Predictions

It’s Resolutions time of year, or perhaps Goals time of year, both of which are aspirational. For the most part, the resolutionary is responsible for making it happen, and when it doesn’t happen, they feel a little guilty. That’s why I suggest predictions, which avoid responsibility (unless you are in the business of predictions), and allows for wish fulfillment, or downright absurdity. Herewith are my eleven (no surprise there) Crisis Charitable Commitment 2023 Predictions (in no particular order):

1. At a national convening of Donor-Advised-Fund Sponsors, a resolution is passed to require a minimum 10% distribution for all accounts (this done to avoid impending, bipartisan legislation requiring a minimum 15% distribution).
2. The IRS issues a ruling that the monetary value of naming rights to the donor are not tax-deductible.
3. The Crisis Charitable Commitment recognition program for donors and private foundations who give at a higher level as a percentage of their wealth surpasses 200 signers and $1 billion in charitable contributions.
4. Twitterites give up their accounts en masse and turn to the New York Times for their information.
5. In national surveys conducted independently by 4 different polling organizations, the public overwhelmingly agrees that there are no good billionaires (even if some are better than others, and even if some give some fraction of their billions to amazing nonprofit organizations), leading to…
6. The Chronicle of Philanthropy discontinues its Philanthropy 50 list that glorifies billionaire philanthropists.
7. The Giving Pledge, where signers had promised to give away 50% of their wealth, make two minor changes to their rules–the money must be given away during the lifetime of the donor and it must go to an active charity (not a private foundation or donor-advised fund)–and promptly lose all but two of their members.
8. Plans to build in Washington, D.C. a national monument to billionaires (who as a group provided most of the money to get members of Congress elected) are scuttled in response to overwhelming public outrage and instead create a monument to honor donors who meet the CCC’s Charitable Standard.
9. Nonprofit organizations refuse to accept gifts from ultra-rich donors and foundations unless they have joined the Crisis Charitable Commitment.
10. A Charitable Tax Reform package–that reduces the charitable tax benefits for the ultra-rich and passes those benefits down to the middle class–is passed in the House but can’t overcome the filibuster in the Senate, making Democratic Senators angry enough that Senators Synema and Manchin demand an end to the filibuster rules.
11. There is a surge in ultra-rich donors and private foundations who place the interests of their grantees ahead of their own.

We’ll check in next year and see how I did!