News

And (not so) suddenly, it’s a thing: What’s up with donor-advised funds?

For nearly 90 years, charitably-minded individuals and families have established donor-advised funds to help carry out their philanthropic wishes. Popularity of the donor-advised fund steadily grew, especially beginning in the 1990s, eventually resulting in official recognition in the Internal Revenue Code under 2006 tax law updates. Today, over one million donor-advised fund accounts hold nearly $160 billion in charitable assets, according to the latest numbers.

Helping families stay connected across the miles and generations: There’s a gift for that!

Your philanthropic clients will thank you for suggesting they consider giving the gift of giving (say that three times fast!) in the form of a charitable fund instead of the more typical “I made a gift to my favorite charity in your honor.”

The ever-popular, handy-dandy, year-end charitable giving checklist

We’ve heard that many of you appreciate a quick checklist for charitable giving reminders each December. We know you receive this type of information from many sources, and frequently in great detail. It is our goal to break things down into a few simple points (below are three).

Standing Strong across St. Louis and St. Charles

Progress 64 West hosted its 33rd Annual Excellence in Community Development Awards Banquet on November 24 in Chesterfield, Missouri.

November 2021

Veterans Find the Lives They Deserve Through FOCUS • St. Louis Area Diaper Bank Making a Basic Need More Accessible • Holiday Gifts for Employees, Clients, Family & Friends • What’s off the table and what’s still in play • The buzzword is “billionaire” • Year-end giving

St. Louis Area Diaper Bank Making a Basic Need More Accessible

2020 was a pivotal year in a lot of ways. For the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank, it marked six years of serving the region, more than six million diapers distributed through 60 partner agencies, and the launch of a new initiative to expand resources for low-income women.

Veterans Find the Lives they Deserve through FOCUS

We honor our veterans this month and salute the organizations dedicated to helping them live productive and rewarding lives after service, such as FOCUS Marines Foundation. YouthBridge partner Wayne C. Kaufmann Foundation has faithfully funded FOCUS since 2016, helping the organization to continue its mission of serving our nation’s veterans in their transition to civilian life.

Year-end giving: Repeat, repeat, repeat

It’s the season for email newsletters hitting your inbox with tips for tax planning. We get it! With so much information flying around for your clients, too, we highly recommend that you cut through the noise and mention four key tax strategies to your clients at least twice, and ideally three times, before late December.

The buzzword is “billionaire”: How tax reform discussions have pulled complex charitable planning strategies into the spotlight

Forbes reports that the latest headcount of American billionaires checks in at 724. That number surprises some people, and for different reasons. Many are surprised to learn that the number is so low, when the word “billionaire” has been used so frequently lately in discussions about changes to the tax laws.

Relax a little (maybe?): What’s off the table, what’s still in play, and what your charitable clients need to know now about tax reform

Late last month, the White House released a proposed $1.75 trillion revenue package, putting to rest (at least for now) some of the uncertainty as to how sweeping tax reform could upend wealth planning strategies via changes to top marginal rates, a restructuring of the capital gains tax, and lower estate and gift tax exclusions, all of which have been heavily discussed and debated over the last several weeks. For now, those particular big changes appear to have been dropped.

October 2021

Spreading Love and Hope in the Lou • Training Camp Takes Fear out of Fundraising • YouthBridge proud to sponsor 2021 Family Business Awards • Trends that inform what your clients are thinking •Recent IRS actions illuminating charitable tax planning pitfalls • Pending legislation that could impact charitable giving strategies • Notice for Professional Advisors

YouthBridge proud to sponsor 2021 Family Business Awards

Eleven family-owned companies were honored on October 19th, 2021 at the sixth annual Family Business Awards. Family businesses have always been essential to the success of  St. Louis.

Spreading Love and Hope in the Lou

YouthBridge is committed to the sustainability of vital community services that build strong individuals and families. In this article, we highlight a 2020 recipient of our Nonprofit Recovery and Resilience grant, which has also received ongoing support through YouthBridge donor clients.

Training Camp Takes Fear out of Fundraising

 As the second deployment of our Nonprofit Recovery and Resiliency Fund, this summer we awarded 10 child-serving charitable organizations with weeklong training in building fundraising capacity. In this article, the Megan Meier Foundation shares how it gained a new perspective and approach to fundraising after attending the workshop.

Recent IRS actions illuminating charitable tax planning pitfalls

It requires a keen eye to spot unintended negative consequences of a well-meaning client’s charitable giving strategies! This fall, we suggest you take note of three cautionary tales…

Pending legislation that could impact charitable giving strategies

Even with a government shutdown averted (at least for now), there are still plenty of legislative loose ends that we’ll help you keep an eye on. Changes could directly or indirectly impact your clients’ overall charitable and estate plans.

Trends that inform what your clients are thinking even if they aren’t saying it

Hot off the press, the 2021 Bank of America Study of Philanthropy: Charitable Giving by Affluent Households confirms that wealthy families are as committed as ever to the nonprofit sector and community causes.

September 2021

‘Change Happens When You Believe,’ Says Julius Anthony • North Side Community School – a Community of Support  • 2021 Heritage Grant Announcements • Proposed legislation: What’s in it for giving? • Gifts of S Corp stock to charity • Gifts of life insurance to charities • Advisors’ fiduciary obligations

Proposed legislation: What’s in it for giving?

The nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation’s report issued recently is already creating a buzz among attorneys, accountants, and financial advisors who provide charitable planning advice to their clients. Here are four considerations as you navigate the weeks ahead and prepare for the possibility that the … More →

2021 Heritage Grant Awards Announced

To honor our mission of partnering with donors around sustainability of nonprofits, YouthBridge provides grants to child or youth serving organizations that are regularly supported by our clients. These organizations have been awarded a $75,000 unrestricted grant paid over a three-year period.