The annual Christians United for Israel Summit kicked off in Washington on Sunday, and continues into this week. Dr. Miriam Adelson is slated to address attendees at this morning’s plenary session. This afternoon, Auburn University men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl (who is rumored to be considering a Senate bid in Alabama) will speak in conversation with CUFI Action Fund Chair Sandra Hagee Parker about his pro-Israel advocacy. Journalist Amir Tibon, whose book The Gates of Gaza recounts his family’s experience surviving the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, will speak later this afternoon. Hostage advocate Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose son, Hersh, was killed by Hamas in captivity, will speak at this evening’s Night to Honor Israel reception.

A QUICK WORD WITH EJP’S JUDAH ARI GROSS

The philanthropic sector appears to have dodged two bullets as President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” moves through the Senate, with the removal of two aspects of the initial legislation. Yet, remaining elements of the bill are expected to reduce charitable giving by between $6.2 billion and $13 billion annually, according to two recent analyses. 

Debate is already underway on the tax bill in the Senate, with a vote expected later today. Trump has called for the bill to be passed by July 4. 

For large philanthropic foundations, one of the most worrying aspects of the House’s version of the bill was a proposed increase of the excise tax rate, which experts said would have a major impact on the nonprofits receiving grants from these organizations. Another aspect of the bill that was considered less significant but still of concern for the industry was a planned tax on the parking and transportation benefits that nonprofits provide to employees. Read more about those issues here. Both of those proposals have been removed from the draft legislation that was prepared by the Senate Finance Committee.

Remaining in the bill, however, is a 35% cap on itemized deductions, which would affect some of the wealthiest donors, and a 1% floor on charitable giving for corporations in order to claim tax benefits — below the average level of giving by corporations. Each of these changes is expected to depress charitable contributions at a time when other aspects of the bill — particularly those related to Medicaid and welfare benefits — are expected to increase public reliance on nonprofits.

An analysis by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy found that the 35% cap on itemized deductions would primarily affect those on the border with the highest tax bracket of 37%. Those who had been planning to make charitable donations in order to avoid reaching that higher tax bracket but who would no longer be able to because of the new cap on deductions may instead decide to keep their money. 

The study’s authors noted that it is unlikely that everyone would choose to do so, either because they had already committed the funds or because they have other, more altruistic reasons to make a donation. Therefore, they offered a range of potential consequences from the deductions cap, from $2 billion to $8.2 billion. “However, based on prior research on elasticities and a metaanalysis, we estimate the effect of this 35% limit would be at least in the $4.1 billion to $6.1 billion range,” the researchers wrote.

Ernst & Young found that the 1% floor on corporate charitable giving would also likely result in reduced donations by for-profit companies, though the full extent depends on the willingness of firms to “bunch” together their various annual donations into single, larger gifts. (A firm planning to give smaller annual gifts, each amounting to less than 1% of its pretax profits, could instead decide to give them in one lump sum worth more than 1% of its pretax profits.) 

According to the analysts, the extent to which that “bunching” happens would determine if the change would decrease charitable giving by $4.2 billion annually or $4.8 billion or somewhere in the middle.

Change of Heart: In The Washington Post, former Texas governor and current Secretary of Energy Rick Perry throws his support behind the use of a psychedelic drug called ibogaine for treating trauma, addiction and brain injury. “Like many people, I thought I knew what psychedelics were — that they were dangerous, something to stay far away from. I grew up during the Nixon era, when the message was clear: Drugs are bad, psychedelics will ruin your life, and the only responsible path is total avoidance. But I’ve come to realize how wrong that narrative was… Thousands of American veterans have now traveled to Mexico, outside the country they served, to access this treatment and heal from wounds sustained in service to this nation. That fact should stop every one of us in our tracks… But without large-scale research, we can’t grasp the full extent of what this medicine might be able to do. That’s why I launched Americans for Ibogaine, a nonprofit dedicated to educating the public, advancing clinical research, and pushing for responsible, regulated access to this medicine in the United States and beyond.” [WashingtonPost]

Not the Solution: In The New York Times, economists Michael Geruso and Dean Spears address falling fertility rates worldwide. “Depopulation might seem welcome. It is true that people caused today’s environmental problems. And it is right to prioritize the challenges of climate change, global poverty and inequality. In our careers, we’ve worked for aggressive decarbonization, reproductive freedom, caste and gender equity and better public health and health care. But falling birthrates are not the answer to our world’s problems. Confronting climate change requires that billions of people live differently. It does not require that billions of future people never live. Over the past few decades, there has been important progress on environmental priorities like particulate air pollution, stratospheric ozone depletion and acid rain. In each case, progress came from ending or changing the destructive activity part of people’s destructive activity. Not the people part.” [NYTimes]

A performer at the Glastonbury music festival in the U.K. chanted “Death to the IDF” onstage, prompting widespread outrage and backlash, including from within the BBC, which aired the concert uninterrupted…

British Jewish welfare nonprofit, Migdal Ohr, raised over $1 million in 36 hours to build bomb shelters and dormitories for the Zoharim Youth Village in Israel…

In his biggest annual donation in years, Warren Buffett donated $6 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Gates Foundation and four family charities on Friday…

The Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity at the University of Missouri raised more than $200,000 for pancreatic cancer research through the American Cancer Society in their annual Rock-A-Thon event…

Jon Marker is stepping down as the director of Jewish philanthropy at Aviv Foundation to become a vice president at the philanthropy consulting firm, Third Plateau… 

Noah Shack was named the next CEO of Canada’s Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, succeeding Shimon Koffler Fogel…

Brad Finkel will succeed Orly Lewis as CEO of the Carole and Marcus Weinstein Jewish Community Center in Richmond, Va…

Some of the tens of thousands of people who visited the gravesite in Queens, N.Y., of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, yesterday to mark the 31st anniversary of his death. 

Chief operating officer at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Stephanie Hausner… 

Rapid City, S.D., resident, Leedel Chittim Williamson… Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., resident, podiatrist, Dr. David Peter Bartos… Executive coach to nonprofit leaders, he was the founding director of the Museum of Jewish Heritage, Dr. David Altshuler… Former New York State assemblyman for 36 years, Dov Hikind… Former Harvard professor and author of books on the Holocaust and antisemitism, Daniel Goldhagen… Staff writer at The Atlantic, author of 10 books and former Bush 43 speechwriter, David Frum… Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, Stuart Jeff Rabner… Professor of astrophysics at McGill University, Victoria Michelle Kaspi… Founding executive director and now a senior advisor at JOIN for Justice: the Jewish Organizing Institute and Network, Karla Van Praag… Professor of Jewish studies at the University of Georgia, he is the co-editor of a handbook on 25 different Jewish languages, Aaron David Rubin… Columnist, author, poet and screenwriter, Matthew “Matthue” Roth… Former sports business analyst and reporter, now focused on the collectibles market, Darren Rovell… Reggae and alternative rock musician, known by his stage name Matisyahu, Matthew Paul Miller… Film and television actress, Elizabeth Anne (“Lizzy”) Caplan… Partner in OnMessage Public Strategies, Kyle J. Plotkin… Senior software engineer at Bloomberg LP, Noam Lustiger… Chief communications officer for Aleph Venture Capital, Erica Marom (Chernofsky)… Head coach of the men’s lacrosse program at Long Island University, Jordan Levine… Rhythmic gymnast who represented the U.S. at the 2012 Olympic Games, now a fitness coach and personal trainer, Julie Ashley Zetlin… English teacher in Tel Aviv, Michal Adar… Area director for the North Shore of Long Island at AIPAC, Abbey Taub…