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Home > Blog > CAUSE & EFFECT: Holiday 2016 issue

CAUSE & EFFECT: Holiday 2016 issue

14 Dec 2016 CAUSE & EFFECT: Holiday 2016 issue

Posted at 4:41 pm in Blog, Newsletter, Publications by

Holiday 2016 issue
‘Tis the Season, and the Reason
Sarah Owen, Pres & CEO
Southwest Florida Community Foundation
As we wrap up the year filled with generosity and hard work on the part of all of our supporters, friends, trustees and partners, our team reflects on so much we ALL have to be grateful for. And together we wish you and yours an abundance of peace, love and joy this holiday season.
With our eye on the holidays, our team encouraged me to share a piece that will be featured in this week’s Florida Weekly (Fort Myers and Bonita Springs issues).
To be able to give is such a privilege….
Thank you for being part of our mission.
In Gratitude,
Holiday Dinners, Dolls and Dignity
Holiday giving is heartwarming.  There are so many opportunities to reach out into the community and do something generous for a neighbor.
I don’t think there is any easier time of year to jump right into the act of giving.  Walk into the grocery store and drop some bills into an iconic red kettle, stand in the checkout line and donate a turkey, adopt a child or a senior citizen from an angel tree and select a gift to make their holiday brighter.
Join with others from your neighborhood or workplace and provide a special holiday for a family that is struggling, donate toys to a local toy drive or food to an animal shelter, smile at a busy shopper who might look to be having a bad day, the chances to reach out are abundant.
These things make us feel great and connect us to our fellow man.  Most of the time we never meet those that we intend to comfort and help this time of year.
That kind of relationship building happens at the nonprofit level with caring case managers, cause area specialists, and volunteers. These are the folks working on the front lines of need and opportunity and create a special combination of resources and compassion.
If we are on the giving side of things it can be easy to unintentionally get caught up in the emotion of how we feel about our donation and lose site of the receiver.  Research continually points to the physical and emotional benefits of generosity, but that is only one side of the story.
I learned this lesson several years ago when I joined a group of friends and colleagues to provide a full-on holiday experience to a family that had faced a particularly tough year financially.
Running Out of Gift Ideas?
Give the Gift That Keeps on Giving
 

 
Gift ideas are only limited by causes

 

Have someone special on your holiday list who is tough to buy for? Consider a donation to a cause or to the community in their honor.

 

It’s easy.  You can go online, make a contribution and provide your tough-to-buy-for friend or family member’s address and we will send the lucky person a customized gift recognition card with the information or message you would like us to include.

 

We never include the gift amount!

 

No standing in line, nothing to return.  Just a warm feeling that giving brings to the giver and the receiver.

 

Click here to start your gift list now.
Become an Important Part of our Work – Give to the Founder’s Society

 

We invite you to become part of the Community Foundation’s Founder’s Society, a giving program in honor of our 40th Anniversary that supports the work of the foundation in the community.  We appreciate all the support of our donors who inspire us every day to keep doing our change-making work in the community providing collective leadership, serving as concierges of philanthropy, providing capacity building to nonprofits, and doing research in the region and measuring outcomes of programs.  Click here to give to our work.

 
This May Be the Best Time Ever to Open a Donor Advised Fund
As PEOTUS Pushes for Lower Tax Rates, Now is the Time to Act
CLICK HERE to download the
Guide to Giving
If the new administration succeeds in their efforts to lower tax rates, the tax deduction for charitable giving could become less valuable as soon as next year, according to Time Magazine (online at Time.com).
With a Donor Advised Fund, you can make a contribution now and take your time to decide how much and to which organizations you wish to give.
It only takes 5 minutes to establish and if done by December 31st, you will receive a current year receipt.
There are no minimums to establish a Donor Advised Fund at the Southwest Florida Community Foundation.  Customize a fund YOUR way. Read more about ways to give by clicking here.
Wide Open Spaces Art Exhibit Closes January 13

 

“Wide Open Spaces” the Community Foundation’s art exhibit features the Florida outdoors through the eyes of local artists Martin Gembecki, of Buckingham, and
Brad Phares, of Okeechobee.
“Fish House” by Martin Gembeck
The exhibit features scenes from rural Florida from farmland to lakes and the Gulf of Mexico.

The exhibit is open to the public and will run through January 13 during regular Community Foundation business hours: Monday -Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Some photos are located in meeting rooms so those interested in seeing the exhibit are asked to call before arriving to make sure all areas are accessible. The Community Hub is located at 8771 College Parkway, Building 2, Suite 201 in Fort Myers.  239-274-5900.
Year-End Giving Ideas – We Make it So Easy!

Making a year-end gift is so easy. We’d like to make it even easier with simple ways you may be able to save and give.

Of course giving is more than tax brackets and charitable deductions. You can give your time, your talent as well as your treasure to an organization or organizations you care about.

This is just a brief outline of options of how you can give through the SWFL Community Foundation, and the ways we can help you express your philanthropy.

The tax laws intentionally encourage charitable giving.  Because of the income tax charitable deduction, individuals who make their gifts by December 31 and itemize can significantly reduce their current income taxes for 2016.
Example: if you make a charitable gift of $10,000 in 2016, you can save $3,300 in taxes if you’re in the 33% tax bracket.  And the higher your tax bracket, the more money you save with a charitable gift.

 

Call us or your wealth/tax advisor if you’d like to talk about Gifts of Stock, Life Income Gifts (such as Charitable Gift Annuities), IRA Charitable Rollovers, Your Will or Trust, and/or your Legacy Planning.  We are here to help!  239-274-5900 or email CRogers.
We urge you to discuss your 2016 year-end tax planning with your account and other professional advisor.
Holiday Hours

 

The Southwest Florida Community Foundation office will be closed in observance of Christmas on Monday, December 26, and in observance of New Year’s Day on Monday, January 2, 2017.

 
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Southwest Florida Community Foundation

Our ambition is a more vibrant community that will continually address the evolving community needs in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties in Southwest Florida. We invite you to join our family and invest in the community with us!