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Issue #233
August 1, 2008

Your Immediate Action Needed to Encourage Increased Federal Mileage Deduction for Volunteers! Sign on to the GIVE Act Support Letter by Monday at 3:00 P.M.!

The Giving Incentives to Volunteers Everywhere Act of 2008 (GIVE Act), to be introduced today by U.S. Senators Charles Schumer (D-New York) and John Ensign (R-Nevada), addresses the impact that the rising cost of fuel is having on volunteers, charities, and the communities being served by nonprofits. Under current law, any mileage reimbursement over 14 cents per mile that a volunteer receives from a charity must be treated as income. The GIVE Act would exclude from income the mileage reimbursements that charities provide them up to the business rate (currently 58.5 cents per mile). Additionally, this legislation raises the volunteer standard deduction for those volunteers who are not reimbursed for their mileage and makes the rate adjustable in the future by the IRS (currently the rate is statutory and requires Congressional action for adjustment).

Voice Your Support for the GIVE Act today by taking the following actions:

1. Sign on to the letter of support for the GIVE Act by 3:00 P.M. on Monday. The text of the letter is below. To add your signature, email Tiffany Aurora at taurora@mnaonline.org with your name, title, organization and address and indicate that you would like to add your signature to the GIVE Act Support Letter.
2. Tell us your stories about how this would help! How have the increased fuel costs hurt the volunteers at your organization? How would this legislation benefit your organization's ability to meet critical community needs? Tell us your story! Email your story to Tiffany Aurora at taurora@mnaonline.org or call her at 517-492-2400 and share your story over the phone.

The deadline for signing the GIVE Act Support Letter is Monday, August 4 at 3:00 P.M. Sign on today! Story collection will continue through the end of next week.

Language for the GIVE Act Support Letter

August 4, 2008
The Honorable Charles Schumer
313 Hart Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable John Ensign
119 Russell Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington DC 20510

RE:   The Giving Incentives to Volunteers Everywhere Act of 2008 (GIVE Act)

Dear Senators Schumer and Ensign,

We the undersigned organizations are writing to express our strong support for your bill, the Giving Incentives to Volunteers Everywhere Act of 2008 (GIVE Act), which addresses the impact of fuel prices on volunteers, charities, and the communities we serve.

The high price of gasoline is hurting volunteers who use their automobiles to serve their communities and is making it harder for charities to provide basic services. The impact of high gas prices on volunteerism is being exacerbated by two problems in current tax policy: 1) individuals must treat as income reimbursement of mileage by the charity in excess of 14 cents per mile, and 2) the rate at which volunteers may deduct the mileage they drive on behalf of a charity is fixed at only 14 cents per mile and has not been adjusted since 1998. Your bill corrects these problems by allowing volunteers to exclude from income the mileage reimbursements that charities provide them up to the business rate. Further, it raises the volunteer standard deduction for those volunteers who are not reimbursed for their mileage and makes the rate adjustable in the future. Both provisions are vitally important ways that Congress can address the high cost of gas and its impact on volunteers.

We believe your GIVE Act is an important and essential piece of legislation which is urgently needed to relieve the burden of high fuel prices on individuals who are donating their time to serve people in need in our communities. Through your leadership, you have demonstrated that providing immediate relief to the volunteers who are dedicated to improving the lives of others is not a partisan issue; rather, support for our volunteers is in everyone’s best interest.

Sincerely,

Want to sign on? Email your name, title, organization and address to Tiffany Aurora at taurora@mnaonline.org. Questions? Contact MNA at 517-492-2400.