More than 190 foundation trustees and staff from across the country participated in Foundations on the Hill on March 18 and 19, 2015. to meet with members of Congress and discuss key issues of importance to foundations and philanthropy.
Barbara Sieck Taylor, Executive Director of GWP, met with senior staff of all eight members of Congress representing GWP’s 26 county service area, sharing shared data and impact stories to convey the community impact of philanthropy’s support of nonprofit partners. She thanked lawmakers who had voted in favor of the America Gives More Act, and with those who voted against it she explained GWP’s interest in many of the provisions, including the streamlining the excise tax for private foundations. She offered GWP and its members as a resource should any staff or lawmaker need information regarding philanthropy or the nonprofit sector. Finally, she advocated for policies that GWP’s leadership believes will promote effectiveness in the nonprofit sector.
Staff on the House side referred to the blueprint for comprehensive tax reform developed last session by former Ways & Means chairman Dave Camp as a useful framework; those in the Senate side indicated that Senators would create their own. There was universal doubt that any significant progress on tax reform would be made this spring, and equally universal agreement that all bets will be off on tax reform this fall.
Messages that seemed most effective with policymakers during Foundations on the Hill are:
- Nonprofit organizations represent approximately one in 10 American jobs
- Giving by individual donors represents about three-quarters of all private giving; foundations represent about 14 percent
- U.S. communities everywhere benefit from a robust 200-year-old tradition of voluntary charitable giving; the tax and legal incentives put into place a century ago still work well
- Thoughtful giving, especially for major gifts, takes time; consistent, predictable tax treatment is critical to ensuring that money is not left on the table