Washington Snapshot - November 15, 2013
Charitable Giving Coalition D.C. Fly-In
The Charitable Giving Coalition D.C. Fly-In is next Wednesday, November 20th! We look forward to seeing some of you very soon!
If you can’t join us in person on Capitol Hill but want to help get our message across, we encourage you to help protect charitable giving in other ways, like signing the Charitable Giving Coalition’s Change.Org petition. The petition asks the President and Congress to preserve the charitable deduction in its current form as they negotiate on the deficit and consider comprehensive tax reform. It also allows you to include a comment telling policymakers why the deduction is critical to your organization and those you serve.
Lawmakers Huddle on Tax Reform
Yesterday, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI-4) met with House Speaker John Boehner and other Republican leaders to discuss Camp’s plan to mark up a tax reform bill by the end of the year. Speaker Boehner told reporters that the meeting was not about asking Chairman Camp to put his tax reform plans on hold while the Affordable Care Act rollout dominates political discourse, though some are speculating that this may be the case. Chairman Camp has acknowledged that it will be very challenging to mark up a bill this year, but insists that he is still committed to making progress on tax reform in 2013.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) also remains steadfast in tax reform goal. He planned to sit down with Finance Committee members on his tax reform discussion drafts this week, but has postponed that conversation to hear member concerns. As we told you last week, Senator Baucus would like to release discussion drafts on international taxation, tax administration, and corporate taxation within the next few weeks.
This week the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) director testified before the budget conference committee about CBO’s new volume of Options for Reducing the Deficit, which includes options to decrease the value of the charitable deduction or cap total itemized deductions. The report lists the amount of revenue that could be gained by implementing the various options but does not take a stance on them. Policymakers will undoubtedly look to these ideas as they continue with thorny budget negotiations that are set to wrap-up by December 13th. And, House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committee members will use these options as they brainstorm ways to raise revenue through tax reform.
The CBO report reiterates why it is imperative for leaders in philanthropy to remain vigilant to developments on Capitol Hill—the charitable deduction is still at play. Join foundation leaders like President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque Nancy Van Milligen and Executive Director of ACT for Alexandria John Porter, who are speaking out to urge policymakers not to touch the charitable deduction.
Post Investigation Aftermath
In the November 1st and November 8th editions of Snapshot, we’ve told you about the Washington Post investigation into the diversion of assets at select charitable and philanthropic organizations and the nonprofit and philanthropic community’s reaction. Yesterday, Nonprofit Quarterly (NPQ) published the third and final piece in a series that digs deeper into the investigation.
NPQ’s Rick Cohen lays out six actions that he thinks the sector should take in response to the investigation: be aware that investment advisors can perpetrate abuses; publicly distinguish between nonprofits that engage in fraud that those that are the victims of fraud; advocate for boosting the capacity of federal and state regulators that oversee nonprofits; help ensure that smaller nonprofits are not taken advantage of; help identify and remedy legal abuses and shortcomings within the sector; and delve more deeply into subsectors of nonprofits that are more subject to fraud.
Celebrating Community Foundation Week
November 12 through 18 is Community Foundation Week this year. Dating back to 1989, Community Foundation Week provides a yearly opportunity to highlight the ways in which community foundations have shaped our communities and our nation. In communities large and small across the country, community foundations lead the way through innovative solutions to social challenges, meaningful resident engagement, and fostering civic leadership.
Check out the Council’s blog to read stories from across the country of members who exemplify the ability of place-based philanthropy to drive innovation and strategy.
Philanthropy and Nonprofits in the Media
The charitable deduction's individual impact
Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick is telling his touching story of how the charitable deduction impacted him personally. Mayor Myrick and his three siblings were raised by a single mother and their grandparents, and often found themselves in need. He shares how his family often relied on food banks or homeless shelters when money was short, and how private scholarships allowed him to attend Cornell University. He emphasizes that the deduction is not about wealthy donors: “It’s about people like me who are allowed to realize their full potential with the support generous donors provide."
Foundations engage New Yorkers in policy conversations
As New York Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio prepares to become the city’s next mayor, a nonpartisan coalition of foundations—including the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the North Star Fund, Open Society Foundations, the Charles H. Revson Foundation, the New York Foundation, the New York Community Trust, the New York Women’s Foundation, the Atlantic Philanthropies, and the Brooklyn Community Foundation—is engaging New Yorkers in public conversations about policy issues and ideas that affect their everyday lives. The project, “Talking Transition,” goes through the end of this week and aims to gather a broad sample of opinions on the issues that the mayor-elect will face.
Nonprofit media grantmaking
The Knight Foundation’s new report on media-related funding is the most comprehensive picture of nonprofit media investments by foundations to date and offers several findings that we found intriguing. Between 2009 and 2011, media-related grant funding totaled $1.86 billion and ranked seventh in domestic grantmaking. Media-related funding grew at a rate of 21% during that time period, much faster than domestic grantmaking overall. The report also suggests that investments in new media, such as web-based news outlets, are outpacing traditional media investments by a factor of four.
Donor-advised funds continue to sprout
Donor-advised funds grew significantly in numerous ways in 2012, a new report from the National Philanthropic Trust shows. “More people are setting them up; contributions are up; the average account size is up; and grants from the funds to charity are up,” a Forbes article reports. More specifically, funds grew from $38.14 billion in assets in 2011 to $45.35 billion in assets in 2012, the number of accounts reached 201,631, the average account size increased 11.2% over 2011, and contributions increased 34.6% percent over 2011.
Disability funders urge Senate support for international disability rights
In the August 29th edition of Snapshot, we highlighted the work of Executive Branch agencies involved in public-private partnerships. We shared with you a call from the Department of State Office of the Special Advisor for International Disability Rights for foundations that would like to expand their global work to include disability rights. The Office of the Special Advisor was created following U.S. signature of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This treaty reflects the principles of non-discrimination, equality, and accessibility found in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This week, President and CEO of the Kessler Foundation Rodger DeRose wrote an op-ed urging the Senate to ratify the treaty to protect the rights of those with disabilities around the world. Kessler foundation also chairs the philanthropic affinity group, the Disability Funders Network.
Snapshot Holiday Schedule
The Council’s Public Policy and Legal Affairs team wishes you a warm and festive upcoming holiday season! We also want to let you know that Snapshot will not be published on November 29th and December 27th in light of the holidays that take place those weeks.
Keep in Touch!
Please feel free to reach out to any of us on the public policy team with any comments or concerns, or to share an issue, article, or op-ed you’d like to see covered in a future Snapshot.
