Danielle Clore, executive director and CEO of the Kentucky Nonprofit Network, said nonprofits lobbied Congress to include in the law a universal deduction that would have allowed any taxpayer — whether they itemize or not — to get a tax break for a charitable contribution, but Congress deemed that provision too expensive.

To plug the deficit hole that is expected to be created by the new tax law, Congress likely also will cut spending down the line, and that likely will increase the need for the services that nonprofits are providing at a time that they’re seeing a decline in contributions, Clore said.

“It’s a really scary time and it’s really frustrating,” she said.