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Governments supporting Non-Governmental Organizations is expensive politics and bad economics. America is now $30 trillion in Federal debt, causing many problems in America. At the top are inflation, greater interest payments, tax hikes, spending cuts, and a decreased ability to respond to crises. It seems that at any governmental level, the increase in debt is related to deficit spending. Government grants of tax dollars to support non-governmental organizations they were not mandated to support, is inefficient, inappropriate, and it adds to deficit spending. In particular, the Federal government should adhere to its constitutionally mandated powers and not try to solve all of the social problems of America’s greater community.
To some, this might seem to be anti-NGO. It’s not. Rather, it is pro-NGO. Increasingly, over the years, NGOs have tended to rely more on grants from Federal, state, and local governments. Unfortunately, these sources of funding are less reliable than an endowment, leaving NGOs incapable of accurately budgeting and not knowing if their programs and services can continue to meet the needs of Americans.
Here’s what’s really ironic. There is a solution that was enacted by Congress in 1969 and is cited in Section 664 of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States. Over fifty years ago, this solution was intended to create endowment to be the source of sustainable funding for NGOs today. Unfortunately, it never worked that way. That is because Americans know little about Section 664. Other laws enacted by Congress, Section 401K and Section 529, are widely known and used. Almost every American knows about 401K. A lot of Americans know about 529 plans. So why not Section 664?
Aventura Sunny Isles Beach Chamber of Commerce and Endow America Network Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, believe there are at least three reasons why Americans don’t use Section 664 as they do Sections 401k and 529:
- Section 664 has been grossly under promoted and remains little known and understood by Americans.
- There are not enough professional advisors qualified to properly implement this section of the code for the benefit of Americans, and
- There have been no real proponents to bring Section 664 to the attention of Americans.
In fact, it is these three reasons that gave rise to the Endow America Network Foundation (EANF) and the Council of Professional Philanthropic Advisors. EANF and the chamber are committed to educating financial advisors as they become professional philanthropic advisors, dedicated to assisting their clients become endowed as they in turn endow the NGOs of their choice. Financial advisors who complete a continuing education course produced by EANF will become members of the Council of Professional Philanthropic Advisors. As this movement grows, NGOs will be less dependent on government for unreliable funding and government can start to climb out of crippling debt.
One final piece of the picture is EANF’s education of the general public about the use of financial charitable tools, such as a Charitable Remainder Trust, a Charitable Gift Annuity, and a Pooled Income Fund, among others. EANF is using traditional media, social media, its website www.socialsecharity.org, YouTube, and its partnership with the Aventura Sunny Isles Beach Chamber of Commerce to reach the public. Be sure to tune into Route 664 – the Road to Human Kindness, a Community Newspaper weekly webcast.
