the value of philanthropy to lawmakers.
She painted a picture of philanthropy under threat from politicians who are looking for new ways to increase revenue.
“Both President Obama and Governor Romney have put forth plans that will affect giving, and Congress is eyeing all tax deductions as potential revenue raisers,” she wrote. “This would be a grave mistake and would negatively affect significant numbers of Americans.”
Since joining the Council in July, Ms. Spruill said, she has assembled a team of “seasoned political strategists, communications tacticians, and tax-policy experts with deep ties to federal policy makers.” The campaign will focus on educating lawmakers at the local, state, and federal levels, she said, showing them how…
April 13, 2012, 1:26 pm
Obamas Gave 22% of Their Income to Charity
President Obama and his wife, Michelle, gave nearly 22 percent of their income to charity in 2011, according to tax returns made public today.
The couple reported $789,674 in income and gave $172,130 to charity.
The largest gift was a $117,130 contribution to the Fisher House Foundation, a group that provides free or low-cost housing to military personnel and their families while they are receiving treatment at military medical centers. Mr. Obama has been giving the charity the after-tax proceeds of the sale of a children’s book he wrote.
The Obamas’ giving represents a bigger share of their income than that of the presumptive Republican nominee for president, Mitt Romney, and his wife, Ann, according to an estimate of their 2011 taxes, released in January. They reported they had given more than 16 percent of their income to charity in 2010 and 2011.
According to the Romney …
January 19, 2012, 8:38 am
Does Charity Advocacy Pay Off?
A study released today from a foundation watchdog group says that advocacy efforts by charities can pay off, to the tune of billions of dollars to communities.
The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy study examined 110 charities in 13 states and found that work such as pushing for more aid to schools and housing for the poor resulted in $26.6-billion in benefits to communities over five years. Money for the campaigns came from foundations and other donors.
The study comes as the watchdog group is urging foundations to step up their spending on efforts to influence public policy and running a campaign called Philanthropy’s Promise, which asks grant makers to commit to devoting at least 25 percent of their grants each year to advocacy.
Altogether, the report said, the charities spent $231-million on efforts to influence policy makers and the public, meaning every $1…
October 26, 2011, 12:05 am
Obama Tax Plan Would Have ‘Modest’ Impact on Giving, New Study Finds
President Obama’s proposal to limit the value of charitable deductions for the wealthy would cost charities less than $1-billion, according to a new study that gives the lowest estimate yet of how the president’s plan would affect donations.
The study, by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, found that charities would face a much larger drop in donations if the proposed cap were combined with Mr. Obama’s proposal to end the Bush-era tax cuts for wealthy people. In that case, gifts by people who itemize their deductions would fall by more than $2-billion, a report on the study said.
The report characterized that as ”a relatively modest decline,” since overall giving to charities totals more than $290-billion. It added, however, that ”disincentives for individuals to engage in charitable giving may place additional strain on the nonprofit sector” at a time when…
October 14, 2011, 2:21 pm
Video: How Much Does the Charitable Deduction Matter?
The Senate’s powerful Finance Committee will play host to a hearing Tuesday that will discuss how some key proposals to change the federal tax code would affect nonprofits.
One of the key topics of discussion at the hearing will be the future of the charitable deduction—the write-offs that high-income people can get for their charitable donations.
The Chronicle recently produced a pair of videos that explain the charitable deduction—and what’s at stake if lawmakers decide to change how the deduction works. You can check them out below.
October 13, 2011, 9:44 am
Senate Hearing Puts Focus on Charitable Deduction
President Obama’s effort to limit deductions for wealthy people, including those for charitable gifts, in his jobs bill may have died last week, but charitable deductions will be front and center in a Capitol Hill hearing next week.
The Senate’s powerful Finance Committee will host a hearing next week that will discuss how some key proposals to change the federal tax code would affect nonprofits.
Testifying at the hearing will be Brian Gallagher, president of United Way Worldwide, and Dallin H. Oaks, a leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Other witnesses include government and college scholars who have examined the charitable deduction.
The hearing will take place Tuesday at 10 a.m. Eastern time and will be broadcast online.
To see more about the charitable deduction, go to this special section of The Chronicle’s Web site.
October 6, 2011, 6:14 pm
Price Tag for Charity Tax Break Loss: at Least $2.9-Billion
President Obama’s plan to limit the value of charitable deductions for wealthy people would cost nonprofits at least $2.9-billion and perhaps as much as $5.6-billion, according to a study to be unveiled Friday.
Economists examined how people would be affected by Mr. Obama’s plan to limit to 28 percent the amount affluent people could write off in all itemized deductions. People in the highest income bracket now can write off 35 percent of their deductions, including those for gifts to charity.
Charities have been strongly opposed to Mr. Obama’s effort to limit the incentive to give, especially at a time when giving has dropped because of the bad economy.
The new research will be presented Friday at a conference by the Urban Institute’s Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy and was one of several forthcoming projects paid for by a $1-million research grant from the Bill &…
October 6, 2011, 9:46 am
State Regulators Grapple With Best Ways to Police Social-Media Appeals
As nonprofits increasingly turn to social-media and mobile tools to raise money, charity regulators are trying to figure out the smartest ways to protect donors from fraud.
The annual gathering of state regulators who monitor charities, held in Silver Spring, Md., this week, was dominated by concerns that the explosion of social networks has created an online fund-raising culture that is akin to the wild west.
The challenge, regulators say, is that the law and the courts haven’t kept up with all the changes, making it difficult for regulators to figure out which groups in their states are raising money online and how best to pursue organizations that defraud charities and donors.
Jeremy Sher, president of the Grassroots Giving Group, a Boston company that is developing an online-giving site, said he shares those concerns, even though regulations would mean more work for groups …
September 15, 2011, 9:32 am
Nonprofits Fight Proposal to Curb Charity Tax Breaks
Nonprofits are gearing up to fight President Obama’s plan to pay for his jobs bill in part by limiting charitable deductions. Mr. Obama wants to limit the amount all wealthy people can write off for charitable gifts as well as housing, medical expenses, and other items.
Nonprofit leaders say that a curb on deductions will stifle giving and that charity write-offs make up only a small percentage of the money the federal treasury loses in deductions by the wealthy.
In 2009, 46.4 million taxpayers claimed the itemized deduction, with the deduction for charitable donations totaling an estimated $158-billion, according to the Internal Revenue Service. That total accounts for 13 percent of all of the itemized deductions claimed that year. By comparison, taxpayers claimed an estimated $442-billion in deductions for mortgage interest and $432 billion for state and local taxes and…
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