Charitable Giving Coalition Launches Advocacy Hub Online
With a new website, a coalition of nonprofits is looking to educate, inform, and engage the public, the nonprofit community, and members of Congress in the charitable deduction debate.
Members of the nonprofit community have gathered at House committee hearings and met face-to-face with their representatives in Washington to urge lawmakers to protect the charitable deduction as tax reform discussions continue. And now they have a central location on the internet where they can make their collective voice heard.
The Charitable Giving Coalition launched protectgiving.org last week to provide resources for nonprofits and to educate the public—and members of Congress—about the importance of charitable giving.
“Protectgiving.org is an important resource in spreading the word about the inextricable link between charitable giving and thriving communities,” Gloria Johnson-Cusack, executive director of Leadership 18, a member of the coalition, said in a statement. “Working together, we can make sure lawmakers clearly understand that the charitable deduction is unique and it works.”
“It’s going to be harder and harder for members of Congress to ignore the voices of the charitable-giving community when they’re hearing from us,” said Alison Hawkins, director of external affairs with the Alliance for Charitable reform, also a coalition member. “The website is one way that we can engage those voices to connect with members of Congress.”
Resources available on the site include data, reports, and infographics on the impact of charitable giving on local communities, news articles, and stories from individuals and nonprofit organizations that show how their work is making a difference.
Hawkins points to the “Take Action” section of the site, which will help local community nonprofits “take their education efforts to the next level,” she said.
“They can get advice and tips on how to write an op-ed for their local paper or write a letter to their elected official, their member of Congress, or the president or whoever they think is necessary,” said Hawkins.
Talking points to help guide a conversation on the charitable deduction, sample news releases, and a message-and-media guide are also available on the site.
Even when (or if) tax reform discussions begin to fade, the coalition will still have a job to do, Hawkins said.
“There will be other things that will inevitably arise that will keep the coalition together, and the need for the website to continue educating folks about the value of charitable giving in our communities. For the immediate future, though, [we’ve] only discussed the website in context of our immediate goal: protecting the charitable deduction.”
(ProjectGiving.org screenshot)
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