Evaluating the potential impact of the tax reform

Claudia Sauers

Good morning!


I have been asked to pull some reports together that might evaluate the potential impact of the tax reform. Have any of you been doing the same? Or have you been given suggested criteria to look at?


All input is appreciated.


We are looking at gifts from individuals between Oct-Dec between $1000-$5000 assuming those donors are the most likely to itemize.


Thanks,

Claudia

Ryan Hyde

My gut tells me two things about this:


1.) This is such a case-by-case issue that trying to do some sort of large scale report is not going to give you meaningful results

2.) This problem has been overblown - most people give because they believe in your organization and want to help, not because they are trying to get a tax refund


That said, if you really want to figure out who may be at risk here, I would look at everyone who gave a large gift in the month of December of 2017 and then output their total gifta mount for the last 3-5 years. Focus on the people whose total gift amount for 2017 looks like it spiked in comparison to previous years. These are the people who are likely pre-paying their 2018 gift to maximize their tax deduction. They might not give in 2018, but they may still change their mind and decide to give if the ask is good enough, and most of them will probably be back in 2019 regardless of the fact that they're no longer incentivized to itemize their taxes. You just have to make sure you're still communicating with them so that they don't forget who you are.


I'm also going to drop a little blog writeup from MarketSmart here for your consideration: https://imarketsmart.com/3-reasons-why-you-need-to-stop-worrying-about-the-darn-tax-law/?utm_campaign=Blog&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=59804027&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--EPtbUIX8ofJhaXUXOgUdByLzhRhahhYWHkYymnf8Z_gIeOa4f4FpYq22778c33BMEc1SuMwbu_TWjGfQN2cNPeE9cZQ&_hsmi=59804027

Claudia Sauers

Thanks Ryan! I really appreciate your input and methodology!