Dear Sport Fishing Advocates,

 

If you file an Oregon tax return, you can give $50.00 (single filing) or $100 (married filing) to the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Political Action Committee (PAC) before the end of 2007, and have that amount refunded back to you when you file your taxes early next year!  That's right, you can take advantage of the bump in your account from the Oregon Kicker refund (see article, below), write a check to the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Political Action Committee and receive a CREDIT (not a deduction!) on your Oregon tax filing.  Oregon does this to encourage citizens to get involved in the election process.  The Northwest Sportfishing Industry Political Action Committee can and does give money to candidates who will be leaders in protecting and growing our fishery resources, and the sport fishing and tourism industries dependant upon healthy watersheds. 

 

You know that the barriers to better sport fishing are political, and we must be involved in the political arena.  The Northwest Sportfishing Industry Political Action Committee gives to quality candidates in both Washington and Oregon, and you can designate one state or both states for your contribution.  Frankly, it would be tough to say one state has less need for our involvement in the Political process than another, so please consider giving regardless of which state, and regardless of the Oregon Kicker check or Oregon State Tax Credit.   Washington and Oregon supporters of healthy sport fishing all need to join and support this effort.

Remember, there is no justification for not contributing to a PAC if you are an Oregon Taxpayer!  Mail right way to: 

 

 

Oregon charities hope big kicker means big giving

Parents at Richmond Japanese Immersion School usually hold a fundraising drive each spring. But this year, they've added a fall campaign. It's called Kickstart Richmond for a reason: The kicker is coming.

In about two weeks, Oregon officials will begin mailing 1.7 million kicker checks, returning more than $1.1 billion to taxpayers in the biggest ever refund of surplus income taxes.

The checks could trigger $100 million in donations to charities, experts say, and that's why the Richmond Foundation and other nonprofits are asking supporters to consider donating at least part of their kicker.

The timing is perfect for nonprofits. Not only is the state putting an average of $612 into taxpayers' pockets, but the checks will arrive during the peak giving season. So United Way, the Portland Art Museum, the Portland Schools Foundation and other groups are mentioning the kicker in their year-end requests for donations.

"It's a huge opportunity for people to give back to the community, and it's a huge opportunity for nonprofits to sharpen their message as to why it's important to support them," says Tripp Somerville of the Portland Schools Foundation. "It's a no-duh opportunity."

In Southeast Portland, a flier sent to Richmond parents this month urges them to "Kickstart Richmond using your kicker." The school foundation hopes the kicker will help them raise more than the $65,000 they collected last year, which helped pay for a first-grade teacher, a reading specialist and a librarian.

Richmond's principal, Kathryn Anderson, says last year's contribution allowed the 438-student school to have four first-grade classes this year. That means 23 or 24 kids in each classroom, more manageable than three classes with 32 students apiece.

Although some nonprofits would prefer the state keep the tax money and spend it on more services, the groups hope the kicker checks will prompt Oregonians to give generously to charitable causes.

Some groups are still preparing their kicker-related efforts. Children First for Oregon, for example, plans to add an Internet site this week called kickerforkids.org that will ask supporters to not only donate their own kicker but also to encourage family and friends to contribute theirs.

And at Portland State University, students helping with fundraising will start calling alumni this week to ask that they contribute their kickers to the school.

Big time for giving

The holiday spirit combined with the end of the tax year makes this a key time for charitable giving.

Many groups receive more than half of their annual contributions at the end of the year. The Northeast Emergency Food Program, operated by Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, receives up to a third of its income in the last two months of the year. The Oregon Community Foundation typically gets half to two-thirds of its donations during the last three months.

Oregonians tend to contribute more to charities when they have more financial resources, says Greg Chaille, who has been president of the Oregon Community Foundation for 21 years. The foundation publishes an annual report on charitable giving in Oregon, which totals more than $1.2 billion a year.

Chaille says he won't be surprised if 10 percent of the more than $1 billion in tax refunds makes its way into charitable donations. "In fact, I would expect it," he says, "given the past pattern of generosity by Oregonians.

"That would move giving up by about $100 million. I think that would be a reasonable amount to expect people to give."

13,500 already donated

Oregon's one-of-a-kind kicker law, created in 1979, requires the state to send refunds to taxpayers when income tax collections top projections by more than 2 percent. The last time there was a kicker for personal income taxpayers was 2001.

Although this year's checks won't arrive until December, some Oregonians already have donated their kicker. About 13,500 taxpayers checked a box on their 2006 state return donating their kicker to the State School Fund, which pays for school operations.

Those contributions totaled $6.9 million, the state Department of Revenue says.

Since the record kicker amount was announced, some of those taxpayers have asked revenue officials whether they could change their minds and get their kicker. The answer: Nope.

But some of the donors wish more people would give.

George Lederer, librarian at Portland Jewish Academy, and his wife, Lori Lancaster, a high school teacher, figure their kicker was about $800. Noting that their grown son and daughter attended Portland-area public schools and earned degrees from state universities, the Southeast Portland couple say they want more money directed to education.

But Lederer says a $1 billion tax refund is "a big mistake" at a time when he considers mental health, foster children, K-12 education, higher education and state police to be inadequately funded.

"We feel this is the only thing we can do to actively show that we think the money should be given back," Lederer says.

Despite the potential windfall for them, some nonprofit officials are uncomfortable with the kicker, too.

"It's problematic that the state continues to have a kicker when there are so many needs going unmet," says David Leslie, executive director of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, an association of 17 Christian denominations.

Government funding has declined for Ecumenical Ministries' food, homeless, HIV/AIDS and refugee programs, making it increasingly reliant on private donations, Leslie says. Although the group isn't mentioning the kicker in its year-end requests for donations, it is acutely aware of the $1 billion about to be stuffed into taxpayers' wallets.

"If you want to give part or all of your kicker check," Leslie says, "we'll put it to good use."

Dave Hogan: 503-221-8531; davehogan@news.oregonian.com