Charities and Nonprofit: Are Obama's Plans in contradiction?

President Barack Obama created a federal effort to help religious groups and grass-root charities fight social ills. He signed an executive order establishing the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, a revamped version of the office started by President George W. Bush, and a council of religious and nonprofit leaders to advise him on antipoverty efforts and other issues.
“The goal of this office will not be to favor one religious group over another — or even religious groups over secular groups. It will simply be to work on behalf of those organizations that want to work on behalf of our communities, and to do so without blurring the line that our founders wisely drew between church and state,” the president said on 5 February during a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual meeting of political and religious officials in Washington. “This work is important, because whether it’s a secular group advising families facing foreclosure or faith-based groups providing job-training to those who need work, few are closer to what’s happening on our streets and in our neighborhoods than these organizations,” he said. (Read more)
At the same time, some charities and nonprofit experts are worried that President Obama’s proposal to impose new limits on charitable tax deductions for wealthy people would dampen giving at a time when charities are under severe strain because of the recession. “During the current economic downturn, which has forced nonprofits to do more with less, any proposal which would result in a decrease in private giving will be a disaster for America’s charities, and for those who depend upon them,” said United Jewish Communities, an umbrella group for Jewish social-service charities.
Mr. Obama proposed the new caps as a way to finance changes in the country’s health-care system. In a document outlining his 2010 budget plans, President Obama proposed limiting the value of the tax rate for itemized deductions, including donations to charity, to 28 percent for families making more than $250,000. In other words, the taxpayer would save 28 cents on their federal income taxes for each dollar donated. (Read more)