Don’t let donations sit around
Actually giving
Regarding “Critics take aim at charitable money sitting in donor funds,” ( July 20): The story highlights an important opportunity in Congress to update our charitable giving rules so donations reach working charities in a timely manner rather than sitting indefinitely in donor-advised funds.
More and more donors are using DAFs to get upfront tax breaks without any requirement their donations actually reach a working charity within a reasonable time. As a resultcharities lost $300 billion in contributions over a five-year period. At a time when vital organizations such as food banks and health clinics are facing unprecedented challenges, we cannot afford to have charitable dollars permanently parked under a long-term tax shelter. Intermediary vehicles can and should serve a useful purpose in this field. But an overemphasis on maximizing tax benefits has somehow managed to shift the DAFs original focus from philanthropy to finance, and reforms are now necessary to ensure that the money reaches working charities.
The Accelerating Charitable Efforts Act, a bipartisan bill recently introduced by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Angus King (I-Maine), will enact critical reforms that put working charities back at the center of our giving laws and ensure much-needed resources get to those organizations quicker.
I strongly urge Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz to support the ACE Act.
John Arnold, Arnold Ventures co-founder & co-chair
Regulation needed
Regarding “Natural gas bills will go up after Texas’ deadly winter storm. Regulators will decide how much.” ( July 30): What this means is that a captive audience (that’s us small residential consumers) must pay whatever the gas producers demand, whenever they demand it. This is a result of deregulation efforts on the part of Republicans who have run state government for decades, efforts that give all the power to business. We need to return to a regulated environment — a reasonable return on investment, proper planning for crises and future needs, and a stable price that’s not jacked up 100 or 1000 times because … “shortage.” Wayne Herbert, Houston