Charitable Giving is Good. Be Smart About how to Encourage It.
Alex Brill and Grant M. Seiter | AEIdeas
In 2020, Americans’ individual charitable giving reached $324 billion, a record high and a 2.2 percent increase from 2019. While the pandemic imposed great costs on our society, many households shared their resources with others, including religious, educational, and human service organizations. For many reasons, giving is a good thing and our society is better for it. Encouraging people to give is also a good and worthy objective, if done well. Unfortunately, lawmakers currently are pursuing a tax incentive for charitable giving that is poorly targeted.
