Post 3

This weeks collection of readings from Non Profit Nation and the articles posted on blackboard really directed my thoughts on the effectiveness and purposes of nonprofits and donating to them. In chapter 3 in the book, I was not surprised to learn that more people volunteer through religious organizations than any others because of the number of religious groups there are and how many members are involved with each. I did not realize how much of a societal impact religion has on our population and that we are considered in beliefs and practices one of the most religious of the developed nations. It's important to recognize religion for its assistance in respect to charitable giving and donating to other nonprofit sub sectors like social service, health and education.
After reading the Charitable Deduction under Scrutiny, I feel as though limiting the tax break for charitable gifts will have a definite affect on the amount people will be giving, and that a lot of the charitable organizations that people are turning to due to the current status of our economy will be impacted negatively. Its hard to be optimistic about the particular situation given that similar plans have been carried out and failed in the past. I do still think that those who have the money that regularly donate to charities and nonprofits don't do it for the tax deduction, and will continue to donate if they have sufficient funds to do so. The PhilanTopic blog post was confusing for me as I am still learning how to connect the concept of donating and paying taxes but I do understand that the height in taxes recipients of estates will have to pay could significantly change the amount they choose to donate based on what they have to give. I thought the blog post by Dan Pallotta was personally the most thought provoking of the readings. I feel as though creating a platform to measure charity effectiveness could make or break the success and income of a charity or nonprofit, but could be too beneficial to major nonprofits and to people who use the donation dollars to give up on this way to measure effectiveness. I think it could be most useful in directing people where to donate most and give them a sense of where their donation dollar is going. Although it's benefits would be great, is it worth all the money and spending on a universal method? I feel like there has to be a simpler and cheaper way. I guess it's a work in progress. As for the blog by Tim Harford, I understand that there are differences in reasons why people donate, but when it comes down to it, we can't forget that despite their intentions, people are still putting money toward whatever causes they feel inclined to donate to, whether there are outside influences there or not. Over all I think this weeks readings supplied me with a lot of different topics regarding nonprofits to think deeper about.