The United States has always been known as the most charitable and philanthropic nation in the world. The federal government has created an environment that is conducive for businesses and individuals to be “rewarded” for their contributions.
When times are challenging people evaluate their charitable contributions more than ever, and now is one of those times. The independent Giving USA Foundation recently reported that the decline in total charitable giving in 2008 was the greatest drop the group has ever observed since it began tracking charitable donations in the U.S. in 1956. As charitable contributions are being decreased, the government needs to take proactive steps in supporting those that donate to charitable causes.
Currently there is talk about reducing the amount that someone can deduct when making a charitable contribution. On Thursday, Senator John Thune (R-SD) led 30 of his colleagues in sending a letter to all of the members of the US Senate urging them to oppose any amendments to the health care reform bill that would limit the existing tax deduction for charitable donations. This is not the first time this year that Senator Thune has spoken up for non-profits. Earlier this year, the Senate passed Senator Thune's amendment to a budget bill that would have preserved the charitable deduction in full, but it was removed from the final budget measure during conference negotiations with the House of Representatives. In a statement, Senator Thune said, "A reduction in charitable giving would have a particularly harmful impact on not-for-profit hospitals and other charity health care organizations.”
We should all stand with Senator Thune to ensure that while charitable contributions might fall due to the economy that they do not fall due to negative steps taken by Congress.
To view Senator Thune's letter, please click here.
