It seems to me that there are a couple (related) aspects to this that are worth delineating.
There are definitely fewer people itemizing deductions, and therefore fewer people deducting charitable contributions. That was almost certain given the increase in the size of the standard deduction, significantly raising the threshold where itemized deductions would exceed the standard deduction and it therefore benefit the taxpayer to itemize deductions, and, in fact, that is what happened: fewer taxpayers itemized their deductions, including charitable contributions.
However, it is another step from “fewer taxpayers deducted charitable contributions” to “fewer taxpayers made charitable contributions.” Even if every taxpayer made identical charitable contributions year-over-year, fewer of those taxpayers would had deducted those contributions.
Now, in fact, it seems likely that, unless reducing tax liability was no concern of taxpayers, the changed circumstances that making charitable contributions no longer reduced tax liability probably resulted in some taxpayers not making gifts that they would have made had they had the incentive of further reducing their taxes.
So the increased standard deduction very likely had the effect of reducing the number charitable contributions. But fewer taxpayers itemizing contributions does not, by itself, demonstrate that.
My US$0.02 worth; the usual disclaimers apply.
Good luck!
Alan
Alan S. Hejnal
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Subject: [FUNDSVCS] Where Have All of Your Donors Gone?
This chart from the CoP could explain your 2018 dip in individual donors. We can thank the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act for nearly doubling the standard deduction (I think):
[image.png]
John H. Taylor
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