Why Placing Restrictions on Giving Would Hurt Those in Need the Most

Philanthropy Roundtable’s Free to Give campaign elevates the voices of everyday Americans who have dedicated their careers to supporting those in need. Their work is made possible by the freedom of all Americans to give to the causes and communities they care about.

In a new Philanthropy Roundtable video, Stacey Langal, vice president of philanthropy at Kaulig Companies Ltd. and executive director of The Kaulig Foundation, warns that placing restrictions on how donors choose to give would inhibit giving by slowing down the process for donors to connect directly with those in need. Based in northeast Ohio, The Kaulig Foundation’s charitable work supports organizations that promote the educational, physical and emotional well-being of children and their families.


In the video, Langal illustrates that there are already processes in place that encourage donors to give effectively and allow charities to benefit from the process.

“I think that whether it’s a donor-advised fund (DAF) or it’s that direct giving from a person or an organization, or a family foundation, those are all structures and vehicles to enable a donor to give, and give effectively, create some process and structure …,” says Langal. “You don’t just want to throw those dollars out there and there not be a structure, a process, a mission to giving.”

Langal further says if lawmakers were to place restrictions on DAFs or direct giving, it would place heavy limitations on how foundations navigate funds to benefit the most vulnerable in our communities.

“We have a lot of nonprofits coming to us, so rather than just giving haphazardly, going back and relying on the structure that we created, whether that is certain numbers that we want to see, a mission that we have, that helps us give effectively and consistently.”

View more stories about the importance of philanthropic freedom at FreeToGive.org.


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