Key News + Announcements
Resource Spotlight: Digital Congressional Recess Guide for Summer 2024
Last week, United Philanthropy Forum launched our first-ever digital Congressional Recess Guide for Summer 2024. The digital guide is now available to PSOs and their foundation members in addition to a printable version on our website.
The Congressional Recess Guide features:
- a fact sheet, talking points, and draft communications about the Charitable Act
- templates for contacting lawmakers to schedule in-district meetings
- tips, checklists, and scripts for conducting effective meetings, communications campaigns, and community engagement efforts
The Opportunity: Leveraging Momentum
During this year’s Congressional recess, PSOs and their foundation members have an opportunity to add to the momentum for the Charitable Act on Capitol Hill.
Since its introduction at Foundations on the Hill in 2023, United Philanthropy Forum has been a leading advocate of the Charitable Act, the bipartisan legislation which now has 64 cosponsors in the House and 23 cosponsors in the Senate.
The Window of Time: Act Now
The summer recess is an excellent opportunity to mobilize the Forum’s District to D.C. Advocacy Network of PSOs by meeting with elected officials in-district and informing them about community and sector legislative priorities, such as the Charitable Act.
Whether you have just a few minutes or ample time, this guide will provide examples of multiple ways to advocate this summer.
Dig into the digital guide or download the printable version today and ask your representatives to co-sponsor and pass the Charitable Act!
Philanthropy + Policy Institute 2024 Registration to Open in August
This month, registration will kick off for United Philanthropy Forum's Philanthropy + Policy Institute 2024, which is set to take place virtually on October 3rd.
The Policy Institute is the premier opportunity for sector leaders and advocates to learn together and bolster their policy and advocacy capacity. Formulated to cultivate and reinforce the public policy skill set of PSO leaders, staff, and their foundation members, #PPI2024 aims to foster a strategic and collective approach to advocacy, public policy, and government relations.
Save the date and look for the registration announcement and agenda rollout in the coming weeks!
Forum President & CEO: Giving Decline Shows Need for Charitable Act
Last month, Forum President and CEO Deborah Aubert Thomas penned a statement encouraging sector leaders and advocates to ask their Members of Congress to co-sponsor, support, and pass the Charitable Act in light of Giving USA’s Report on Charitable Giving in 2023.
She highlights the trend underscored by the newest data along with the Forum’s work in support of the bill, which would restore and expand the universal charitable deduction (UCD):
"In light of this evidence, where charitable giving has now declined for the second consecutive year, United Philanthropy Forum … urges lawmakers to co-sponsor, support, and pass the Charitable Act (H.R. 3435, S. 566) …
Since its introduction at Foundations on the Hill in 2023, United Philanthropy Forum has been a leading advocate of the Charitable Act… The revelation of this continued decline in giving indicates we have more work to do. The Forum recognizes the importance of the Charitable Act and will continue to advocate for the passage of this critical bill."
Read the full statement on the Forum’s new website.
Forum's Matthew L. Evans Co-Authors Op-Ed on Building a More Inclusive Democracy
In July, Candid published an op-ed co-authored by Forum Senior Director of Public Policy and Nonprofit VOTE Board Vice Chair Matthew L. Evans and Nonprofit VOTE Executive Director Brian Miller.
In the piece, Evans and Miller write how philanthropic organizations and nonprofits can help more Americans participate in voting through nonpartisan voter engagement, highlighting the Philanthropy for Voter Engagement initiative, developed by Nonprofit VOTE in partnership with the Forum to share how foundations can support nonpartisan voter engagement and a more inclusive democracy.
“With the 2024 elections fast approaching, once again, we’re seeing disparities in who votes and who doesn’t. These gaps distort our democratic process and the policy debates that flow from it. To address these challenges, many philanthropic and nonprofit organizations are embracing their nonpartisan role in the voter engagement space to help build a more inclusive democracy where all voices are heard.”
To learn more about this important work, you may read the op-ed on Candid’s website and share it with your networks on LinkedIn and X (formerly known as Twitter).
Taxing Nonprofits Proposed as Offset for Cost of TCJA Renewal
In June, a white paper published by the prominent conservative think the Tax Foundation called for reforming the tax-exempt status of 501(c)(3)s as a way to address the federal deficit and/or offset the cost of extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017, which is set to expire in 2025.
In a recent Ways and Means Committee hearing continuing the committee’s scrutiny of the sector, Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) echoed the call for nonprofit tax reform.
The Forum is engaging lawmakers on Capitol Hill with sector partners and will help coordinate efforts ahead of and throughout the 119th Congress to educate Members about the impact of the sector and proposed reforms.
If you have questions and/or concerns about tax reform and the sector,
contact Forum Senior Director of Public Policy Matthew L. Evans.
