Hello from the community foundation!
Thank you for the opportunity to work together! Even in a year like 2025, we’re honored to help philanthropy in our community celebrate big and little victories as we all work together to improve the quality of life in the community we love.
A bright spot in the world of charitable giving is that philanthropy in the United States reached a significant milestone in 2024, with individuals, bequests, foundations, and corporations contributing an estimated $592.50 billion to charitable causes. That’s according to the recently-released Giving USA report, citing a 6.3% increase in current dollars from the previous year, or a 3.3% increase when adjusted for inflation.
As always, we’re happy to offer insights into trends and issues that shape the way you carry out your charitable giving priorities:
–-Many philanthropic individuals serve on the board of directors of a charity–and in many cases more than one! Learn about the factors you may want to consider before you say yes to a board invitation. As always, the community foundation is here as a resource and sounding board.
–Finding purpose is often a top priority for retirees. Carrying out your purpose requires not only planning your time, but also thoughtfully considering how to allocate financial resources, including how you might leave a legacy. The community foundation can help.
–Tax laws remain a topic of conversation, including in conversations about charitable giving. Check out the latest updates and learn how changes might impact the way you approach philanthropy. Our team is here to help!
Whether you’ve established a fund at the community foundation, given to an existing fund, or are just beginning to get involved, thank you for all you do to help charitable giving in our region stay strong!
–Your community foundation
THIS MONTH’S
TRENDING TOPICS
More than meetings: Considerations for joining a board
by Staff Name, Director of Charitable Giving
If you’ve served on a charity’s board of directors, you know that the role demands much more than simply showing up for meetings. Charities benefit from board members’ active engagement, strategic oversight, and a deep commitment to the organization's mission. Indeed, board members are fiduciaries who are responsible for guiding the nonprofit’s culture, ensuring sound governance, providing financial stewardship, and acting as ambassadors and advocates in the community. Beyond legal duties, they are expected to help secure resources, oversee leadership, and contribute to the charity’s long-term sustainability and impact.
If this sounds like a lot, it’s because it is! Before you make the leap to join a charity’s board, please consider reaching out to our team. The community foundation can serve as an invaluable resource to support your decision-making process. Our professionals know a lot about local charities, including in-depth information about programs, impact, leadership, financial stability, and reputation. We’re happy to provide an impartial assessment of the charity’s governance practices, evaluate alignment with your values, and fill you in on the current needs or challenges the board is facing.
Thorough due diligence is crucial, not only to ensure that the board position would be a good fit for your skills, interests, and availability, but also to avoid potential legal pitfalls and liabilities that could stand in the way of your ability to carry out your fiduciary duties. Our team can provide a high-level review of these duties, including:
A duty of loyalty to prioritize the charity’s interests and avoid conflict;
A duty of compliance to adhere to the nonprofit's mission and legal requirements; and
A duty to “manage accounts,” which means overseeing financial stability and accountability
These duties translate into real responsibilities for strategic planning, fundraising, financial oversight, and executive evaluation.
Please reach out anytime. It is our honor to help you make a difference in the community we all love, whether that’s through charitable giving, board service, volunteering, or advocacy. The community foundation is your home for philanthropy in all of its many forms.
Advancing your purpose: Considerations for a philanthropic retirement
by Staff Name, Director of Charitable Giving
If you’ve recently retired, you may still be figuring out the ideal balance of activities. If you’ve been retired for several years, you might still be trying to figure it out! Time and again, research shows us that finding purpose is an essential component of a happy and satisfying retirement. Consider the following:
A large-scale, longitudinal study used data from 13,770 older adults, finding that those with a higher sense of purpose at baseline were significantly less likely to develop unhealthy behaviors.
Other research used a nationally representative panel of over 8,000 American adults and determined that, contrary to some beliefs, retirement can actually increase a person's sense of purpose.
A cross-sectional study analyzed data from nearly 2,000 adults and found that sense of purpose was significantly associated with lower depression and anxiety in both retirees and non-retirees.
Indeed, retirement offers a unique opportunity for individuals to rediscover their sense of purpose beyond the confines of a traditional career. The community foundation’s team and charitable tools can play a pivotal role in this journey. Here’s how:
Check in on tax planning
For starters, the community foundation team can work with you and your tax advisors to be sure your charitable giving is reflected in your estate and financial plan to achieve the impact you’re seeking. Among other issues, we’ll help you and your advisors explore whether itemizing your tax deductions in certain years might save you money. You can “bunch” charitable donations into your donor-advised fund in higher-income years to exceed the itemization threshold, then support your favorite causes steadily over time from that fund. If you’re 70 ½ or older, we’ll also help evaluate whether tax-free transfers directly from your IRA—up to $108,000 (in 2025)—to a designated, unrestricted, or field-of-interest fund at the community foundation would be an effective planning technique for your situation.
Involve the next generation
Many retirees have more time to include family members in their personal charitable giving activities. The community foundation team can work alongside you and your estate planning advisors to name children or grandchildren as advisors or successor advisors to your donor-advised fund and invite them to participate in site visits and educational events. This is a great way to strengthen family bonds while building a legacy of generosity across generations. Our team can help you identify ways to include children and grandchildren in site visits to favorite charities and participate in education sessions about community needs and the nonprofits that are making a difference for people who live in our region.
Build a legacy
Many people update their estate plans just after they retire. As you work with your tax and estate planning advisors, consider incorporating a gift in your estate plan that will allow your charitable legacy to live on for generations. For example, many people name a fund at the community foundation as the beneficiary of their IRAs because of the significant tax advantages when compared with leaving the IRAs to heirs. The community foundation is happy to work with you and your advisors to establish a special fund to receive assets from your estate, whether from an IRA or other type of estate gift. The fund can be structured as a permanent endowment to address the community’s greatest needs far into the future, or even support the community foundation’s operations to ensure that philanthropy and stewardship continue to thrive for generations to come. You can also name your donor-advised fund as an estate beneficiary, and your children and grandchildren can serve as advisors to the fund so that they, in turn, can carry on the spirit of charitable giving in the family’s name.
We look forward to working with you throughout your retirement years to ensure that your community dreams are fulfilled through the power of charitable giving. Please reach out anytime.