Opinion: Could Tax-Code Changes Curb Fundraising Abuses?

Ideas for altering the tax code to tie donation deductions to how much the recipient group spends on solicitations are assessed by the Center for Investigative Reporting as part of the follow-up to its “America’s Worst Charities” investigation with the Tampa Bay Times.

That series of reports exposed nonprofit groups that spend most of their revenue on fundraising by professional solicitation firms. Wednesday’s blog post by the center notes proposals by academics and experts to require charities to give donors more information on their fundraising costs and limit tax deductions to the portion of a gift that directly supports the charity’s mission.

Critics of such an approach argue that it would impede legitimate but costly solicitation efforts, such as campaigns to attract new donors, and harm small charities that do not have the resources to do their own fundraising and must rely on outside firms.

Read a Chronicle of Philanthropy opinion column on fundraising reforms.