Donor Advantage: Why giving to the DRA Now Might be Better than Later
Another Deschutes scene of splendor. Recent changes to federal rules on charitable giving could boost your impact on the DRA’s work. Photo courtesy of Alex Hinkle.
One Big Beautiful Year to Deduct the Full Amount of Charitable Contributions
Some changes to the tax code that were included in the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBA) passed by Congress earlier this year could mean that giving to the Deschutes River Alliance before 2025 passes could reduce your tax liability as well as make your contribution more impactful.
Starting January 1, 2026, a new charitable deduction “floor” will go into effect. The OBBBA imposes a 0.5% adjusted gross income (AGI) minimum for charitable contributions. Translation: only the portion of contributions above 0.5% of a taxpayer’s AGI will qualify for a deduction.
The new rules also will limit the tax benefit of itemized deductions, including charitable donations. For taxpayers in the top 37% U.S. income tax bracket, the OBBBA applies a roughly 5.4% reduction to the lesser of (a) total itemized deductions, OR (b) the amount taxable income exceeds the starting point of the 37% rate bracket.
What it means: if you’re in the top federal tax bracket, and you itemize deductions, giving more before the new rules go into effect next year could amount to a tax break in 2025 that won’t be available in 2026 and beyond. Under the current rules, if your adjusted gross income happens to be $1,000,000, a $100,000 contribution to the charity of your choice translates to a $100,000 tax deduction. Starting next year, that same contribution will be reduced to $89,870.
Help the DRA Achieve David vs. Goliath Status
The changes to the rules come at a time when the DRA has achieved some major milestones in our campaign to put cooler, cleaner water back into the lower Deschutes River. Thanks to you, Gov. Tina Kotek’s office took notice after hundreds of you took the time to write to the Governor to express your concern about the river we all love. Her office has directed the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to look at every available option to make things better on the lower Deschutes. We’re here to help. We’re working with our coalition partners and DEQ to identify that solution, and work toward implementing it.
In the meantime, the DRA continues to apply pressure to Portland General Electric to be as good stewards of this precious public resource as the company has promised to be. We are doing our level best to act as watchdogs over what can only be charitably described as a terribly anemic fish reintroduction program. And we continue to monitor the river via our science program, which has accurately and diligently tracked the decline of water quality in the river over more than a decade.
But as Pulitzer-prize winning investigative reporter Nigel Jaquiss noted in his Willamette Week cover story about the “Damned Deschutes,” “the disagreement over the Tower isn’t exactly David vs. Goliath. David at least had a sling.” PGE, the article notes, generates more revenue in 90 minutes than the DRA operates on for an entire year.
At the DRA, we’d love to make this a straight up David vs. Goliath fight. The revenue our supporters generously provide year over year, alongside the dedication of our board, staff, volunteers and partner organizations, are getting us closer to acquiring that proverbial sling.
As the days shorten and the river settles into its own style of hibernation until next spring, think about the current status of the lower Deschutes. Far from perfect because of nearly 15 years of mismanagement, it is still a beautiful, inspiring place. Here we recreate. And here we can re-create the river that the lower Deschutes River should be: flowing with cool, clean water and teeming with life.
Your heart is already in the right place with the care you’ve shown the river. If your wallet happens to be in a good place too, consider giving to the DRA. Your gifts, monetary and otherwise, are greatly appreciated. Thanks for all you do for the river.
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Everyone wants clean, healthy water in the Deschutes River. Oregonians cherish our clean and healthy waterways to provide drinking water, wildlife habitat and recreational activities. The lower Deschutes River is a federally designated Wild & Scenic River, and a national treasure. It must be protected for the environmental and economic health of Central Oregon. By working together we can return the lower Deschutes River to full health.
