Obama’s 2012 budget proposal is out and it revives the charitable deduction limitation for wealthy donors.

That means we’ll have to listen to the doomsayers, like Independent Sector’s Diana Aviv, exclaim how devastating this will be to the nonprofit community. From last December, here’s a preview of what we’ll hear very shortly. The only nonprofits she speaks for in that article, “Nonprofits Fear Losing Tax Benefit,” are the members of Independent Sector.

I’m thinking of the other 95%, the vast majority of nonprofits who don’t care because they don’t have donors, or many donors, who earn over $250,000 a year, the income at which the deduction reduction would kick in.

We know that tax incentives are not people’s primary motivation for giving. Altruism is. We know that giving always bounces back after depression, recession and tax changes that depress it. This will not destroy the nonprofit sector.

Can’t we trust our donors for Pete’s sake?

On the day the President’s proposal was released, here’s what Independent Sector had on its home page:

I remember that. It was about two months ago, and it all sounded quite good for charities, including the 95% unheard “minority” that fundraise from low and middle income donors. Charities scored big in December. Do we have to score big again in 2012?

Why can’t the vocal nonprofits step-up this time and say, “Well, we don’t love it, but we’ll do our share to help reduce the deficit that, in small but noticeable part, the charitable deduction has contributed to for decades. Plus, we got these bennies in December 2010 so we’ll sit out this round.”

Doom-and-gloomers: stop squawking. Spend your lobbying money and strategy time visiting prospects, reminding them how critical your good work is, and soliciting and closing gifts.

The most foresighted charities will stand out from the crowd, and publicly proclaim, “We accept the charitable deduction reduction. We want to do our part to help America’s recovery.” I see a full-page ad in The Times with a hundred CEO signatures. Their donations will triple. Run it in The Journal and donations will quadruple.

I trust America’s altruism. I base my trust on history. (Should “God Bless America” be playing in the background? I hear “This Land Is Your Land.”)

As this gets posted the day after Obama’s proposal was released, I could be wrong about the doomsayers. Maybe they’ll come around and accept what’s fair. If they do, look here for my congratulations and apology.