Cropped BHI

Survey: Tax credits are a good idea

from NewsLink, Vol. 1, No. 2, Winter 1997

Private charitable organizations aren't ready to claim full responsibility for welfare programs, but they assert overwhelmingly that they should have a key role in providing assistance to the poor. And they are in strong agreement that charitable tax credits are a good idea.

In November 1996, BHI surveyed the executive directors of 250 nonprofit organizations in six states (Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri and Kansas) that offer tax credits for targeted charitable contributions. These states were selected because, though their tax credit programs are small, their impact on nonprofit organizations is instructive as is the way they are viewed by private providers.


 
Executives clearly believe there is a strong role for nonprofit organizations to play in providing welfare-type services.

  
 


BHI received a 33% return rate Ðwell above the normal 10% rate expected from anonymous surveys. Most returned surveys included full answers to all questions. State agencies responsible for certifying credit-eligible participants, usually departments of revenue, provided the names of nonprofit organizations. Survey participants thus represented a wide array of nonprofit organizations: from the YWCA to community foundations to food pantries. Among the strongest responses:

  • 88% of nonprofit organization executive directors think tax credits for charitable contributions are a good idea.
  • 84% say charities and nonprofit organizations should provide assistance to the poor, yet only 16% think nonprofit organizations should be the sole providers of welfare programs.
  • 49% think their budgets are too small.
  • 92% think their organization uses resources efficiently.

Concerning personal responsibility:

  • 62% think welfare recipients should work for their benefits.
  • 75% think fathers of unwed mothers should be forced to support their children.
  • 44% are ambivalent about forcing families to stay together, reflecting the dysfunctional families that many nonprofit organizations serve.
  • 87% think some individuals need constant assistance.

Survey Graphs Pie Charts

BHI conducted the survey to fill a void in our knowledge about providers feelings toward the compassion tax credit. The survey suggests that welfare reform needs to continue to stress work and personal responsibility. The executives clearly believe there is a strong role for nonprofit organizations to play in providing welfare-type services, but there must be enough funding for them to be effective. A compassion tax credit can provide this role.

NewsLink is the quarterly newsletter of the Beacon Hill Institute for Public Policy Research at Suffolk University. © 1996-1997. All rights reserved.