Charities Look for Kicker Donations

With taxpayers looking forward to the largest kicker refund in history, Oregon charities are hoping to see an increase in donations.

From the Oregonian:

Parents at Richmond Japanese Immersion School usually hold a fundraising drive each spring. But this year, they've added a fall campaign. It's called Kickstart Richmond for a reason: The kicker is coming.

In about two weeks, Oregon officials will begin mailing 1.7 million kicker checks, returning more than $1.1 billion to taxpayers in the biggest ever refund of surplus income taxes.

The checks could trigger $100 million in donations to charities, experts say, and that's why the Richmond Foundation and other nonprofits are asking supporters to consider donating at least part of their kicker.

The timing is perfect for nonprofits. Not only is the state putting an average of $612 into taxpayers' pockets, but the checks will arrive during the peak giving season. So United Way, the Portland Art Museum, the Portland Schools Foundation and other groups are mentioning the kicker in their year-end requests for donations.

Some have projected that 10% of the total kicker refunds will be given to charity:

Many groups receive more than half of their annual contributions at the end of the year. The Northeast Emergency Food Program, operated by Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, receives up to a third of its income in the last two months of the year. The Oregon Community Foundation typically gets half to two-thirds of its donations during the last three months.

Oregonians tend to contribute more to charities when they have more financial resources, says Greg Chaille, who has been president of the Oregon Community Foundation for 21 years. The foundation publishes an annual report on charitable giving in Oregon, which totals more than $1.2 billion a year.

Chaille says he won't be surprised if 10 percent of the more than $1 billion in tax refunds makes its way into charitable donations. "In fact, I would expect it," he says, "given the past pattern of generosity by Oregonians.

"That would move giving up by about $100 million. I think that would be a reasonable amount to expect people to give."

Will you donate your kicker to charity? If so, to what charity?

Read the rest. Discuss.