Passionate Steward - 10th Anniversary Edition

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Chapter VIII
On the Law and Generosity
Tax Law
One of the greatest failings of the secular charitable sector
today—and which unfortunately has been woven into the fabric of
fundraising in the Church—is its misunderstanding of the
motivation for giving. For the Christian, giving is a matter of
generosity, and its motivation lies in the deepest convictions of our
faith, informed by love and our baptismal covenant. Secular
fundraisers, however, undercut this principle when they promote tax
deductions and credits as a compelling incentive for charitable
giving. More than this, and ironically, statistics show that the
aggressive emphasis on tax incentives as a strategy for eliciting
charitable gifts, even in the secular arena, is misplaced.
In the past, social scientists, demographers and statisticians
have argued that a tax code which rewards and promotes charitable
giving is the reason for America’s leadership in philanthropic
giving. While there are significant differences between the Internal