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The Greater Give: New legislation encouraging charitable giving announced by Congressman Pocan
Local leaders gather at Boys & Girls Club of Dane County to announce federal legislation
MADISON, WI – October 15, 2018 – Encouraging more charitable giving is the goal of a new bill introduced into Congress called The Everyday Philanthropist Act. Congressman Mark Pocan, co-sponsor of the bill, along with Dan Rashke of “The Greater Give” and Boys & Girls Club leaders and students gathered in Madison today to urge businesses and community leaders to sign on to support the effort.
The Everyday Philanthropist Act (H.R. 6616) was introduced into Congress with the goal of enabling everyday, working Americans to give to the communities they care about. The legislation proposes the creation of a Flexible Giving Account, or FGA, a pre-tax payroll deduction for employee giving that would allow millions more Americans to lower their taxes by giving back.
The bill has bi-partisan support including several representatives from the Wisconsin delegation. Congressman Mark Pocan, a co-sponsor of the legislation, joined the event Monday to talk about the bill’s merits and how it would positively impact local organizations like the Boys & Girls Club.
“This bill is good for charities, good for workers, and good for employers,” Pocan said. “This is exactly the kind of common sense legislation Congress should be rallying around and I’m thrilled to support it. The Everyday Philanthropist Act would allow working Americans to give to the communities and charities they care about while allowing more Americans to receive immediate tax benefits for their donations. This flexibility will ultimately help expand the positive impact that philanthropic organizations have on our communities.”
Wisconsin is currently home to 30,854 charities – each and every one of which stands to benefit from The Everyday Philanthropist becoming law.
Dan Rashke is the director of “The Greater Give”, a Madison-based nonprofit aimed at compelling more giving through a movement of shared responsibility in the workplace. According to Rashke and others supporting the bill, taxpayers, businesses and charities all stand to benefit from this new bill, and not just here in Wisconsin, but throughout the United States.
“This bill has the opportunity to dramatically increase charitable donations for nonprofits like the Boys & Girls Club here in Wisconsin and across the country,” Rashke said. “These organizations rely on charitable donations to continue the important services and programming they offer in our community each and every day. At a time when individual donors are on the decline, we stand strongly behind this bill to help reverse the trend.”
“We are honored to be a part of this event today,” added Andrew Gussert, director of the Wisconsin Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs. “Empower, work together, give back – these are all values here at the Boys & Girls Club and the kind of outcomes promoted by The Everyday Philanthropist Act. On behalf of the Dane County Boys & Girls Club, I’m proud to announce our support for The Everyday Philanthropist Act.”
The group toured the Boys & Girls Club facility and met with students who are part of the Club’s after school program. The Dane County Club serves more than 7,500 young people in ten locations, including eight school-based sites and two traditional club sites.
