Northwestern Foundation Leaders Find a Warmer Climate on Capitol Hill

More than 260 leaders of foundations came to Washington last month to meet with members of Congress — and grant makers say they found a receptive audience.

In previous years, lawmakers had asked mostly about abuses in the nonprofit world, wondering whether foundations were elaborate tax dodges, said Carol Lewis, chief executive of Philanthropy Northwest, a regional association of grant makers with headquarters in Seattle.

During this year’s Foundations on the Hill event, she said, government officials had a better understanding of grant makers’ work.

At one meeting, said Ms. Lewis, an aide for Rep. Jim McDermott, Democrat of Washington, said that Americans don’t fully understand the amount of good that philanthropic dollars do in their neighborhoods and cities.

“I was, like, ‘Cha-ching. He gets it,’” Ms. Lewis said.

Christopher (Kit) J. Gillem, program director at the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, a foundation in Vancouver, Wash., and a member of Philanthropy Northwest, echoed Ms. Lewis’s observation. “They are asking, ‘How can we help you?’” he said about lawmakers.

Policy makers may be listening more intently because nonprofit issues have become a hot topic. National-service programs are likely to be expanded; President Obama has proposed a controversial plan to reduce tax breaks for charitable deductions for wealthy people; and several senators introduced legislation that would change the way grant makers pay taxes on their net investment income.

As one foundation official put it, the stars were aligned.

‘We’re the Fuel’

For the members of Philanthropy Northwest, the day started with morning meetings with members of the House of Representatives; after lunch, they wooed the Senate, hustling from meeting to meeting in the sometimes mazelike Hart and Dirksen Senate office buildings.

In several meetings with senators from Northwestern states or their aides, talks focused on finding ways for government to build partnerships with philanthropy during the recession. Policy makers seemed pleased that Murdock and other grant makers have helped charities seek out money from the recent economic-stimulus package.

During the meetings, Philanthropy Northwest members kept their pitches short and sweet, often telling success stories about grantees.

“We don’t do the heavy lifting; the nonprofits do. We’re the fuel,” Mr. Gillem told the deputy chief of staff of Sen. Mark Begich, Democrat of Alaska.

Tax Proposal

While Mr. Gillem and his colleagues stressed a soft-sell approach with lawmakers, they did request support on some philanthropic issues.

For example, they asked members of Congress to join the new Philanthropy Caucus, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers with an interest in nonprofit issues. Several senators and their aides were unaware of the caucus, but said they or their bosses would consider joining.

Other issues on the agenda were Mr. Obama’s tax plan. Sen. Mike Crapo, an Idaho Republican, said he opposes it, while Democratic members and their aides rarely mentioned it. A new proposal by three Democratic senators to help foundations find a way to give more by changing the foundation excise tax, the tax grant makers pay on their investment income, also drew attention. Lawmakers and their staff members appeared supportive of the tax change, though some wanted to examine it more closely.

One legislative aide asked Philanthropy Northwest to explain how the change would “impact the real world” and seemed satisfied when the nonprofit visitors said it would encourage grant makers to give more during the economic crisis or after natural disasters.

The high point of the day was sitting down with Sen. Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana — who, as head of the Senate Finance Committee, oversees tax-exempt organizations. While the meeting was only 10 minutes or so, the Philanthropy Northwest group said any face time with such a prominent senator is important and demonstrated Senator Baucus’s commitment to philanthropy.

As if on cue, just a few hours after the meeting, the Senate approved a proposal co-sponsored by Senator Baucus to provide $25-million to improve accounting and management skills at small and medium-sized charities.

Such timely approval of the measure, which is part of the Serve America Act, was due in part to the hard work of foundation advocacy efforts.

But grant makers probably thanked their lucky stars, too.