“You can’t stay inside your own ‘zone’ if you’re going to learn and grow as a human being,” says Tom Gatti. It’s a principle that he and his wife have lived by and passed on to their now-adult children. Gatti, partner at Black Twig Marketing and Communications, is the newest addition to the YouthBridge Board of Directors.
Caritas has the largest adoption and foster care programs in Southern Illinois, supporting nearly 2,400 foster children and their families in 2021, and is ranked one of the highest performing foster agencies in Illinois. It also operates the St. John Bosco Children’s Center, a home for children who are too traumatized to succeed in foster care.
When Marian and Larry McCord’s teenage son, Chad, took his life in 2004, they mourned his passing but also worried about the next family to experience “a living hell,” says Marian. “Actually, at first, I wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out, but eventually I realized that the things I’d learned through all of it had the potential to help someone else.”
YEP! STL Recognized for Innovation in Philanthropy • First Capacity Building Grants Awarded • Endowment Training Series • Playbook: Helping clients organize their giving through a donor-advised fund • Finding the good, giving as a wealth strategy, and an open invitation
The YEP (Youth Engaged in Philanthropy) STL!, a partnership between YouthBridge and First Bank, was recently recognized with an Innovation in Philanthropy award by the St. Louis Business Journal.
A simple playbook to guide you through a client conversation to begin establishing a charitable giving plan using a donor-advised fund YouthBridge Community Foundation.
It can be hard to see the good in people as heartbreaking exceptions seem to dominate modern life, but it is worth remembering that philanthropy–”love of humanity”–is alive and well. A study at Stanford University indicates that a sense of community and calls to action help align people around common values.
Especially over the last few years as social consciousness has increased, many of your clients have no doubt become more interested in how they can make a difference through their philanthropic activities, whether those activities include giving to favorite charities, volunteering, serving on boards of directors, purchasing products that support a cause, and respecting a sustainable environment.
Clients who own closely-held businesses, real estate, or even cryptocurrency may be good candidates for a particular type of charitable remainder trust known as a NIMCRUT, which is short for “Net Income with Makeup Charitable Remainder Unitrust.”
Qualified Charitable Distributions, or “QCDs,” have been in the news a lot lately, especially in light of proposed SECURE Act 2.0 legislation that passed the House of Representatives in March and is now pending in the Senate.
Crisis Nursery, Always There • Stray Rescue of St. Louis • Advisor Happy Hour • St. Louis Financial Planning Symposium • Cash crunch: Gifting non-income producing assets • A mixed bag: Budget legislation • Thumbs up: SECURE Act 2.0
“An endowment fund provides a reliable source of revenue in perpetuity, Barbara explained to me, and relieves the stress of short-term, sometimes unrealistic fundraising goals,” says Dearsley.
“Supporting overwhelmed parents is a key intervention for preventing child abuse,” say Mueller. “The COVID crisis made an already challenging life ten times harder for many of our families, and I am so grateful to the angels – my staff, our volunteers and donors – that made it possible for us to continue to be there for them.”
For clients who own property, stocks, and other assets that tend to go up in value in an inflationary environment, now may be a good time to take advantage of tax-savvy giving of highly-appreciated assets–especially stocks that pay low–or no–dividends and therefore are not critical to maintaining a client’s income levels.
A few of the tax proposals in play that could most significantly impact the way your clients plan for their charitable giving priorities.
Across the board, individuals, employers, and charitable organizations are celebrating the recent passage of the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2022 (House Bill 2954, known as the “SECURE Act 2.0”) in the House of Representatives on March 29, 2022 by an overwhelming vote of 414 to 5.
YouthBridge Connections: Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri • Merger Creates Continuum of Support for Those with Developmental Disabilities • 2022 Innovation in Philanthropy Award • Advisor Happy Hour • Winds of change and headwinds: Legislation and inflation • Crypto and CRTs: Buried treasure, or hidden pitfalls? • Closely-held business interests
In June, Pony Bird will finalize its merger with Next Step for Life, creating a “continuum of support across the lifespan of those with developmental disabilities that currently does not exist.”
“It’s amazing to think that we have this incredible benefactor and we don’t know who it is – that they care this much but don’t care about the recognition,” says Bonnie Barczykowski, Chief Executive Officer of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri. Recently, the organization received a multi-year gift from an anonymous donor that was connected through YouthBridge.
We are living in a world where current events continue to present challenges for so many people. No doubt, your clients are relying on you more than ever to help them weather the storms of inflation, financial markets impacted by global unrest, and the looming potential of changes to tax laws.