GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney has had a very active personal involvement with charitable giving and the nonprofit world.
He has served on the boards of nonprofit organizations, and with his wife, Ann, runs the Tyler Charitable Foundation, which had $10 million in assets in 2010. The foundation contributes to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints along with a diverse array of other charities, many of them focused on Massachusetts, where Romney was governor.
Last year, the Romneys contributed $4 million to charity, about 19% of their adjusted gross income.
How his policies as president would affect nonprofits and foundations is a matter of great interest to the charitable giving community.
Last week, The Chronicle of Philanthropy looked into the matter, examining Romney's record as governor of Massachusetts and his statements as a presidential hopeful.
In many ways, his positions contrast sharply with those of President Obama as laid out in a separate analysis by The Chronicle.
In Massachusetts, the report said, Romney helped spearhead a 2003 effort by the nation's governors to persuade Congress and President George W. Bush to extend a lifeline to the AmeriCorps national service program.
He also appointed his wife as an unpaid liaison to a White House unit set up to funnel federal aid to religious groups for social services.
