Fourth Time's the Charm
Hi everyone,?
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Not much legislation seems to make it to the president’s desk these days, even bipartisan bills. Sadly, this will probably hold true for the?Charitable Act?(née the?Universal Giving Pandemic Response and Recovery Act). This piece of legislation has been proposed for the last three congresses, and is now making a fourth run at passage.
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The bill seeks to restore the non-itemizer charitable deduction, and raise the caps from $300 for individuals and $600 for joint filers to $4,600 for individuals and $9,200 for joint filers.
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Clearly, it would be a huge win for nonprofits as well as taxpayers. Nonprofits would see a significant increase in the dollars donated by individuals that do not itemize their taxes. And it would create a bit more equity for those taxpayers, too.
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And there’s?proof it will work. In 2020, Congress enacted temporary non-itemizer deductions, and more than 42 million taxpayers participated, generating $10.9 billion in charitable giving that year.
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And while the bill is bipartisan in sponsorship, I don’t hold out much hope that it will pass. In the current?anti-ESG climate, with culture wars infiltrating the social impact sector, I fear nonprofits themselves will become the next targets of outrage over their so-called wokeness. It won’t be long before large groups are calling for the elimination of the nonprofit tax status altogether.
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But hope reigns eternal, and I am recklessly optimistic. My spouse reminds me of this every time there’s a miniscule chance of snow here in Arkansas.
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But the nonprofit sector could really use a snow day. So here’s to reckless optimism.
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I’m spending this week at the?NGMA Annual Grants Training?conference, attended mostly by government grantmakers and the nonprofits who receive those grants. There are over a thousand attendees, and I really love the sessions (even though government grantmaking is the pinnacle of complexity — or dare I say,?bureaucracy).
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If you are one of those nonprofits about to undertake the ‘single audit’ here’s a southernism for you:?bless your heart! (and call our friends at?BDO, they can help.)
Sam Caplan
Vice President of Social Impact
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