By James Provenza
Giving USA has issued its annual report for giving, and the news for 2018 was somewhat troubling. Overall giving was down 1.7% from 2017.
We suspect there are several reasons for this. One is the stock market was shaky in the 4th quarter. Another may be the uncertainties created by tax reform. Fewer people will itemize deductions, and therefore may be less willing to give to charity. This means that larger donors have to make up the difference.
What can your organizations do to counteract this? Here are some suggestions:
- Stay focused and don’t panic. If your giving has been stable, count your blessings. However, don’t assume it will stay that way without some extra effort on your part.
- Focus on the middle level donor. The middle level donor is disappearing. You therefore need to work smarter to get them to give to your cause. Here are some suggestions.
- Ask people to give from donor advised funds. Donor advised funds are extremely popular. When sending out response cards for the annual stewardship drive or for any special purpose, make sure the card has an option for the member to request a distribution from their donor advised fund to your church. It has been my experience that people, and churches, don’t think about donor advised funds unless it is put in front of them. Giving from a donor advised fund has no impact on a person’s tax return. The member got the deduction when the money went into the donor advised fund.
- Older members should be encouraged to use the charitable IRA rollover. There may have been a time when it didn’t matter where the member’s money came from, but under tax reform it may well matter. Churches do not discuss this enough. The donor reports no income, gets no deduction and satisfies their required minimum distribution.
- Encourage year end gifts of appreciated securities. There are still too many people who don’t know that this is a very taxwise way to make a difference.
All this indicates that charities generally, must be ready to work harder to encourage stewardship. This is especially true if there is a recession on the horizon. People are more tight fisted.
If you have questions about counteracting this, please give us a call.
