Funding organizations across all tax statuses — 501c3, 501c4 and PACs — is critical to getting the political and policy results progressive donors seek. When I talk to a lot of nonprofit leaders, this is what they wish they could say to donors currently paying a tax of 10 or 20% on their income: “Hey, why don’t you just give us 80 or 90 cents on the dollar in funds unencumbered by c3 restrictions, and we’ll deliver all the change you, and more importantly we, want!”
For 20 years, the California Donor Table has rallied California’s donors on the left to pool more than $60 million across tax statuses with the goal of strengthening political power and community wellbeing among Black, Latinx, Asian American Pacific Islanders, Indigenous, and working class people in America’s biggest state. By prioritizing community-centered outcomes over donor tax breaks, we’ve established a progressive ecosystem of regional and state groups who engage community members year-round, including for elections. And when those groups do election work, they can and do support candidates and issues that make society more fair, inclusive and equitable.