There are no changes in the rules for charitable donations for 2019. If you did not have enough itemized deductions to exceed your standard deduction for 2018, it will be the same for 2019. If you have "a few thousand dollars of charitable donations" and no other significant itemized deductions, you will not be able to claim itemized deductions for 2019. As stated earlier, the standard deduction for 2019 is slightly higher than for 2018, making it even less likely that you will be able to claim itemized deductions for 2019.
