Tell Governor Pritzker and State Legislators: Pass the Illinois Gives Act (HB 1241 / SB 172)

• PURPOSE:  Incentivize local charitable giving, increase the amount of permanently available nonprofit resources, provide middle class tax relief, and make the state tax code more fair
• SUPPORTED BY:  Forefront, Alliance of Illinois Community Foundations, Illinois Collaboration on Youth, Jewish United Fund
• IMPACT:  Would authorize a state income tax credit equal to 25% of contributions made to a permanent endowment at a qualified community foundation. Would bolster resources available to nonprofits in Illinois statewide in perpetuity.
• EQUITY NOTE:  Stipulates that taxpayers at all income levels are eligible (not just itemizers); reserves a portion for small individual gifts; bars a single taxpayer from receiving a high percentage of the total credits; ensures no more than 15% of the credit may go to any one community foundation, making it more accessible statewide, including rural areas and communities that haven't historically benefited from tax policy

Background

The IL Gives Act will establish a fairer charitable giving tax policy in Illinois and provide direct tax relief to lower and middle income taxpayers, benefiting all who give generously to charities in Illinois, not just the wealthiest that itemize their federal taxes. This incentive will increase charitable giving in Illinois and bring more dollars into the nonprofit sector (up to $100M in 5 years) and increase stable sources of funding for nonprofit employers statewide for workforce and capital needs. The program will leverage $4 in private funds for every $1 the state invests and keep money in Illinois for Illinois programs. Further, it will be administratively simple for the state and has a very modest budget impact compared to other existing income tax credits.

Related Resources

• Forefront Landing Page
• Forefront Fact Sheet
• Forefront Infographic
• Endow Iowa Example:  Quad Cities Community Foundation (QCCF) makes grants and manages endowments across state lines in both IA and IL. In IA, the Endow Iowa Tax Credit has been in place for years, resulting in stark differences that illustrate how the Illinois Gives Act may influence behavior in our state, increase the amount of giving, and create more stable resources for nonprofits on our side of the border. QCCF manages almost 3x as many non-DAF endowed funds for Iowa than they do for IL. Collectively, the QCCF Iowa endowments hold almost $4 million more actual dollars than the QCCF Illinois endowments and QCCF Iowa endowments hold over 4x as many dollars per capita (state population) than their Illinois endowments.