Sharpe Blog

The most recent Bank of America Study of Philanthropy, published by the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, comes on the heels of sweeping tax changes contained in 2025’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. You can read a summary of the report here. At Sharpe Group, our philosophy—and practice—is to inform fundraisers about tax policies and…

By Chris Woehrle The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) imposes a floor and a cap on charitable giving for tax years beginning in 2026. For all itemizers, a new 0.5% floor applies, meaning the first 0.5% of AGI contributed generates no tax benefit. Only the excess of contributions over the floor generates tax savings….

We asked the Sharpe Group team to share their favorite things about Thanksgiving. Here are some of their thoughts and reminiscences. The gratitude, dredging up old family recipes, football on TV and the adorable way my Midwestern wife calls Thanksgiving dressing “stuffing.” —Grant Miller Being with family and friends. —Cindy Hatler Turkey and dressing leftovers…

The IRS recently announced their annual inflation adjustments for taxes, affecting more than 60 tax provisions. Some changes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) take place beginning tax year 2025 (thus changing the original 2025 rates), while some do not take effect until tax year 2026. These tables may be helpful as you…

Gift planners are often called upon to do more than raise money. While many do not offer legal advice, they help encourage donors to make sure their wishes—charitable or otherwise—are protected. Basic estate planning principals are often part of a gift planner’s toolbox. If your donor communications haven’t been updated recently, you may be missing…

It’s been proven time and time again that charitable organizations receive much of their annual gifts in the final quarter of the year. As you begin formulating your communications strategy for the fall, it’s important to understand how and why people choose to give during that time of year. Having analyzed results from the marketing…

By Barlow T. Mann As a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), there is a new below-the-line charitable deduction for cash gifts from nonitemizers ($1,000 for single filers and $2,000 for those filing MFJ) beginning in 2026. For those who will continue to itemize, gifts of cash remain generally deductible up to…

By Chris Woehrle Section 110190 of the House-passed H.R. 1, One Big Beautiful Bill Act (the “Act”),1 has the potential to upend the financing of public education by providing a tax credit. Specifically, individuals would be entitled to a credit representing the greater of (1) $5,000 or (2) 10% of adjusted gross income (AGI). For…