What does 2018 hold for individual giving?
How will the new tax code affect charitable giving in 2018? I wish I could tell you, but no one knows. The charitable deduction is still part of the tax code but with the individual and married couples deductions being doubled who knows what will happen. I like to use data to figure things. I crunch data, I look at historical patterns, and I create graphs. None of this is a help in this particular case.
There are so many variables I just don’t know. Mainly how many of my donors itemize their taxes now that won’t need to in 2018. We are counting on people merely being charitable, wanting to use what resources they have to make the world a better place and not expecting anything tangible in return.
2018 begins a new chapter for all non-profits who depend on donations for middle-income individuals. It would seem to me that we might slip through 2018 since most people won't know exactly how the new tax law will affect them until the end of the year, which is problematic since year-end is when we count on the majority of our donations coming in.
If you have any ideas or techniques, you are using to estimate changes in your individual giving goals; please share them here. I, for one, am going to double down on being donor-centric and telling thoughtful and compelling stories. I believe that though we will see some shrinkage in gifts in 2018 that overall people will continue to support the causes in which they believe.
I just wish I could crunch some data to back up that belief.
