Latest News
Kevin Madden: A New and Changing Community Landscape Requires a New, Updated Approach from Working Charities and Philanthropies
When the Covid-19 crisis disrupted life as we know it, there was an immediate, reflexive response from Congress. What can and will the government do? The federal government subsequently coordinated some of the largest government spending and relief packages since the mobilization of capital during …
IACG Member Spotlight: Melanie Lundquist
Melanie Lundquist is an Activist Philanthropist and a member of the Initiative to Accelerate Charitable Giving. This week we sat down to chat with her about how her experience in philanthropy – both working as part of the nonprofit Partnership for Los Angeles Schools and …
Initiative to Accelerate Charitable Giving Announces New Members
New members represent a broad spectrum of interests across philanthropy and join chorus of voices calling for policy reforms to close tax loopholes WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Initiative to Accelerate Charitable Giving (IACG) is proud to expand its coalition with the addition of four …
Myths and Facts of Charitable Giving
The purpose of our nation’s charitable tax rules is to provide a tax benefit to ensure more resources are going toward the public good and working charities. However, more than $1 trillion sits on the sidelines in private foundations and donor-advised funds (DAFs) – vehicles …
What the 2020 DAF Report Doesn’t Say
The National Philanthropic Trust’s 2020 DAF Report provides an upbeat overview of donor-advised funds (DAFs). While DAFs have an important role in the charitable landscape, this data can easily be misinterpreted to showcase that the charitable tax system is “working” and new rules are unnecessary. …
Kat Taylor: Philanthropy Can Help Fix Societal Ills but First it Needs to Be Reformed
Kat Taylor is Founder of the TomKat Foundation, Co-founder of Beneficial State Bank, and a member of the Initiative to Accelerate Charitable Giving. For six decades I have been working to change the extractive and exploitative economic systems that perpetuate racial injustice and undermine our …
The Case for Reforming Private Foundations
Charitable giving has changed over the past century. The traditional idea of a charitable donation – an outright gift to a working charity – has given way to the increasing use of charitable financial vehicles, such as private foundations and donor-advised funds, which according to …
Three Questions on Donor-Advised Funds
As 2020 ended and Americans reflected on the struggles of the past year, it became clear how many Americans rely on charities to serve critical needs – whether it be health care, education, food assistance, shelter, or social justice reform. While charities struggled to keep …
Philanthropists Push for Charitable Giving Reforms
A group of high-profile philanthropists and foundations, along with estate and gift tax experts, have come together to push for reforms to charitable giving laws that would increase the amount of money available for nonprofits. Their goal is to unlock some of the US$1 trillion …
Letter to the Editor: The Slow-Moving Philanthropic Status Quo
I am disappointed by Elise Westhoff’s op-ed (“The Left Wants a Philanthropy of the Few,” Dec. 15) in opposition to the Initiative to Accelerate Charitable Giving, a reform initiative I co-founded. In this unprecedented time of need, private foundations and donor-advised funds could be helping …
Op-Ed: Why we need tax reform: Billions in charitable donations aren’t helping people in need
Each December, wealthy people rush to donate billions of dollars to maximize their charitable deductions and shrink their tax bill. Unfortunately, loopholes in tax laws mean donated dollars don’t always go to active charities. Read the full op-ed by John Arnold, co-founder of Arnold Ventures …
Column: Our Tax Code Provides More Favorable Treatment to Private Jets than Private Philanthropy. Here’s How to Fix That
The COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating to families who have lost loved ones, and businesses that have lost everything. But it has also taken a significant toll on many nonprofits, charities and government agencies—and the people who rely on them. Read the full column by …
Axios Explains Why Billions in Donations Haven’t Reached Charities
Last week’s Axios Capital newsletter reported on the payout rates of donor-advised funds (DAFs), breaking down how the increase in money going into donor-advised funds doesn’t necessarily result in increased payout rates or funding to charities: “In reality, although disbursements from foundations and DAFs are …
ICYMI: John Arnold and Ray Madoff Chat with #GivingTuesday’s Rob Reich about Accelerating Funding to Charities
“[The Initiative to Accelerate Charitable Giving] is really trying to go after the whole spectrum, from the largest givers all the way down to the smallest…[T]here’s a lot of the neighborhood organizations and community organizations that are dependent upon the small giver and so it’s, …
Billionaires Urge Tax Reform to Free $1 Trillion for Charity
A coalition of billionaires, academics and large foundations says the U.S. could unlock far more money for charity just by tweaking a few tax rules. Wealthy contributors get big tax breaks for donations even if the money then languishes in foundations or other vehicles for …
Powerhouse Coalition of Wealthy Donors and Big Foundations Urges Congress to Spur More Giving
A powerhouse coalition of wealthy individual donors, some of the nation’s largest private foundations, and prominent scholars on charitable giving Tuesday joined forces to urge Congress to adopt a set of tax proposals intended to speed up distributions from foundations and donor-advised funds. The new …
New Coalition of Philanthropists, Major Foundations Launches on Giving Tuesday to Increase Funding to America’s Charities During Pandemic and Beyond
‘Initiative to Accelerate Charitable Giving’ releases set of common-sense reforms to charitable giving laws WASHINGTON – Today on Giving Tuesday, philanthropists and leaders of major foundations launched the Initiative to Accelerate Charitable Giving, a coalition dedicated to promoting common-sense, non-partisan charitable giving reforms that increase …
Arnold Ventures’ John Arnold: Now is the Time to Reform Charitable Giving Laws
My wife, Laura, and I founded Arnold Ventures to maximize opportunity and minimize injustice. We began our philanthropy to invest in evidence-based solutions to some of the nation’s most pressing challenges. Often, this work is focused on changing systems, which in turn transforms daily life …