This week more than 30 CMF members from all sizes and types of foundations are traveling to Washington, D.C. to engage in meetings with our Michigan lawmakers to build relationships, share the work that they do and highlight issues of importance to philanthropy.

It’s all part of Foundations on the Hill (FOTH), an annual event hosted by United Philanthropy Forum in partnership with CMF. FOTH brings together foundation leaders from across the country to establish quality relationships with lawmakers to advance advocacy that maximizes the efforts of philanthropy.

This year CMF members and staff have several items to discuss with lawmakers, including:

• Thanking members of Congress for their support on 2019 year-end legislation that repealed the unrelated business income tax (UBIT) on parking and transportation benefits for nonprofits and simplified the private foundation excise tax to a flat rate of 1.39%.

• Sharing the importance of supporting legislation to enhance charitable giving. New data from the U.S. Department of Treasury shows a decline of $3.4 billion in charitable giving based on the 2019 tax returns received to-date from charitable organizations. We will be sharing this data point with lawmakers as we highlight the importance of enacting an enhanced charitable giving incentive for all taxpayers, not just those who itemize, to help to restore giving and reverse these troubling trends.

• Highlighting the need to supporting talent retention strategies to help communities who are experiencing a lack of skilled workers, without placing unnecessary burdens on the talent being recruited. Student debt continues to be a concern nationally and in Michigan. As CMF has reported, four years ago the Community Foundation of St. Clair County launched a reverse scholarship program to help recent graduates pay off their student loans if they agreed to move back home and work. To support such talent retention efforts in rural and urban communities, CMF continues to advocate for a legislative amendment to the tax code that would make such scholarship payments to reduce student debt non-taxable to the ultimate beneficiary – the student who has incurred such debt.

These are just a few of the topics CMF members will be sharing in meetings with legislators and their staff. CMF will be sharing updates from the Hill on our social media channels, which you can follow via the hashtags #CMFontheHill or #FOTH2020.

Next week we will give you an inside look at CMF members engaging in advocacy work as well as their key takeaways from their legislative visits.

Want more?

Check out a recording of our recent webinar, Advocacy: What You Can Do and Why it’s Important. The webinar highlights examples of how CMF members have used their voice in advocacy work. It also shares how you can effectively engage with policymakers and know where the line is drawn between advocacy and lobbying.