National Council of Nonprofits Calls on Congress to Not Give Up on Supporting America’s Charities

The following statement is attributable to Tim Delaney, President and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits

“For as long as the lights are still on for the 113th Congress, Senators and Representatives have the duty to stand up for their communities. There is no better way to ensure that important charitable work in those communities gets done seamlessly into the next year than to permanently extend the charitable giving incentives. We call on the House and Senate to shake off the setback of today’s vote on H.R.5806 and find a way to make these incentives permanent before they leave town so that charitable nonprofits can continue addressing the needs of our citizens.

”Pretending to retroactively revive expired charitable giving incentives for the past year, as the broader so-called ‘one-year’ extenders package does, is largely a façade of little value to the work of charitable nonprofits, when in fact the incentives will be helpful for only a couple of weeks:  from the time the President signs that bill until the end of the year. The concept of ‘retroactive incentives’ is an oxymoron that doesn’t fit in the charitable context:

• Fresh produce and meat that was available on loading docks last March can’t retroactively be donated next week to feed hungry Americans.
• Older Americans can’t retroactively donate money they’ve already spent out of their Individual Retirement Accounts, having not waited all year to find out whether Congress would finally restore the expired giving incentive so they could give without suffering tax consequences.
• Those wanting to donate land to protect the environment for future generations certainly need more than a couple of weeks to arrange for lawyers, surveyors, and more to pull together all the paperwork. 

“That’s why a separate bill is needed to make permanent needed incentives for charitable giving.  The nonprofit community calls on the House and Senate to find a way to make these incentives permanent before they leave town.”