CALIFORNIA PHILANTHROPISTS AND FOUNDATION LEADERS CALL ON CONGRESS TO PASS EMERGENCY CHARITY STIMULUS 

AMID HISTORIC UNEMPLOYMENT AND INCREASED WEALTH FOR BILLIONAIRES ITS TIME FOR CONGRESS TO DOUBLE FOUNDATION PAYOUTS TO INCREASE PAYOUTS TO CHARITIES

WASHINGTON – Today, more than 90 California charity leaders, donors and philanthropic leaders have announced their support of an Emergency Charity Stimulus and are urging the U.S. Congress to mandate an increase in the pay-out percentage required of foundations by law. The letter comes amid historic unemployment, increased billionaire wealth and public calls for the philanthropic sector to do more in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Foundations exist to move resources to advance the social good. That needs to be our primary focus and the driver of our efforts. I am impatient with the status quo in the philanthropy community, which places undue importance on sustaining assets versus investing deeply in social change,” said Ellen Friedman, Director, Compton Foundation.

In California, philanthropic leaders such as Ellen Friedman; Vini Bhansali, Solidaire Network; John Esterle, The Whitman Institute;  Aileen Getty, Aileen Getty Foundation; Surina Khan, Women’s Foundation of California; and Susan & Regan Pritzker, Libra Foundation are calling on Congressional leaders to introduce an Emergency Charity Stimulus by enacting the following measures: 1) Mandating a temporary doubling of private foundation payout from 5 percent to 10 percent for three years, and 2) Establishing a similar 10 percent payout for donor-advised funds (DAFs) that currently have no mandate.

“As millions of Americans lose their jobs, their savings, and their loved ones, many billionaires have actually profited,” said Scott Wallace, co-chair of the Wallace Global Fund. “Philanthropy – which is comprised of fortunes from some of the world’s richest families – has a mandate to serve the common good, especially in a time of unprecedented crisis. Legislation temporarily doubling the federally-mandated payout for foundations from 5% to 10% will inject $200 billion into nonprofit jobs and charitable work without costing taxpayers one cent.”

“Support is growing for an emergency mandate to move $200 billion from the sidelines to the frontlines without costing taxpayers a dime” said Chuck Collins, director of the Charity Reform Initiative at the Institute for Policy Studies. “Wealthy donors already took their tax breaks and now is the time for Congress to discourage the warehousing of $1.2 trillion in wealth in private foundations and donor-advised funds.”

A recent Ipsos poll found that 72 percent of Americans support an emergency charity stimulus.  Americans support private foundations, with endowments, but with more limits, requirements and funds granted.  93 percent of Americans found it unacceptable that donor-advised funds (DAFs) are under no obligation to disburse any funds to active charities.  A Summary Presentation is available HERE.  Full polling tabs are available to download HERE.

Prominent signers of the letter include:

Researchers at the Institute for Policy Studies estimate these policies would unleash an estimated $200 billion in additional charity funds over three years. These funds would support vital social services at no cost to taxpayers.

The letter was organized by the Charity Reform Initiative of the Institute for Policy Studies, Patriotic Millionaires, and the Wallace Global Fund. It may be found with all the signatories here.