Apra Maryland: Report on the 117th Congress
Apra Maryland
Professional development network for Maryland-area fundraising professionals who harness information and data.
Dear Apra Maryland members,
Apra Maryland is the professional development and networking resource for Maryland-area fundraising professionals who harness information and data to drive philanthropy. A non-partisan 501(c)6 #nonprofit, Apra Maryland is a chapter of Apra International with 160 members. We advocate on issues that affect the ability of Apra Maryland to advance its mission, Apra Maryland members, and the wider Maryland professional fundraising community.
The 117th Congress began its first session on January 3, 2021 and concluded its second on January 3, 2023. With the advice of its Advocacy Committee, Apra Maryland most notably supported three and monitored two federal policies this session.?
Non-Itemizer Charitable Deduction
Supporting charitable giving incentives continued as the overall public policy priority of Apra Maryland during the 117th Congress. According to the Q3 2022 Fundraising Effectiveness Project Quarterly Fundraising Report, total dollars fundraised are up 4.7% (behind the rate of inflation) while donors are down 7.1% from 2022 compared to 2021. The bipartisan Universal Giving Pandemic Response and Recovery Act (S.618/H.R.1704) would have created a 2022 charitable deduction for all taxpayers equivalent to one-third of the standard deduction. Apra Maryland strongly supported S.618/H.R.1704 with an amendment for an indefinite universal charitable deduction. Later in the session, advocates including Apra Maryland prioritized the inclusion of a non-itemizer charitable deduction in a year-end spending package. Unfortunately, partisan disagreement on how to legislate tax provisions at year-end meant a set of tax proposals, including the one designed to boost giving was left behind. Reinstatement of a non-itemizer charitable deduction will be difficult but not impossible in the 118th Congress. Apra Maryland will continue its advocacy for a non-itemizer charitable deduction as we believe all taxpayers, not just the few that itemize, should be incentivized to support nonprofits in their communities.
IRA Charitable Rollover
The IRA Charitable Rollover is an income tax deduction for individuals 70 ? years of age or older making contributions up to $100,000 annually to charities from their individual retirement accounts (IRA.) The bipartisan Legacy IRA Act (S.243) would have extended the IRA Charitable Rollover by allowing seniors starting at age 65 to make IRA Charitable Rollovers of up to $400,000 annually through a direct cash gift, a charitable gift annuity or a charitable remainder trust. Apra Maryland supported the IRA Legacy Act and provisions allowing payouts from IRAs to charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, and charitable remainder annuity trusts, capped at $50,000 were included in the Securing a Strong Retirement Act (SECURE 2.0, H.R. 2954), now law with our support.
Nonprofit Strength and Partnership Act
The Nonprofit Strength and Partnership Act (H.R.7587) was a wide-reaching bill intended to provide nonprofits a “#SeatAtTheTable” of federal policymaking. Apra Maryland supported the Nonprofit Strength and Partnership Act. While the bill saw little action in the 117th Congress, $9 million was allocated to the Bureau of Labor Statistics to include nonprofit organizations as a distinct category of employer in Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) reports. We look forward to the reintroduction of the Nonprofit Strength and Partnership Act in the 118th Congress.
Donor Advised Fund Regulation
The Accelerating Charitable Efforts (ACE) Act would have modified tax rules relating to donor advised funds (DAFs) with the intention of incentivizing payouts. Apra Maryland did not adopt a position on the ACE Act and the bill saw little action in the 117th Congress. Donor advised funds remain a controversial topic in the nonprofit sector and philanthropy. Should the regulation of donor advised funds be revisited by the 118th Congress, Apra Maryland may reconsider its position.
领英推荐
American Data Privacy and Protection Act
The American Data Privacy and Protection Act was intended as a wide-reaching consumer data protection and privacy law. Covered entities, explicitly including nonprofits, would have had a legal duty to implement reasonable policies, practices, and procedures for collecting, processing, and transferring covered data. Individuals would have had the right to access, correct, and delete covered data that pertains to them. Third-party collecting entities that process covered data of more than 5,000 individuals would have been required to annually register with the FTC. Covered entities would have been prohibited from collecting, processing, or transferring covered data in a manner that discriminates. Large data holders that use algorithms would have been required to assess their algorithms annually and submit annual algorithmic impact assessments to the FTC and mitigate algorithmic harms related to advertising for housing, education, employment, healthcare, insurance, or credit, access to or restrictions on places of public accommodation, and any disparate impact based on an individual’s race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability status. Apra Maryland will monitor for the reintroduction of the American Data Privacy and Protection Act in the 118th Congress.
Conclusion
Thank you to the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP Global) , Charitable Giving Coalition , Maryland Nonprofits , and members of the Apra Maryland Advocacy Committee for their continued support for the engagement of Apra Maryland in public policy:
We look forward to working with policymakers and fundraising, nonprofit, and philanthropy advocates to advance the mission of Apra Maryland, Apra Maryland members, and the Maryland professional fundraising community during the 118th Congress.
Sincerely,
Conner Wolfe
Advocacy Committee Chair
Apra Maryland