In any conversation about philanthropy, the nonprofit perspective matters. Nonprofit staff members and volunteers are, after all, the people doing the critical work that philanthropy supports. That is why, in November 2019, CEP surveyed nonprofit CEOs about a variety of current issues that have been hotly debated throughout the philanthropic sector, including the impact of recent tax code changes, anticipated changes in nonprofits’ revenue, concerns about a recession, the pros and cons of donor-advised funds (DAFs), and the prevalence and use of gift acceptance policies.

When the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act went into effect on January 1, 2018, many predicted that it would negatively impact charitable giving. They argued that the legislation would reduce the number of individuals who itemize their tax deductions, thereby reducing incentives to make tax-deductible charitable donations.

The majority of nonprofit CEOs who responded to our survey agree with these predictions, saying that they believe these tax code changes have decreased individual giving to their organizations.

Nonprofit CEOs’ predictions for their organization’s overall revenue in the current and next fiscal year are mixed. Almost half of nonprofit CEOs anticipate that their organization’s overall revenue will be higher in the current fiscal year as compared to the last fiscal year. Predictions about overall revenue in the next fiscal year are similar.

Read more about The Funding Landscape at The Center for Effective Philanthropy.