This could be a tough year for charities, according to one association.

The first quarter of any year is usually a slow time for fund-raising, but this year’s first quarter was even slower than usual, according to a report compiled by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Changes to the tax laws that went into effect this year may be partly to blame, said the association.

The association sponsors the Fundraising Effectiveness Project, which put out the first quarter report. The project was created in 2006 through the collaboration of the association and the Center on Nonprofits & Philanthropy at the Urban Institute. The project’s goal is to conduct research on fund-raising effectiveness and help nonprofit organizations improve results.

Every metric the Fundraising Effectiveness Project analyzed during this year’s first quarter declined from the same period the previous year—with the exception of revenue produced by donors giving $250 or less, which rose 3.7%.

The report shows the total number of donors is down 6.3% from the first quarter of 2017; total revenue is down 2.4%; and the overall donor retention rate (the percentage of donors who continue to give to the same organization from one year to the next) is down 4.6%.

The number of new donors also fell by 12% from last year’s first quarter, and the number of newly retained donors—people who were new donors last year and who have made a second gift this year—was down 18%.

“If there is any kernel of good news in these numbers, it is that small donations are up,” says Michael Nilsen, vice president for communications and public policy for the Association of Fundraising Professionals. “But there is definitely cause for concern.”

Financial advisors can help clients continue to fulfill their philanthropic goals by starting the conversation between their clients and the charities, he adds.

“Philanthropy is not just a strategic move [about taxes]; it has an emotional component,” Nilsen says. “Advisors can start the conversation to find out what the clients really care about. There are 1.5 million charities in the United States. There is a charity for every client.

“I don’t know if charities know how to talk to donors and advisors,” Nilsen adds. “But all three can work together to find out what kind of project might inspire the donor.”

Elizabeth Boris, founding director of the Center on Nonprofits & Philanthropy at the Urban Institute, said the numbers may paint a worse picture than what will play out for the rest of 2018, especially during the fourth quarter, which is traditionally the high season for charitable giving.

However, the picture also could have been permanently changed because of the 2018 changes in the tax law. The law increased the standard deduction, so that many donors bulked up their giving at the end of last year to receive the tax deductions that were still in place at that time. Last December saw a 47% increase in donors giving $1,000 compared with the last quarter of 2016.

“While it is too early to conclusively state what the exact impact of the new tax law is on giving, it is very possible that the higher levels of giving in the fourth quarter of 2017 created a sense of donor fatigue and led to lower-than-usual levels in the first quarter of 2018,” the report says.

“The bottom line is that we are now in a very different charitable landscape than we were 12 months ago,” says Jay Love, chairman and chief relationship officer of Bloomerang, an Indianapolis-based maker of donor management software.