US President Bush - A Philanthropic Check List
5 February 2001 at 12:02 pm
George W Bush is just settling in to his new life in the White House as the new US President and as he gets comfortable there will be many Not for Profits and Philanthropists watching him very closely to see if he keeps some of his campaign promises.
As the former Texas Governor, Bush said as President he would take a “muscular approach” to encouraging Americans to give and volunteer.
Bush led his Republicans to (a long drawn out) victory with philanthropy high on his campaign agenda.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that Bush promoted one of the most wide-ranging proposals to affect charities ever offered by a White House contender.
The Chronicle says he touted an $8-billion plan to provide new tax breaks and other incentives to encourage giving by all Americans and by corporations, and promised to appoint a top level official to serve as an advocate for faith-based charities.
The new President has a long history of personal giving, believing that people in high profile positions have to lead by example.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that George W Bush and his wife Laura Welch Bush donated nearly $335,000 to charity in1998, most of that going to churches. But they also supported United Way, colleges and universities, literacy groups, children’s charities, women’s shelters and many other organisations.
The US President can be assured of some eager eyes monitoring his philanthropic checklist.
