by admin on June 30, 2009
CEO Chris Wilson speaks to the National Religious Broadcasters Research Symposium today about the public opinion of Christians on several key issues, and the demographic challenges facing radio ministries.
Exploring Public Opinion of Three Key Issues for Radio Ministries: Fairness Doctrine, Hate Crimes Legislation, and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act
While there are a number of issues critical to the survival and functioning of radio ministries, and in many cases Christian ministries overall, Christians are not necessarily aware of or engaged on these issues. We examined public opinion polling data on three issues particularly important to radio ministries: employment non-discrimination in hiring by religious organizations, hate crimes, and the so-called “fairness doctrine.”
The fundamental finding of this analysis is that Christians’ opinions on these issues are not what we would expect them to be if they understood the threat that federal action on each of the issues might pose to a variety of Christian organizations including radio ministries. As we will discuss in more detail later in this analysis, radio ministries and others who help shape the opinion of Christians on these issues may need to do more to educate them about the importance of these issues and the implications of them for ministry organization….
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Demographic Challenges Facing Radio Ministries
Our data suggests that radio ministries (and all ministries) are facing a dual challenge posed by a short-term drop in support due to the economic recession and a longer-term danger due to donor demographics. Of the two, we consider the longer-term threat to be the more critical. This threat is compounded because the same lack of success in acquiring new, younger donors that is driving the demographic trend is also forcing ministries to place additional stress on existing donors….
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by admin on March 26, 2009
The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) has released a statement regarding President Obama’s statements that he would continue to support his proposal to reduce the charitable deduction for taxpayers earning more than $250,000 annually. AFP’s President and CEO Paulette V. Maehara issued the following statement:
“Preliminary data from AFP’s State of Fundraising survey shows that 2008 was the worst year for charitable fundraising in a decade. Anecdotal evidence from our members suggests that the current fundraising climate may be the most challenging they have ever faced in their lifetimes. The president’s unprecedented proposal, which would effectively impose a tax on charitable giving, is unneeded and will further hurt the ability of charities to provide services.
“It is incorrect to suggest that incentives do not play a role in charitable giving. While people decide to give for any number of reasons, incentives are a critical factor in determining how much someone gives, especially as gifts get larger. A study by Bank of America reveals charitable giving by taxpayers earning $250,000 or more annually increases dramatically with wealth, starting at an average of $32,000 and rising to $855,000 for those making $5 million or more. Therefore, the reduction in the charitable deduction could have a very significant impact.
“In these challenging economic times, charities and nonprofits are being asked to provide even greater levels of assistance while experiencing reduced donations and resources. The federal government should seek ways to bolster charitable giving — as opposed to requiring charities to do more with less.”
Read a related story here.
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by admin on March 20, 2009
I thought I’d pass along an interesting article that I ran across in today’s Wall Street Journal. Foundations are joining the mix in opposing Obama’s tax plan.
Specifically, foundations plan to oppose the Obama administration’s proposed cap on itemized deductions for top earners, and will ask lawmakers to overhaul other tax policies that affect big grant makers, according to a letter sent to foundations by their main lobbyist
Read the article here.
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by admin on March 9, 2009
President Barack Obama’s recently announced $3.6 trillion budget aims to curb the deduction available to many Americans for making charitable contributions.
Under current guidelines, taxpayers are entitled to “deduct” from his or her taxable income donations made to government-approved charitable organizations. This deduction is applied at the highest marginal rate that she pays. So if she’s in the highest tax bracket and pays the IRS 35 percent of the highest portion of her income, she can effectively write off - and not pay - 35% of her contributions.
President Obama’s proposed budget, however, aims to do two things. First, it will increase the highest marginal rate from 35% to nearly 40% for couples earning more than $250,000 yearly. Second, it will cap the charitable deduction at a 28% rate. So, essentially, the same woman paying taxes at a marginal 35% rate will only be able to deduct 28% of her contribution; the same $5,000 gift would yield a tax savings of only $1,400.
What this means is that families in higher tax brackets will not only see their marginal rates increase but will also see a reduction in the deductibility of their donations.
Read a related story here.
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by admin on March 4, 2009
Over half of wealthy Americans say their charitable giving would not be affected by the federal tax provisions designed, in part, to encourage philanthropy, according to a new study by Bank of America and Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.
Almost 52% of wealthy donors said their giving would remain the same if they no longer received any income-tax deduction for their donations, while 54 percent said their level of philanthropy would remain unchanged if the estate tax were repealed.
Read the entire article here.
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I just ran into a great website that I’ve got to pass along. Ever wanted to know how many people actually believe in angels or UFO’s? The Association of Religion has posted a plethora of research finding on religious beliefs, religious experiences, current events, politics and behaviors.
And it’s all free!
You can find this library of research findings here.
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Looks like charitable giving hasn’t been strongly affected by the current recession after all. According to a survey of members of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, 72 percent reported that they met or came within 10 percent of their 2008 goals.
Even so, the findings point out that ministries are still cutting back on expenses for 2009 by not increasing salaries and curbing unnecessary spending. They also plan to partner with other organizations to share resources.
Read he entire article here.
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For those nonprofits looking to hire, some good news: the labor pool is chock full of talented professionals. But why work for a nonprofit during these difficult times? The reason: opportunities in this space could increase in the months to come.
Kelsey Abbruzzese of the Baltimore Sun wrote an interesting article entitled “Nonprofits See Applications Rise” where she writes “Volunteer organizations such as the Peace Corps and Teach for America say the floundering economy and President Barack Obama’s call for service have led to a major increase in applications.”
Teach for America received a record 14,000 applications by November, an almost 50 percent increase over the previous year. And Peace Corps applications rose 16 percent from fiscal year 2007 to 2008, with a big spike registered around the time of Obama’s inauguration.
Read the entire article here.
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I promised all of you I’d pass the word when I find stories that take an optimistic tone on the strength of charitable giving in 2009. In keeping with my promise weeks ago, I’d like to point you to an article by Megan Sexton in the Sioux City Journal.
How can people consistently give in such difficult times? Paul Olson, an assistant sociology professor at Briar Cliff University, said churches are somewhat special among volunteer organizations. “People have deep emotional attachments to their congregations or churches,” Olson said. “They have the perception that in tough economic times churches will also be experiencing tough times economically. I think that the perception is out there and they want to make sure the church will be OK, so they continue to give.”
An interest in or passion for charitable giving often springs from religious faith, said Angela Dethlefs-Trettin, director of the Iowa Council of Foundations in Des Moines.
Read the entire article here.
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Big changes are happening over at Facebook. The company announced it would revert to its old terms of use in a blog posting. The decision followed wide-reaching outrage over the service’s updated policieson user-generated content. The changes essentially gave Facebook a “perpetual” license to use any uploaded materials within advertising or any number of other venues–even if the user had long since deleted the content, or even deleted the account.
What implications does this have for Social Networking? Given Facebook’s push to have rights to all content published, it remains unclear. Read a related story here.
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