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MARQUETTE -- In an effort to chip away at Michigan's $1.4 billion deficit, Governor Rick Snyder, in his proposed budget plan, wants to eliminate a number of income tax deductions for charitable donations.  But Representative Steve Lindberg says that this change would have little impact on the deficit.

"I don't think that, for the amount of money we're going to get in return, I don't think we get the value we perceive we're going to get," says Representative Lindberg, (D) 109th District.

Non-profits I spoke with say this part of the budget proposal is concerning because they rely on charitable donations to survive.  For example, half of the U.P. Children's Museum's $400,000 budget comes from philanthropic gifts.

"People give out of the kindness of their hearts, but they also give because they can get a tax deduction from their donation," says Nheena Weyer Ittner, Director of the U.P. Children's Museum.

And it's the same story over at NMU's Learning Resources Center, which houses their public radio and television station.

"We're assuming that it's going to make it more difficult for people when they're deciding to contribute to a university like NMU because that 50 percent tax deduction really allows them to direct some of their tax dollars to the things they think are important," says Eric Smith of Northern Michigan University.

Neither organization says they know how much they'll be impacted if this stipulation in the budget plan passes, but they suspect it could be sizeable.

Governor Snyder's proposed budget now goes to the legislature for debate and then a vote.