We often refer to the end of the year as the “season of giving.” Each year, since 2012, we kick off the year-end season of giving on Giving Tuesday, the Tuesday following Black Friday and Cyber Monday, where we celebrate American generosity and the importance of charitable giving. Giving Tuesday, a now nationally recognized tradition, began nine years ago as a day to encourage people to do good and has turned into a global movement for generosity. On Giving Tuesday in 2020, $2.47 billion was donated in the U.S., increasing 25 percent from 2019.
Since 2009, the Charitable Giving Coalition has been educating policymakers about the importance of protecting and enhancing the charitable deduction so charities can work to meet the needs of Americans. For the first time in more than three decades, 2020 was the first year that all Americans who gave – both itemizers and nonitemizers – could deduct at least some of their charitable gifts, a step toward democratizing charitable giving and encouraging greater participation in civil society.
As we celebrate American generosity this giving season, we encourage lawmakers to celebrate with us and keep in mind the great work charities and faith-based organizations have been doing – and will continue to do – as the nation recovers. Expanding and extending the universal charitable deduction beyond this year will help donors and the charitable sector have an even greater impact.
The Charitable Giving Coalition supports the bipartisan and bicameral bills in the 117th Congress that would make available or increase the incentive for all Americans:
- 618, H.R. 1704 – Universal Giving Pandemic Response and Recovery Act introduced by Sens. James Lankford (R-OK), Chris Coons (D-DE), Mike Lee (R-UT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tim Scott (R-SC), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Reps. Chris Pappas (D-NH) and Jackie Walorski (R-IN)
- R. 1081 – Charitable Giving Tax Deduction Act introduced by Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Henry Cuellar (D-TX)
All of these bills would incentivize more giving to charity at a critical time.
Beginning today and throughout December – the month during which we historically see the most donations – our Season of Giving Guest Blog Series will be highlighting the important work charities and faith-based organizations across the country are doing and the critical need to incentivize individual donations, especially as the nation continues to recover.