News

  • Pet Clinic Envisions ‘No Needless Kill Community’

    Wendy Heckman has a chart she shares during February’s National Spay and Neuter Month. It’s a “reproductive pyramid,” depicting the population explosion that can occur when a dog or cat is allowed to reproduce unchecked, and shows that within six years, an unspayed female cat can yield more than 11 million descendants!

  • Client conversations: Why your 2023 agenda must include charitable giving

    No doubt, your news feed includes far more articles about philanthropy as a planning tool for your clients than it did just a few years ago. Charitable giving has always been an important subject of client discussions for attorneys, accountants, and financial advisors. What’s changed is that widespread coverage of both major charitable gifts and the ease of making online donations has prompted more of your clients to pay attention to philanthropy.

  • It’s not too early for spring cleaning: Make this the year to help clients get organized

    If you’re already dreading asking your clients to pull together their receipts and other documents for 2022 tax filings, this may be a good time to take proactive steps to avoid being in this same spot next year.

  • In case you missed it: Three tax tips worth smiling about

    Nonprofits and other exempt entities are often left out of discussions when new tax incentives are proposed in Congress, primarily (and logically) because these organizations don’t pay tax. Fortunately, nonprofits are not left out of a recently enhanced tax provision known as the 179D deduction, which is intended to encourage incorporating energy efficiency measures into new or renovated buildings.

  • January 2023

    Healing Action – a Gateway from Exploitation to Empowerment • Four New Capacity Building Grants Announced • 2023 grant programs • Happy Hour • Celebrating the new Legacy IRA and a boost for QCDs • Why charitable gift annuities are having a moment • Why it’s smart to talk with your clients about charitable giving

  • Four New Capacity Building Grants Announced

    YouthBridge announces four new recipients of the capacity building grant –  developed to assist nonprofits in building, strengthening and sustaining their organizations.

  • Healing Action – a Gateway from Exploitation to Empowerment

    This month marks the 13th year the nation has recognized Human Trafficking Prevention Month. While it’s an opportunity to raise awareness on preventing and responding to human trafficking and exploitation, it’s also a time to acknowledge and celebrate the progress that survivor leaders and anti-trafficking organizations and allies have achieved.

  • Valuable conversations: Why it’s smart to talk with your clients about charitable giving

    January is a good time to start helping your clients plan for their annual giving. With the year-end flurry of donations still fresh in many clients’ minds, you may discover that clients will welcome your suggestion to make 2023 the year to get organized early, particularly as economic headwinds make planning especially important.

  • It just keeps getting better: Why charitable gift annuities are having a moment

    Charitable gift annuities (CGAs) are becoming more attractive to philanthropists, making this planned giving vehicle a good fit for your clients who like the idea of an up-front tax deduction, a steady lifetime income stream, and a remainder gift to charity.

  • Celebrating the new Legacy IRA and a boost for QCDs

    Congress passed the much-anticipated, $1.65 trillion-dollar omnibus spending bill known as the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (“CAA”) on December 23, 2022, followed by President Biden signing the Act into law on December 29, 2022. At more than 4,000 pages, the Act includes a wide range of provisions that impact multiple sectors.

  • December 2022

    Nine PBS: ‘Programs Should Represent All Kids’ • Spotlight on Heritage Grantee Sherwood Forest • Holiday Giving Cards • YEP STL! grant applications due December 15 • Reminder for Donor-Advised Fundholders • IRA Charitable Rollover for 2022 • Charitable tax planning reminders • 5 most-asked questions about QCDs • NFTs connecting makers, investors and donors with causes they love

  • Five of 2022’s most-asked questions about Qualified Charitable Distributions

    Qualified Charitable Distributions, or “QCDs,” are becoming a very popular financial and charitable planning tool. At the same time, QCDs are growing as the source of more and more confusion.

  • So long, 2022: Important charitable tax planning reminders as the year winds down

    Now is the time to share important reminders with your clients about year-end gifts. Time is indeed of the essence!

  • How NFTs are connecting makers, investors and donors with causes they love

    As if advisors didn’t have enough financial acronyms to explain to their clients—DAF, RMD, IPO and ETF come to mind—along comes NFT to stir the multi-letter madness further. Even under the shadow of recent turmoil in the cryptocurrency marketplace, “non-fungible tokens,” or “NFTs,” are still creating quite a buzz.

  • Spotlight on Heritage Grant Recipient Sherwood Forest

    The kids are discovering so many new things and, most of all, recognizing who they really are without their ‘school persona’.

  • Nine PBS: ‘Programs Should Represent All Kids’

    It shouldn’t matter your zip code; all kids deserve to thrive. We are hoping to impact literacy numbers by drawing in kids through positive stories that represent them and spark a greater interest in reading.

  • November 2022

    When Dog and Man Rescue Each Other • PreventEd • Support Families and School Communities • Think Big For Kids Grant Announcement • Grant opportunity for youth-focused NPOs • Business Gift Solution •  Handy tools in a bear market • GivingTuesday • Avoiding valuation pitfalls

  • When Dog and Man Rescue Each Other

    Today, Dogs for our Brave is based in St. Louis because “that’s where we found our incredible director of training, Paul Scimone,” says Haskins. An expert in canine behavior, Scimone created a training program that’s individualized to the behavior and psychology of each animal and tailored to the needs of each service member. In addition to dozens of assistance commands, the dogs also learn skills to assist with anxiety, PTSD episodes and nightmares.

  • Spotlight on Heritage Grantee PreventEd

    Part of the eligibility for a Heritage Grant from YouthBridge is a nonprofit leadership that is eager to participate in a core capacity assessment during its three-year funding timeframe. PreventEd certainly fits the criteria.

  • Strong year-end giving in a bear market: Donor-advised funds come in handy

    Giving appreciated stock to charitable organizations is certainly a highly-effective tax strategy. During years when highly-appreciated stock is in short supply, however, implementing this strategy may be easier said than done.