I generally stay away from partisan politics but this issue has been bothering me for awhile – and now look at the outrageous – flat out LIE – in a silly article on Newsweek.com (click here or the picture to see it yourself).
The headline: Trump Tax Plan Leads to $54 Billion Decline in Charitable Giving
The article goes on to quote Giving USA, saying that there was “a 1.7 percent decline in overall giving to charity organizations last year and a 1.1 percent decline in dollars from individual Americans given, or a 3.4 percent decline when adjusted for inflation. This represents the first drop in individual giving since 2013. In 2017, giving increased by 5.7 percent.”
Ok – here is what Giving USA actually reported:
Total fundraising from all sources – 2017 was $435.11 billion, 2018 was $427.71 billion. Do the math – Giving USA is saying the drop was $7.4 billion. The article never explains where it gets its insane headline that the drop was $54 billion. THESE HAPPEN TO BE INFLATION ADJUSTED #s BY THE WAY.
So, if you look at the giving in NON-INFLATION ADJUSTED terms (i.e. regular dollars), you will find in Giving USA that 2018 had the highest giving total ever! 2017 came in at $424.74 billion and 2018 came in at $427.71 billion. That is an increase of $2.97 billion in total giving from 2017 to 2018! Not a decrease of $54 billion!
Anyway, I am close to finishing a new presentation looking at all of the fundraising numbers, and focusing on the impact of the increase in non-itemizers due to the 2018 tax plan. So far, it certainly doesn’t seem to have had much of an impact if actual fundraising numbers increased in 2018!
You’re exactly right Jonathan. Keep up the good work!
Such a weird article. I already suspect that the atmosphere surrounding the tax plan (i.e. hysteria) may have contributed to a slight down year in individual giving. But, their claim in the headline isn’t discussed in the article. Not even sure where they got that number. Thanks for the comment Greg!