Member Perspective: Advocacy & H.R. 1260

Alissa Stallings, CFRE
Director of Donor Relations
University of California, San Francisco

What I love about donor relations is that it is fundamentally multidisciplinary. Whether you are a storyteller, an editor, a graphic designer, a signage expert, an event planner, a consultant on gift agreements, or you excel at choosing the perfect turn of phrase for an acknowledgment letter, or you are a data or financial wizard, or perhaps you track down that last scholarship recipient or convince that faculty member to spend their funding, or you are able to create the perfect recognition gift out of thin air, there is something for just about everyone in our profession and it all serves the common cause of philanthropy.

I also believe the most important role we have is none of the above; our true role is advocacy—for our donors, for our institutions, and for philanthropy as a whole. The best fundraisers and donor relations professionals share this philosophy and, in the long run, advocating for the best for our donors also serves our charities. Ethical, donor-centric professionals will always be successful by creating partnerships with philanthropists who care about impact and long-term solutions.

This is why I was delighted to see the Association of Fundraising Professionals is advocating for congressional bill H.R. 1260, which will allow anyone to take a charitable tax deduction on top of the standard deduction. For the average, charitably-minded American who isn’t a Giving Pledge signatory, this means that every gift they make would be tax deductible.

Personally, this was the first year I was not going to collect receipts for all of my $25-$100 donations I make throughout the year. I always take the standard deduction and am always disappointed that all those tangible examples of the small ways I am moved to make a difference in the world aren’t recognized on my tax return. But that could change with the passage of this bill, and for those people who aren’t as charitable, maybe this could make the difference as to whether or not they make that first gift to your organization or a charity you support. As the AFP article notes, giving in the $25-$500 range has continued to decrease in recent years, and giving at this level is the foundation of many charities’ giving programs, and could increase giving by an estimated $7 billion. As we know, annual giving is the gateway to a valuable pipeline and to our work as experts in donor retention.

As donor relations professionals, we should advocate for the best policies for our donors at every level, and I think this is an opportunity that can prove to be transformative for the future of philanthropy in America. I encourage anyone who feels similarly moved to action to contact their congressperson, and to post this info on their social media networks. Together, there is no limit to what we can achieve when we make our voices heard.