Tell your Congressional Representatives to support the Shumer bill, Giving Incentives to Volunteers Everywhere (GIVE) Act of 2008 (S. 3429)!
As you know, volunteers are essential to implementing the mission of the Partnership and many other non-profits. Volunteering these days can be a problem if it involves a significant amount of driving our personal cars. Unfortunately, current federal tax law allows a charitable mileage deduction of only 14 cents per mile, and this has created a barrier that is preventing many people from volunteering as much as they would like. As a result, nonprofits from coast to coast have been losing volunteers because of high gas prices and this unfair tax statute.
I am asking you to give your strong support to the Giving Incentives to Volunteers Everywhere (GIVE) Act of 2008 (S.3429).
Introduced August 6, by U.S. Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and John Ensign (R-NV), and co-sponsored by Sen. Dodd of Connecticut, the Act addresses the adverse impacts on volunteers of high gas prices and the current discriminatory tax policy towards nonprofits by (1) setting the charitable volunteer rate at 70% of the standard business mileage rate, as adjusted by the IRS, in effect raising the charitable mileage deduction from 14 cents to almost 41 cents; and (2) making this change permanent, rather than requiring annual legislation.
A letter of support for the "GIVE Act" already has been sent to Senators Schumer and Ensign by the National Council of Nonprofit Associations, 34 other state associations of nonprofits, American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), American Red Cross, Catholic Charities USA, Independent Sector, and United Way of America. We are now asking AMC members and volunteers to add their voices.
Congress will be in session for only a few weeks before it adjournes at the end September or early October. Now is the time to contact our Senators and Representatives to ensure passage by both chambers within the next few weeks - a very short time given the large number of bills to be considered.
Take Action: What You Can Do
- Contact your U.S. Senators and your Representative now by phone, fax, and/or email to urge them to support and to co-sponsor the GIVE Act; (write your elected officials electronically by visiting:
http://givevoice.org/campaign/giveact
- Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper urging your Senators and Representatives to support the GIVE Act and make sure it gets passed in September. This bill is extremely important for the Partnership and other non-profit organizations across the nation. So please add your voice today by using the letter below or adding your own experiences.
