Tax Reform and Donor Attitudes

  • Published March 13, 2019

When the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was passed, Marts & Lundy began to introduce questions on tax policy during campaign planning studies. Our first report provides early insights into the possible effects of the new tax policy.

Overall, we are finding that regardless of their giving status—major gifts or annual fund—donors are uncertain about what tax changes will mean to their giving. Most constituents report their giving will remain the same, and for those who anticipate change, more will increase their giving than decrease it. However, there is variance across giving levels:

  • Only 4% of survey respondents making gifts of $5K-plus annually report their giving will decrease.
  • 37% of feasibility interviewees were uncertain about how tax law changes will affect their giving.
  • 44% of survey respondents making gifts of less than $5K annually reported they were unsure of the impact of new tax laws on their philanthropic giving

You can download the report here.