Several years ago, the General Assembly voted to increase the contribution thresholds at which charitable organizations are required to, at their own expense, undergo an audit or financial review. These changes brought Pennsylvania law in-line with federal requirements but had the additional benefit of sparing smaller charitable organizations with limited financial assets the expense of an outside review. Nonetheless, a recent report found that Pennsylvania remains the worst state in the country to operate a charity. My legislation would take a small, but significant, step toward improving the environment for charities across our state.
 
Currently, the law requires charitable organizations to report pledges or grants of money, credit, property, financial assistance, or anything of value. This requirement includes contributions in the form of tangible goods, such as packaged food, diapers, or bookbags. For many charities, these gift-in-kind contributions are the lifeblood of their service to the community. These charities maintain limited staff and financial assets, but when gifts-in-kind are reported as required by law, their on-paper contributions push them above the threshold for a costly audit. My legislation would simply eliminate gift-in-kind contributions from the gross annual contributions reporting requirement.
 
Please join me in sponsoring this important legislation to make Pennsylvania a friendlier place for charities.
 

Statutes/Laws affected:
Printer's No. 0159: P.L.1200, No.202