AFP Lobby Week 2025- June 16-June 20, 2025

This week offers nonprofit professionals a chance to speak up for and stand with the nonprofit sector!

 As a fundraising professional and champion for our sector, AFP Greater Austin members have a powerful opportunity to stand up for the communities and causes they serve by contacting their representatives and calling on them to support legislation to-

1. Restore and Expand the Charitable Giving Deduction for all Americans

2. Prevent Policies that would diminish resources for the nonprofit sector

3. Oppose efforts to unfairly tax nonprofit organizations 

4. Protect nonprofits from threats of tax-exempt revocation 

 Click here to learn more about AFP Lobby Week!

What You Can Do: 

Make your voice heard by calling or emailing your representatives! Here are is an email/phone call script that you can customize and use. 

Email Template (can also be used as a phone call script)

Subject: Please Support the Nonprofit Sector and Charitable Giving

Dear [Senator/Representative X],

As a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Greater Austin Chapter and your constituent, I urge you to support S. 317 / H.R. 801 to restore and expand the universal charitable deduction.

I work for a nonprofit organization serving the Greater Austin community — a region with one of the highest concentrations of nonprofits per capita in the country. Thousands of your constituents depend on the vital services nonprofits provide to meet basic needs, improve quality of life, and strengthen our communities.

Nonprofits are facing unprecedented challenges. We need thoughtful public policy that protects and strengthens our ability to serve. I respectfully ask that you:

• Support the restoration and expansion of the charitable giving deduction so all Americans, regardless of income level, are incentivized to give.

• Prevent policies that diminish nonprofit resources, including proposals that limit itemized deductions or reduce the funds available through private foundations.

• Oppose efforts to unfairly tax nonprofits, such as the reinstatement of the "nonprofit parking tax," which creates unnecessary financial burdens.

• Protect nonprofits from the threat of tax-exempt revocation without due process — a safeguard that ensures fairness and prevents irreversible harm to mission-driven organizations.

Thank you for standing with the nonprofit sector — a cornerstone of community support and resilience.

Sincerely,
[Your Full Name]
[City, TX]

Know Your Representatives: 

Know Your Organization's Policies:  

Before reaching out to your elected representatives, please take a moment to review your organization’s policies on lobbying, advocacy, and public communications.

If your organization does not permit advocacy on its behalf, be sure to contact your representatives on your own time and using your personal contact information — clearly identifying that you are acting as a private citizen, not as a representative of your organization.

This helps ensure your advocacy aligns with both professional and legal guidelines.