Obama has caused quite the stir in the non profit world.  Lately, I have heard mumblings from several LARGE non profits saying that Obama’s new tax plan will really hurt their ability to fund raise by not allowing the same tax deductions for charitable giving that we’ve had in the past.  In my short readings on this, I have found two things.

1.  The foundations that are more likely to get F-ed are the ones that rely on a few MAJOR donations from a small pool of donors.

2.  Smaller foundations will do just  fine because most of the time the average donation is well below 1,000.  Is that responsible?  It is with Obama’s new tax plan!  

I don’t see this as “terrible” largely because change is good and this is no different.  If you’re going to go out there, sell passion, get a lot of people bought in at a smaller financial level and do what’s right by and for them, then this won’t effect you.  However, if you’re a MONSTER charity providing shelter for rich dollars then you’re probably gonna feel this.  

If Obama taught the world anything about fundraising it’s this:  If you have a strong message fueled by passion and you ask people to believe in that message by giving ANYTHING then you will have the masses on your side and that will amount to more support, money and visibility than any black tie dinner.

Like it or not, the times are changing.  For all of you who are interested in getting involved in or starting a foundation driven by passion, don’t let this stop you.  For all of the BIG foundations out there bracing for impact, I suggest you get a facebook and twitter account and get to work like the rest of us! 

Here’s an article weighing in on the issue:  http://philanthropy.com/news/updates/index.php?id=7244