New state tax law, changes to nonprofit giving

"The big change this year, is that people who are using the standard deduction on their state income taxes can also get a tax benefit for the money they donate to local nonprofits," said Kate Jensen, the CEO of the Ronald McDonald House Charities in Tucson.

Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits said, this state tax law was needed because changes to federal tax laws eliminated the financial incentives to donate to nonprofits. Compensating what the federal law lacked in nonprofit giving benefits.

"They were concerned that the donations across the state could drop dramatically. And the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits really lobbied hard to make this change," said Jensen.