February 27, 2009
Is Criticism of Obama's Charity Plan Overblown?
President Obama’s proposal to limit charitable tax deductions for wealthy people is roiling the nonprofit world.
To no surprise, right-leaning blogs are attacking the plan with vitriol. One writer calls it a “war on charity,” and another says the administration is trying to hurt churches and conservative think tanks.
Political charges aside, Charity Navigator, a nonprofit watchdog, is asking how many donors are motivated to make gifts in part because of the tax benefits.
“The data that we have seen over the years has shown a big spike in donations through our site during the last several days of the year, especially on December 31 which of course is the last day to make a qualified tax deductible charitable contribution,” it says on its blog. “This data indicates to us that the tax benefits really do motivate people to donate.”
But John D. Colombo, a law professor at the University of Illinois College of Law, writes that he doesn’t think the Obama plan would hurt giving.
“The actual effect of the change probably isn’t going to be much,” he writes on the Nonprofit Prof Law Blog. “So let’s not turn this into a doomsday scenario, folks. The truth is, if Obama can fix our health-care system, charities as a whole (and everyone else, from GM to the local barbershop) are going to be much better off in the long run.”
To be sure, the Obama proposal may never become reality. As Glenn Thrush, a Politico reporter wrote on the newspaper’s Web site, even Rep. Steny Hoyer, a Democrat from Maryland and the House Majority Leader, “sounded dubious about its prospects.”
Read The Chronicle’s article about concerns being raised about the proposed tax change.
What do you think of the proposal? Discuss how this plan would affect fund raising on The Chronicle’s Forums page or click on the comment button below.
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I would love to see Mr. Columbo’s giving statement. I suspect it is pretty thin.
— Scott Feb 27, 02:46 PM #
I really do not understand qualified professional fund raisers who state over and over again that the President’s tax plan will harm charitable giving. The evidence on this is historically so clear it is astounding. When the top bracket went from 90% to 70% charitable giving INCREASED.
When the top bracket went from 70% to 28% charitable giving INCREASED.
When it went up to 33% and then 36% and then 38% and then back down to where it is now – every single time it remained the same or increased.
And yet there are countless people all over the place crying that no one will give anymore because the big mean communist in Washington is changing tax policy (once again).
Stop it. People give because they want to. Tax policy may determine when and how much. It NEVER determines IF.
And a lot of people give at the end of December because that is when they finally sit down and figure out how much they have to give – not whether or not they’ll give.
President Obama is right about one thing – more adults have to start behaving as adults.
And adult fundraisers who make their careers out of motivating people to give had better stiop whining about how the only thing that matters is tax policy. Who out there actually believes that?
If you do, you need to find a different line of work.
— Sam Prince Feb 27, 06:58 PM #
Thank you, Sam Prince. You saved me writing a response. Well said.
— Hildy Gottlieb Mar 1, 04:45 PM #
Sam Prince is right on! Thank you!
— Jane Flanagan Mar 2, 10:40 AM #
Thank you Sam – well said. We are not fundraisers because of our good looks. We are in development because we are creative and LOVE the adrenaline rush of finding money where there appears to be none!
Tax policies or not!
— Cathie W. Mar 2, 01:45 PM #
“We are in development because we are creative and LOVE the adrenaline rush of finding money where there appears to be none!”
You sound like a sleeze bag sales person. Do you also sell cars on the side?
— SF Mar 3, 07:32 PM #
I am one who is on the borderline of what Obama has determined as “rich”. I am a small business owener supplying products to the textile industry. There are many of us whose income varies year to year depending on the success of our small businesses that are just above the $250K threshold for increased taxes. This is mainly due to our status as “S” corporations whose income flows through to the business owners. For us, the tax increases will have a major impact as we struggle to keep our employees and deal with a declining economy. Contrary to popular belief, the vast majority of those that will feel the effect of these changes are not “super wealthy”. At our level, these new taxes will impact our ability to do many things, including hiring new employees and contributing to charity. I am give regularly to my church and other charitable organizations both personally and through my business. The Obama tax hikes will impact how much I give and primarily, to what organizations I give. I will continue to support my church and other fiath organizations my family supports out of my religeous convictions. But, it will have a big impact on my giving decisions when it comes to charitable contributions to secular organizations that my family supports such as educational foundations, the arts, and so forth.
I believe the tax hikes will not impact giveing to charities that are faith based. But giving to secular philanthropies will suffer.
— Jeff Mar 27, 08:05 AM #