economic crisis

Philanthropy has work to do. And it's not simply to be charitable and feed the hungry. The scale of United States national debt is so big - we're talking $11-14 trillion - and there is national, state, and municipal deficits too. Meanwhile, the amount of money held in most foundations for social justice and community-based activism is growing smaller still.

President Obama's new budget proposals would limit itemized tax deductions to 28% for people who earn more than $250,000. It also calls for reinstating marginal tax rates of 39.6% for the same group. As a result, The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University projects that overall charitable giving could decrease by 2.1% or $3.9 billion.

There is a lot of talk about the impact of current economic crisis on philanthropy. Amongst colleagues there are serious considerations of options. However some of the ideas being considered are quite inappropriate and perhaps even dangerous.