A March gathering orchestrated by Professor Ray Madoff, co-founder and director of the Boston College Law School Forum on Philanthropy and the Public Good, was one of the few times—since charitable tax benefits were enacted 100 years ago—that nonprofit leaders met to consider tax issues through the particular lens of operating nonprofits.
Some twenty-five executives—among them heads of the United Way Worldwide, American Heart Association, Catholic Charities USA, Americans for the Arts, and YMCA of the USA—convened at the Ford Foundation in New York to talk about provisions to the tax code relevant to charitable giving and to hear presentations from prominent scholars and government officials.
The conference drew praise from attendees. “I learned a tremendous amount,” said one, capturing the general sentiment. “It’s clearly an important task to take on in these challenging times. We will have to rely ever more heavily on philanthropy, and anything we can do to increase it will be of benefit.”