But Rick Cohen, spokesman for the National Council of Nonprofits, which represents charities, said Republican claims that the bill left the charitable deduction unchanged were misleading, given the obvious knock-on effects of other reforms around it.

“While we expect most people who support the work of nonprofits to continue doing so, even with the charitable deduction out of reach, we do expect those who no longer itemise to give less because that important incentive has been removed,” he said.

“One only needs to look at data from Network for Good showing that 10 percent of donations for the entire year come in during the last 3 days of the year to understand that the charitable deduction has a significant impact on giving.”

He said the change would be devastating for non-profit groups already “stretched to breaking point” by cuts in government funding at federal, state and local levels. “And this is not just about the survival of nonprofits themselves, it’s about the people who those nonprofits serve,” he said.