Good Giving

Philanthropy can and should be both celebrated and scrutinized

Stanford Professor Robert Reich has a new book out on philanthropy, Just Giving: Why Philanthropy Is Failing Democracy And How It Can Do Better. I’m still reading through it and expect to have some comments when I’m done, but others with more time on their hands than I (or at least better time management skills) […]

ACR News 12.7.18 – Lame Duck, New Members, and New Leadership

>> Federal: Washington Roundup >> Federal: Lame Duck Tax Package >> Federal: New Leadership >> Federal: Foundations on the Hill/ACR Summit for Leaders >> Consider This: New Lawmakers, New Opportunities >> Top Reads: Charities Brace for Tax-Driven Dip in Year-End Giving Washington Roundup With only a few weeks left in the 115th Congress, the House and Senate are […]

#GivingTuesday and a Letter from a “Relentless Optimist”

Thousands of volunteers and organizations will participate in the annual global day of giving known as #GivingTuesday today in an effort to further support of the nonprofit sector and charitable organizations. #GivingTuesday is a movement to designate a national day of giving on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. On this day, […]

Philanthropy and the “mess” in Newark schools

I’ve noted to a few people in conversations that I think Mark Zuckerberg too often gets a bum rap over his $100 million gift to the city of Newark, New Jersey for education reform. The way the story is often told by critics of the gift makes it sound like Zuckerberg flew in on a […]

Treasury SALT Regulations Double-edged Sword

WASHINGTON, D.C.— The Alliance for Charitable Reform (ACR) issued the following statement on the regulations from the U.S. Department of Treasury on state initiatives seeking to workaround the federal cap on the deduction for state and local taxes. “The proposed workarounds for the cap on the state and local tax deduction would have undermined the […]

Answering Donor-Advised Funds’ Critics

Two major articles were published last week on the subject of donor-advised funds (DAFs), one in The Atlantic (“The Black Hole That Sucks Up Silicon Valley’s Money”) and another in the Chronicle of Philanthropy (“Foundations Move $737 Million to Donor-Advised Funds, Chronicle Study Shows”). Both raise a number of questions about the appropriateness of DAFs […]

ACR News 10.13.17 – Universal Charitable Deduction Legislation Introduced

>> Federal: Washington Roundup >> Federal: Tax Reform? >> Federal: Universal Charitable Giving Act of 2017 >> Federal: Roadmap for Action – October >> Consider This: Walk the Plank >> Top Reads: Nonprofits Battle to Get Charitable Deduction Extended to All Taxpayers Washington Roundup Last week, the House and Senate both took important steps toward tax reform […]

ACR News 9.15.17 – Where are we on Tax Reform?

>> Federal: Washington Roundup >> Federal: So, What’s Up with Tax Reform? >> Federal: Senate Finance Committee Hearing on Individual Tax Reform >> Federal: Tax Reform and Philanthropy’s 3 Percent Solution >> Federal: Faith and Giving Coalition Briefing >> Federal: Roadmap for Action – September >> Consider This: Congress is Back in Town >> Top Reads: Nonprofits […]

Nonprofits Offer Joint Response on DAFs to Senate Finance Committee

The Philanthropy Roundtable signed onto a letter to Senate Finance Committee leadership this week  in response to a prior letter from donor-advised fund (DAF) critics Ray Madoff and Roger Colinvaux, who proposed increased regulations on DAFs. The Committee invited the response after Madoff and Colinvaux proposed implementing forced payouts on DAFs and disallowing transfers from […]