Today, Independent Sector released polling research that shows that Americans are overwhelmingly united in support of the charitable sector. We are thrilled, though not surprised, by results of this important work.
What our research has found is that individuals like you and organizations like yours are trusted and valued by American voters on both ends of the political spectrum. Not just that, the report shows that voters encourage and expect the government to collaborate with our sector to solve problems, advocate for our sector’s participation in the policy process, and support policies that enhance charitable giving.
The research, which included two voter focus groups as well as a national phone survey of 1,300 voters, is summarized in a new report, United for Charity, released on our website today and presented at a congressional briefing this morning.
Among the highlights of the report are:
- 78 percent of voters support a bigger role for the charitable sector in working with the federal government to produce more effective and efficient solutions to problems.
- 88 percent believe we should make it easier for people to deduct charitable contributions from their taxes.
- 85 percent believe charitable groups and nonprofits should operate under the same set of rules and regulations as everyone else in the policymaking space.
- 74 percent trust charities with their checkbooks over the federal government and want to see expanded access to charitable giving.
To help in the dissemination of this information, we have created an infographic and communications toolkit to encourage ease in sharing.
The trust that Americans have in our organizations and our sector is a foundation we can build on for deeper engagement and wider participation with our policymakers. Over the course of the next several months, we will be finding new ways to incorporate this messaging into our policy work and further educating members, other nonprofit organizations, and policymakers on how we can unite in our work to improve lives and the natural world.
We look forward to our continued work on championing the charitable sector and solving our country’s most challenging problems.
We will have several opportunities to talk about this exciting work at the Independent Sector Conference in November. In the meantime, please share your thoughts or suggestions for how to make this data useful to your organization by emailing publicpolicy@independentsector.org.
