Congress to create new caucus on philanthropy

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - The House of Representatives will put the spotlight on nonprofits this session with the establishment of a bipartisan caucus dedicated to the sector, The Examiner has learned.

Rep. Robin Hayes, R-N.C., will co-chair the first-ever Congressional Philanthropy Caucus, and there are hopes for a matching caucus on the Senate side. Several senators have expressed an interest in forming such a group though no one has been willing to sign up as yet.

A caucus generally serves as a focal point for members interested in pursuing a common legislative goal. For example, the philanthropy caucus is a potential platform for members to hold briefings on sector needs for other elected officials and coordinate legislation.

The announcement came as 390 national foundation leaders and executives fanned out across Capitol Hill Wednesday in the annual Foundations on the Hill lobbying exercise sponsored by the D.C.-based Council on Foundations. To get a better understanding of the effort, The Examiner arranged to accompany one group of local foundation executives as they made their rounds in the House and Senate. The Examiner agreed not to identify either the nonprofit executives or the offices they visited.

In some cases, the visitors met with staffers who were experts on nonprofits. In other cases, they talked with the members themselves. Overall, foundation officials found a receptive tone, with members pledging to work with them to educate lawmakers and advance legislative goals.

That need to educate new members and staff was the biggest difference between last year’s visits and this year, according to observers. Many congressional offices needed information on what foundations do and how they could help the nonprofit sector, while others wanted to be briefed on the latest developments and trends in foundations.

“Philanthropy is nonpartisan,” one executive told The Examiner. “But not all members or their staff understand what to do [to help us],” she added.

The first thing foundation officials want Congress to do is extend the IRA Charitable Rollover provision. The provision, which expires this year, permits someone 70 or older to donate money in an IRA without paying tax on the distribution. Nonprofits would also like to see the $100,000 cap removed and the option for making such an IRA disbursement extended to younger donors.

Before they left for Capitol Hill, foundation representatives got an earful during a breakfast speech by Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., House Majority Whip. He urged nonprofit leaders to not just “listen to what we have to say” on Capitol Hill, “but educate us, help us to understand that we have roles to play that are supplementary to those you nonprofit leaders have.”

He also told the leaders earmarks were widely misunderstood and were in fact a great benefit to nonprofits.

“This is what happens when people don’t understand how this process works,” Clyburn said.

Clyburn bemoaned the loss of earmarks stripped from the Fiscal Year 2007 Continuing Resolution recently passed by the House. According to Clyburn, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America went from an earmarked appropriation of $85 million in 2006 to zero.

“I represent a District that needs these types of funds — is there anything wrong with that? I don’t think so.”

Have information about area nonprofits? Contact Frank Sietzen at fsietzen@yahoo.com.