In this issue:
Foundations on the Hill
On March 5, approximately 300 foundation representatives from 40 states ascended Capital Hill for the 11th annual Foundations on the Hill (FOTH) event. Turnout was down a bit from 2007, in part because the COF Family Foundation Conference was not scheduled to coincide with FOTH this year. Arizona foundations participated for the second time and were represented well by Bob King from the Arizona Community Foundation, Ed Portnoy from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, Gerry Hills from Taser Foundation and Marissa Theisen of AGF.
Before storming the Hill, COF provided all participants with a series of briefings on how to make the most of our meetings and which issues to highlight. We learned that, given this is an election year, it was unlikely that Congress would take up any major legislation impacting the philanthropic sector. Instead we were encouraged to use our meetings to strengthen our relationships with our representatives, conveying to them the important work being done by foundations in Arizona. We also were encouraged to invite our representatives to join the Congressional Philanthropy Caucus, which will provide ongoing opportunities for lawmakers to learn more about the philanthropic sector and the impacts of proposed public policy on the sector. Most observers believe that Congress will have to act in 2009 to address problems that will arise if the 2001 tax cuts, including the estate tax, expire. These tax policies are likely to have a major impact on our sector and it’s essential that we do all we can to ensure our legislators understand these potential impacts.
We were also urged to invite our representatives to extend for another year the IRA Charitable Rollover, which expired in December 2007. Doing so would enable individuals 70-and-a-half and older to continue to make tax free distributions to charitable organizations from their traditional IRA accounts for up to $100,000. In 2007, thanks to the IRA roll over provisions, over $100 million was contributed to charitable organizations from IRA accounts. While COF has identified additional modifications that should be made to the IRA Charitable Rollover Act, including allowing the funds to be transferred to Donor Advised Funds and Supporting Organizations, these changes are unlikely to be considered in 2008.
After reviewing our talking points, our delegation, armed with a wealth of materials, made visits to the offices of 9 of Arizona’s 10 congressional members. (Senator McCain was understandably preoccupied.) In only a few instances were the staff contacts the same as last year. We were generally well received and a few of the staffers seemed genuinely interested and even knowledgeable about the philanthropic sector. While we believe our visits were important in terms of opening communication channels, it is also clear that ongoing education about the importance of our sector is essential. We intend to follow up with our contacts periodically, especially when legislation that will clearly impact our sector is being considered. And we’ll be sure to keep you all informed of advocacy efforts you can make. If you’d like to read the COF Issue Briefs prepared for Congress, go to http://www.foundationsonthehill.org/issuepapers.htm.
Click here to go to AGF's Website.