Making a donation to a charity feels good, and, for a long time, donors also saw a tax benefit.
Changes to federal tax law that took effect in 2018 removed at least part of that incentive, and local nonprofits are starting to feel the strain.
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"We are concerned that the initial numbers that have come in from IRS data and from surveys of nonprofits suggest there has been somewhat of a drop in giving," said David Heinen, who is the vice president for public policy and advocacy for the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits.
New data from the IRS shows that Americans itemized $54 billion less in charitable donations in 2018 when compared to 2017.
The reason is simple math. The tax law, which was signed in late 2017, nearly doubled the standard deduction people can take, making itemizing less attractive.
"A lot of folks were surprised when they came in with their 50 receipts and I totaled it up that we were still going to use the standard deduction," said Ron Elmer who is a certified public accountant based in Cary.
"In 2017, roughly 80% of my clients itemized, and in 2018, only 20% itemized," Elmer said.
The Food Bank of Eastern and Central North Carolina saw this change coming when the tax law was announced.
"When we first saw the policy, we were very nervous," said Amy Beros who is the vice president of development for the food bank.
Beros said the food bank hasn't seen an overall decrease in the amount of money donated yet, but they have seen a decrease in the number of people donating, and that is creating some concern about the future.
"What is going to be the long-term effect as folks get more comfortable with the change and their tax situation, and is that going to be an ongoing decline that we will see?" she said.
The IRS numbers don't necessarily show a drop in actual giving, but they do show a huge drop in what's been a traditional reason for giving.
"We are concerned that it's kind of the front end of a trend that is going to continue," said Heinen.
Nonprofits are taking steps to adjust during this new era. Many are reaching out to loyal givers and volunteers to express how much every dollar means, especially now.
"That is our goal on an annual basis – to make our donors feel as valuable as we can because we want them to see the impact," said Beros.
There is some good news for nonprofits moving forward. Many have seen a slight increase in donations from corporations after the tax law change, and they are hoping that money helps to fill some of the gap.