A hearing focused on efforts that policymakers can support to incentivize charitable giving during the COVID-19 crisis was held on Capitol Hill last week. In opening remarks, lawmakers acknowledged that the pandemic has led many Americans to turn to nonprofits for support and basic needs, yet nonprofits are facing serious economic challenges themselves.

Prior to the pandemic, we were already seeing the total number of individuals giving on the decline and a drop in giving among Americans from lower-income households.

• In 2016, the average American donor contributed $2,763, or about 3.7% of income.

• Participation rates and giving levels among individuals with high education, wealth and income have generally held steady or increased.

• However, there’s been a clear decline in participation rates when it comes to charitable giving among low and middle-income Americans and those who do not have a high school education.

Lawmakers said they recognized the unique challenges these trends and the pandemic bring to the nonprofit sector. “Especially in the wake of the COVID emergency, leveraging charitable giving should be a top priority for those of us tasked with reviving our economy,” Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia and vice chair of the Joint Economic Committee said.

CMF continues to advocate for Michigan to reinstate our charitable tax credit to help to incentivize all Michigan residents to give. CMF is also working alongside our national infrastructure partners to enhance charitable giving provisions included in the CARES Act by advocating that the temporary $300 above the line deduction be increased and extended beyond the 2020 tax year.

Dr. Una Osili of the Lily Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University provided testimony at the hearing. She recommended increasing the above the line deduction and making the deduction retroactive to the 2019 tax filings.

Osili told lawmakers that beyond public policy, to meet the complex challenges of needs arising from COVID-19, “We need to examine how individuals and organizations across public, business and nonprofit sectors can work together effectively to address immediate and long-term challenges.”

Osili pointed to the work of several CMF members as successful models of COVID-19 response efforts.

“In Michigan, a collaboration of philanthropic organizations rapidly joined forces to supply computer tablets with high-speed internet connectivity to Detroit Public School students,” Osili said. “The $23 million fund, called Connected Futures, addresses the digital divide for K-12 students. A national fund, the Coronavirus Care Fund (CCF), provides emergency assistance for qualifying domestic workers who are facing hardship, and over 100,000 people around the country have contributed to the fund. Another national fund, the Families and Workers Fund focuses on workers and families who have been affected by job loss and school shutdowns.”

Connected Futures is a collaborative effort that includes The Skillman Foundation, DTE Energy, Quicken Loans, the Detroit Public Schools Community District and the city of Detroit aimed at providing tablets and technical support to 51,000 DPSCD students.

The Ford Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and others launched the Families and Workers Fund to serve the workers, families and communities most devastated by the economic and health crises resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Want more?

Watch the recording of the hearing.

CMF’s policy team is providing sample language you can use for outreach to your lawmakers to share the work you are doing in response to COVID-19. In an effort to ensure our policy team can best support your continued engagement with lawmakers and continue to lift up our community’s collective voice at the state and federal levels we encourage you to include Regina Bell, director of government relations and public policy and Kyra Hudson, CMF public policy fellow on your outreach.

Download the sample language for community foundations.

Download the sample language for all CMF members.