Philanthropy This Week

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Good morning.

Charitable deductions have always favored the rich, and the higher their income, the more they benefit. For most families, taking the standard deduction on their taxes has become a better deal than itemizing, but then they get no subsidy for their charitable donations (opinion).

There’s a better, fairer way to encourage people to support charities — matching grants, argues Robert McClelland of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.

“Nonprofits would report donations to the government and receive matching funds in return,” he writes, “giving the same incentive to anyone who donates.”

Wealthy people would have less incentive to give, and lower income people would have more — perhaps helping to solve the yearslong decline in ordinary donors.

People are more responsive to matches than to rebates, studies have found. But oddly enough, the amount of the match doesn’t seem to matter. One study found that dollar-for-dollar, two-for-one, and three-for-one matches all increased donations about the same.

Writes McClelland: “This could mean people respond to matches just as they respond to the idea of getting a bargain rather than the size of the price cut.”

Also on the charitable deduction: Nonprofits received $20 billion less in donations after former President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law in late 2017, writes economics professor Daniel Hungerman of the University of Notre Dame in a piece for our partner the Conversation.

“Giving usually increases from year to year — especially when the economy is doing well, as it has generally fared in recent years,” he writes. “Had the tax laws not changed, we would have expected an increase in giving, especially from individual donors, after 2017.”

Here’s what else you need to know:

Partners for Rural Impact

In rural areas, where resources are often thin, a nonprofit called Partners for Rural Impact has been a lifeline to improve educational outcomes. It helps local leaders take advantage of educational, medical, and social services; tracks progress in areas like kindergarten readiness; and generally helps provide cradle-to-career support, similar to what the Harlem Children’s Zone does in New York.

Now the Ballmer Group, Blue Meridian Partners, and others are hoping Dreama Gentry, the organization’s leader, can replicate its work in Texas, Missouri, and elsewhere, reports Eden Stiffman.

Over the next several years, the group is hoping to launch locally led partnerships in two or more regions and eventually become a national intermediary, helping to spur more investment in rural America and support communities that take on cross-sector partnerships.

As Gentry told Eden: “Our goal is that a superintendent in a rural place who’s really considering doing a collective impact, place-based partnership could say, ‘Hey, we see ourself in one of those five places and recognize that works in rural America.’”

Associated Press

Storytelling and the arts are more prominent than usual among this year’s group of MacArthur “genius” awards, though a number of scientists and others also made the list, reports Thalia Beaty for our partner the Associated Press.

The 22 recipients, who will each receive $800,000 over five years, include a dancer and choreographer who founded the nonprofit artist group TRIBE, which imagines futures free from oppression; a media artist at Brown University whose videos communicate social critique, including of police violence and torture; and a science educator at Vanderbilt University who has championed the recruitment of science students from diverse backgrounds, including neurodiverse students.

In a related article, the winner of a MacArthur “genius” grant 10 years ago invested most of its $1 million award in its endowment and parlayed the prestige of having won the award to attract funds from other foundations, reports Stephanie Beasley. The Human Rights Center at the University of California at Berkeley is now working toward a $15 million endowment and has launched a training lab for students to conduct digital investigations of alleged violence and human rights abuses.

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Most people 50 to 80 years old say charitable giving is an important part of their lives, reports Rasheeda Childress in a roundup of fundraising research. Many are also interested in volunteering, and of those who volunteer, nearly all contribute money to those organizations.

The research also found that many did not know about donor-advised funds, qualified charitable distributions from retirement accounts, or donating appreciated assets.

Another report looked at differences in how generations like to give, with Gen Z tending to use digital wallets, millennials favoring recurring gifts, and Gen X being most willing to raise money through races or bike-athons.

— Marilyn Dickey, Senior Editor, Copy

Three struggling abortion-access funds overlooked by donor contributions to the presidential campaign and abortion ballot measures nationwide have teamed up with a coalition of state-level organizers to sharpen their fundraising efforts. The funds, which help pay for travel for people seeking abortions from states with restrictions to states where the procedure is accessible, are spending more than ever, just as national organizations have cut support to individual patients. They are now getting basic infrastructure help from the Frontline Repo Freedom Lab, a group of veteran activists from the gun-control movement, to help raise their profile and build an outreach system and database of supporters. (New Republic)

Two Texas energy billionaires have used campaign donations and a network of think tanks, other nonprofits, and political action committees to gain influence over the state’s Republican politics, with an eye toward national domination. Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks have poured tens of millions of dollars into campaigns and PACs, and millions more into 501(c)(4) social-welfare organizations, with a goal of making Christianity the basis of the state’s culture and laws. Alongside crusades on abortion, gun rights, and immigration, the pair are waging a long battle for taxpayer-funded vouchers for private schools. (New York Times and ProPublica)

Christian aid organizations responding in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene are struggling to cover a disaster area that spreads from Florida’s Gulf Coast to the Appalachians of North Carolina. Some are adjusting their overseas operations and calling in supplies from Canada, while they air-drop supplies to remote areas, set up field hospitals, help clean up, and hand out food. Meanwhile, one Asheville, N.C., nonprofit was handing out necessities before any government aid centers could be set up. After the Asheville Dream Center, the local branch of a national outreach ministry, put out an appeal, the nonprofit Global Empowerment Mission showed up with food, cleaning supplies, tarps, pet food, and water on Sept. 29. (Asheville Citizen Times and Christianity Today)

Harvard University’s $50 billion-plus endowment has long been the largest in higher education, but for two decades its investment returns have lagged almost all of its Ivy League peers, and even most large university funds. It has bought into alternative investments, such as private equity and natural resources, just as their performance stuttered. At the same time, it has paid its top money managers a total of about $800 million. If the endowment’s returns had kept pace with its peer average, it would be about $20 billion larger, according to former Harvard President Lawrence Summers. (Bloomberg— subscription)

Thanks to an influx of Haitian immigrants, a small social-services nonprofit in Massachusetts has filled all its front-line jobs for the first time in a decade, cleared its waiting list for services, and expanded its programs. When the new arrivals, living temporarily in a nearby hotel, received clearance to work, Thrive Support and Advocacy, which serves adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities, started hiring for its hard-to-fill positions. The nonprofit helped work through the complications of housing, transportation, child care, and language classes for its new staff, who now have union jobs starting at $17 an hour. (Boston Globe)

Content creators, online influencers, and entertainers took center stage in New York City last week as philanthropists and world leaders gathered to consider how to inspire young people to join their movements. At the Clinton Global Initiative, Climate Week NYC, and Global Citizen’s annual music festival, all taking place alongside the annual United Nations General Assembly, panelists with large followings discussed their roles in entertaining, staving off cynicism, and bringing visibility to overlooked groups or projects. Influencers are also helping older organizations establish their relevance among young people, one activist said. (Associated Press)

A major Iowa philanthropy is putting $165 million into efforts to revitalize the southwestern corner of the state, which has been losing population for decades. The gift from the Charles E. Lakin Foundation will be managed by the Community Foundation for Western Iowa, whose president is encouraging the targeted counties to think big about projects for funding. The community foundation will give grants to nonprofits in the region, where housing and child care are pressing needs, and where officials hope the lower cost of living and remote work can lure more young families. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

A fledgling group is providing a safe place for gay and transgender refugees escaping persecution in their own countries. Launched last year by the State Department, the Welcome Corps works with nonprofits and volunteers. It has so far connected 3,500 sponsors with 1,800 refugees, while 100,000 people have applied to become sponsors. Many refugees come from countries where homosexuality has been outlawed, sometimes on pain of death. (Los Angeles Times)

Artists, writers, and others in the creative economy are looking for ways to fund the arts that are less reliant on philanthropy, especially in this era of declining contributions. To that end, some foundations are helping grantees with professional development or sustainability plans, or linking them up with key professionals, such as editors and curators, who could support their work. Meanwhile, artists and arts organizations are trying on various models, including subscriptions or hybrid nonprofit and for-profit organizations. (Esquire)

The government of Brazil is asking philanthropies, governments, and investors to support a proposed fund that would essentially make it as profitable for developing countries to protect their forests as it is now to destroy them. The Tropical Forests Forever Facility would launch with $25 billion in loans from philanthropies and governments and another $100 billion from investors. Investment returns on that money would repay the loans and contributions and reward about 70 developing countries annually for forests they have preserved, in a mechanism deemed more reliable than carbon credits. No donors or governments have publicly announced their support, but Brazil aims to launch the project next year. (New York Times)

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Animal-Assisted Therapy: The mission of the 1 FUR 1 Foundation is to support mutually beneficial endeavors that enhance the lives of animals and humans in need throughout the United States. Support is provided to nonprofit organizations providing animal-assisted therapy, including programs designed to promote improvement in human physical, social, emotional, or cognitive function; animal-assisted activity, including programs related to motivational, educational, or recreational animal-assisted activities; and therapy dog programs, including service dogs, guide dogs, hearing dogs, and medical alert dogs. Most grants range from $500 and $7,500

Youth: The Andrew Family Foundation’s Junior Board Grants support nonprofit organizations in the United States that positively impact the lives of youth. The focus is on efforts that help people enrich their lives by providing opportunities for education in traditional academics and the arts. Support is also provided for programs that raise awareness about the importance of living sustainably and in harmony with the environment. The Foundation prefers to support well-established organizations with five or more years of operating experience and organizations with budgets of less than $5 million. Grants are made for specific purposes or projects that will have a direct impact on the target population.