By JERRY WOLFFE
Of The Oakland Press

The elimination of a tax credit for charitable donations that was part of the 2011-2012 state budget has nonprofits scrambling for funds before the Dec. 31 deadline.

Gov. Rick Snyder and lawmakers agreed to cut the Michigan Tax Code Credits for Charitable Gifts at the end of the year to help balance the current budget.

The 50 percent tax credit is for taxpayers who donate to community organizations, foundations, homeless shelters, food banks and public institutions.

A tax credit is better than a tax deduction because it cuts taxes owed at a higher rate. For example, if a taxpayer has a tax credit for $100 and owes $150 in tax, he or she ends up paying only $50. A deduction is not as beneficial since it depends on one’s tax rate which will be less than a credit.

The tax credit helps taxpayers support causes they care about and enriches the entire community, a spokesman for the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan said Wednesday.

“What this means is that an incentive to invest in our fellow southeastern Michigan residents is going away,” said Robin Ferriby, vice president of philanthropic services for the Community Foundation which raised $100 million for charities in 2010.

He and other nonprofit spokesmen are urging those who are able to give a gift to their organizations before the tax incentive is removed.

“We should take this opportunity (now) to the extent that we can to support charitable causes,” Ferriby said.

The impact of the tax credit elimination will be that “there will be less donations” at a time when people are in financial trouble, he said.

Rob Collier, president of the Council of Michigan Foundations, said tax credits do affect how much people give.

“We still have fellow citizens that are homeless, need jobs,” said Ferriby.

“Those of us who can do something should do so to help others,” he added.

But he and others from nonprofits fear when the credit disappears, generosity will diminish.

“Nonprofits that benefit from credits can still provide services” but they might not be as able to do so, he said.

“I don’t think on December 31 that anyone is going to stop being homeless or needing food,” Ferriby said, noting his foundation helps organizations in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, St. Clair, Washtenaw, Livingston and Monroe counties.

Spokesmen for the Salvation Army and the Oakland Livingston Human Services Agency also were concerned about the elimination of the tax credit.

“Even in these difficult economic times, metro Detroiters are some of the most generous individuals in the country, supporting our work to feed and shelter their neighbors in need,” said Major Mark Anderson, general secretary and metro Detroit area commander of The Salvation Army Eastern Michigan Division.

“Our 2011 Red Kettle Campaign kicks off Nov. 11, and marks our 125th year in Detroit. With Michigan’s poverty rate the highest it has been in four decades, we urge donors to take advantage of giving before Dec. 31, to help us continue to feed millions and shelter thousands.”

Much of the donations often go to endowments set up by nonprofits.

“We did send a letter asking our past supporters to donate to our endowment fund when we learned of this news over the summer,” said Adela Piper, director for communications for OLHSA, which provides services annually to some 50,000 Oakland and Livingston county residents.

“The endowment fund is seed money for new projects,” she said. “Our mission is to enable those with low incomes, the elderly and the  disabled to become more self-sufficient through a variety of services,” Piper said.

“We hope that people still remember their friends and neighbors going through hardship” after the credit disappears.

Nearly 200 nonprofit agencies in Oakland and Macomb counties and other areas build endowments with the Community Foundation and will be harmed by the tax credit elimination, nonprofit spokesmen said.

These entities include the Berkley Public Library, Bloomfield Township Public Library, Bloomfield Hills Schools, Brightmoor Christian Church, Child Abuse and Neglect Council of Oakland County, the Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan, Common Ground, Detroit Institute of Arts, Historical Society, several science centers, Eton Academy, Farmington Hills Foundation for Youth and Families, Ferndale Educational Foundation, Forgotten Harvest, Girl Scouts, Cleaners Community Food Bank of Southeast Michigan, Goodwill Industries, Boy Scouts of America, HAVEN, Hospice of Michigan, Jewish Family Service, Judson Center, Lawrence Tech, Lighthouse of Oakland County Inc., Catholic Charities, United Way, Macomb County Historical Society, Michigan AIDS Coalition, National Kidney Foundation, Oakland Family Services, Planned Parenthood, Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, Rochester College, Roeper School, South Oakland Shelter, University Liggett School, Yeshiva Beth Yehudah and YMCA among others.