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(6-30-09) The Partnership, in conjunction with
other national organizations representing the nonprofit sector,
sent a letter
to members of the Senate Budget Committee and the Senate Finance
Committee urging them to oppose both President Obama’s original
proposal and a modified proposal to limit the value of itemized
deductions for charitable contributions.
Read more...
(6-19-09) The Bureau of National Affairs
reported in its June 18 Daily Report for Executives on the
Partnership's efforts to encourage Congress to reject a proposal
to reduce the charitable deduction. The Daily Report, which is
widely read by Congressional policy-makers, included this quote
from PPP's June 17
open letter to Congress, "Tax incentives for charitable
giving send an essential message about the value our society
places on voluntary giving . . . The true beneficiaries of the
charitable donation are not the generous Americans who make
charitable gifts, but all citizens whose local communities,
nation, and world are made better through the work of charitable
organizations."
(6-19-09) The
American Council on
Gift Annuities has announced that they are
reaffirming the recommended Schedule of Rates that
became effective February 1, 2009. ACGA will continue
reviewing factors that affect the rate recommendations.
Related documents include ACGA's 2009 Rates Report, and
their Best Practices Document. Information on both can
be found at
www.acga-web.org.
(6-17-09) The Partnership for Philanthropic
Planning has issued an
open letter to Members of Congress on a proposal to offset
the cost of comprehensive healthcare reform legislation with a
cap on itemized deductions. The letter urges lawmakers to reject
the current White House budget plan to cap itemized deductions
at 28 percent for taxpayers earning more than $250,000 a year.
The letter states the federal government must continue to
support philanthropy, and continues, "Tax incentives for
charitable giving send an essential message about the value our
society places on voluntary giving and the important role of
charitable organizations in meeting critical individual and
community needs. The true beneficiaries of the charitable
donation are not the generous Americans who make charitable
gifts, but all citizens whose local communities, nation, and
world are made better through the work of charitable
organizations."
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(6-24-09) Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA), a member of the House Ways
and Means committee, is targeting the nonprofit tax exemption
and the charitable deduction for individuals, saying that every
dollar lost to the federal government through the tax exemption
for charities and foundations is a dollar that could go to the
people in his district. Becerra said he is not willing to forgo
tax dollars that could be going to the citizens in his district
or to other worthy causes without asking some tough questions.
At a Georgetown Law nonprofit governance conference, he warned
that he and others in Congress would consider charitable
exemptions fair game in the current general review of government
spending and tax breaks. To read more, click
here.
(6-19-09) The
Philanthropy Roundtable has released a new report on
charitable giving and the government’s relationship with
foundations and charities. The report,
How
Public Is Private Philanthropy? Separating Reality from Myth
is a comprehensive legal analysis that examines the claim that
charitable funds are “public money” because they are exempt from
federal taxes, receive state charters, and are subject to
oversight by state attorneys general. The report says that
"based on numerous applicable legal precedents, the public-money
assertion is not well grounded." The
Philanthropy
Roundtable is a national association of individual donors,
corporate giving officers, and foundation trustees and staff.
(6-11-09)
Giving USA 2009 shows that charitable giving in the
United States is estimated to be $307.65 billion for 2008. This
is a 2 percent decline compared with the revised estimate of
$314.07 billion for charitable giving in 2007. The decline is
5.7 percent after adjusting for inflation. Giving USA is a
publication of Giving
USA Foundation™ and is written and researched at the
Center on
Philanthropy at Indiana University. The report provides
details about this estimate, about the allocation of charitable
gifts by source of contribution and by type of recipients, and
about studies that appeared in 2008 that relate to fundraising.
Orders for the book and other materials can be placed
here.
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(7-02-09) The federal estate tax is scheduled
for repeal in 2010, and full reintroduction in 2011. That law
has generated considerable debate on how changes in the estate
tax and its ultimate repeal may affect charitable bequests. In
this article from
The Planned Giving Design Center, David Joulfaian, from the
Department of the Treasury's Office of Tax Analysis, offers his
personal analysis and opinion.
(6-16-09)
Tanya Howe Johnson, President and CEO of the Partnership
for Philanthropic Planning, participated in the bi-annual Key
Philanthropic Organizations Committee (KPOC) meeting June 2,
2009, in Washington, D.C. KPOC, appointed by the
American
Society of Association Executives, brings together a diversity
of the nation’s top philanthropic leaders for in-depth
discussions on some of the most pressing issues facing the
nonprofit sector. Read more...
(6-11-09)
Registration is open for the
National
Conference on Philanthropic Planning October 14-17, 2009 in
National Harbor, Maryland (Metro Washington D.C.) at the Gaylord
National Resort & Convention Center. The National Conference on
Philanthropic Planning builds on a tradition of excellence with
speakers, topics, and education formats designed to engage all
partners in the philanthropic planning process. This conference
is for and about all of the constituencies that work together to
make charitable giving most meaningful.
PPP’s Virtual Seminar series has been approved for
credit toward CFRE certification or recertification.
Each seminar earns 1.5 hours of credit. Some
programs are also approved for CFP credit. PPP
members receive a $100 discount on Virtual Seminars.
To learn more about individual programs and register
online, click
here.
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