A few years ago, a Foundation trustee stated, “we can’t wait for government to fix things anymore. If we want to grow our city to be a better place to live for all people, we’ve got to find ways to fix things ourselves.” At that time, the Albuquerque Community Foundation was expanding its work into economic and workforce development, traditionally a role for government institutions and business organizations, in hopes of providing access to economic opportunities for more of our city’s residents.

Since then, we’ve entered into public/private cross-sector partnerships to bridge gaps created by reduced government funding. Healthy Neighborhoods ABQ and City Alive are two examples, the first focusing on local sourcing and hiring, the latter supporting homegrown job creation and racial equity through living wage job growth. Both will deliver positive, rippling benefits.

Within the last month, several other cross-sector partnerships have developed important programs, all previously government funded, but now requiring private and philanthropic support.

First, the Bernalillo County district attorney’s office is developing a crime strategies unit to mine the wealth of available data to help prosecutors make informed decisions about criminal cases, ultimately reducing crime. The District Attorney will ask the NM Legislature in the upcoming session for $6 million run it. Whether or not he gets it, he is already talking with the Foundation, other philanthropic organizations and business leaders to fill the gap. No one doubts the program has great potential to make our community a safer place to live and work.

Second, the Mid-Region Council of Governments has approached us to support implementation of recent recommendations leveraging transportation assets to grow and diversify Albuquerque’s manufacturing base. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough money from government to pay for it. The Foundation will participate, as it is another great program that falls squarely under our goals of increasing economic opportunity.

Finally, we’ve been asked to help ensure that New Mexico is adequately and appropriately counted in the upcoming 2020 Census. Reports indicate New Mexico is the state most at risk for an undercount. There is a history of undercounting in New Mexico – in the 2000 Census, New Mexico was undercounted by two percent. Though small, this undercount led to a shortfall of over $1 billion federal dollars. In 2020, even a one percent undercount would mean a $600 million impact over a decade, especially affecting federal funds for Medicaid, SNAP, transportation and education. We could even lose a House of Representatives seat – and we only have three. The problem? NM Legislative funding in early 2018 will come too late to meet the Census Bureau’s initial data verification deadline, so private sector funding is being sought.

Each is a crucial project worthy of funding. Collectively, they could define the state’s long-term success. I have no doubt each will be successful in raising funds from charitable businesses, individuals and foundations who understand it is no longer plausible to expect government to fix things.

The charitable tax deduction has always been an incentive to support such programs. While the desire to simplify the tax code is understandable, it is absolutely unthinkable for lawmakers to dis-incentivize charitable giving. The Senate and House bills currently being reconciled will have long-term catastrophic impacts on philanthropy and the people and programs it serves. The bills double the standard deduction, which would drastically reduce the number of Americans itemizing their tax deductions. While many generous people will continue to donate, estimates show that charitable giving will decrease by $16-$24 billion every year.

The Albuquerque Community Foundation’s nearly $90 million endowment supports community needs through donations from generous individuals and businesses who support programs as described here. Many have done so in part because they earned a charitable tax deduction.

Government cutbacks are reality. Our elected officials assume the private sector will somehow make up the differences. So, why remove the tax deductibility of charitable donations?