The Charitable Giving Coalition (CGC) is made up of private and community foundations, large national and international charities, faith-based organizations and several associations who all see the value in protecting the charitable deduction.
Formed in 2009, the CGC is dedicated to preserving and enhancing the charitable giving incentive that ensures that our nation's charities receive the funds necessary to fulfill their essential philanthropic missions. The coalition provides a unique and unified voice on Capitol Hill on issues affecting the charitable deduction.
Membership includes organizations such as United Way Worldwide, Catholic Charities USA, the American Red Cross, the American Council on Education, the American Institute for Cancer Research, Jewish Federations of North America, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Independent Sector, the Council on Foundations, the Philanthropy Roundtable and more. You can find our full membership list here.
The Charitable Giving Coalition's mission is solely focused on preserving the value of the charitable deduction and working to enhance the deduction for all American taxpayers, regardless of their income and tax filing status. While the organizations that make up the CGC may individually support other policy issues important to the sector, the coalition is committed to ensuring the value of 100-year old tradition to encourage giving is not adversely impacted by policy.
The charitable deduction is different from other incentives in that it encourages individuals to give away a portions of their income without getting anything in return, devoting it to their community's needs rather than their own. It rewards a selfless act and encourages donors to give more to charity than they otherwise would.
A simple calculation shows that those in need receive at least $2.50 in benefit for every $1 of tax benefit. That's an impressive return on investment.
Under law, only those who itemize their taxes - about 7.5% of taxpayers - can take the charitable deduction.This widening gap is illustrated by the fact that 88% of giving now comes from only 13% of donors. However, in 2020, this provision which first included in the CARES Act and signed into law by President Trump, enacted a temporary "universal charitable deduction" for nonitemizers, which allows those who don't itemize their taxes to still receive a deduction for cash gifts up to $300 for individuals and $600 for joint filers. The temporary charitable deduction for non-itemizers expired at the end of 2021.
Yes, the policy resulted in 90 million tax returns utilizing the deduction, and households making between $30,000 and $100,000 saw the largest increase in charitable giving. Charitable organizations received $30 billion in increased donations as a result.
This is corroborated by data compiled by AFP's Fundraising Effectiveness Project. The number of small donations went up in 2020 and 2021 after Congress enacted a universal charitable deduction but then small-gift donors collapsed in 2022 after the temporary universal charitable deduction was not renewed. The data reports decline in key fundraising metrics including number of donors, and donor retention rate.