FOUNDATION NEWS
A Message From our President & CEO
“If you’re going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can’t be erased.”
-Maya Angelou
Whether or not we know it, each of us will leave a mark on the world—through the lives we touch and the causes we support. Twenty-five years ago, Carol Thompson made a substantial and long-term difference in our community by founding CFAAC. You, too, can make a lasting, positive impact by including the Community Foundation’s endowment fund in your giving plans or by opening your own endowment fund.
On April 28th, we began our year-long celebration of the Community Foundation’s 25th anniversary. It’s not only a time to reflect on all we’ve accomplished, but also a time to consider what we will achieve in the next 25 years. To ensure the future of our community, CFAAC, and the nonprofits we support, we are focused on building endowment funds that will last in perpetuity for the causes we all care about. All nonprofits are sustained by annual gifts from generous supporters. An annual fund gift is the first and most important gift you can give to support the work of a nonprofit. But for those who have the ability to do more, endowment gifts are particularly meaningful because they are permanent sources of annual support, forever.
Establishing an endowment fund at CFAAC, now or as part of your estate planning, simply means that your gift will be managed by the Community Foundation and invested for the future. The earnings from these investments will be contributed to your chosen nonprofit annually and then used to fulfill its mission. It’s income that the organization can count on, year in and year out.
Local nonprofit leaders need to think about the present, meet our budgets, and deliver our programs. We put our heart and soul into our organization because we believe in them and we want our organizations to be here, stronger than ever, after we are no longer here. And that is the beauty of an endowment gift. Whether you decide to invest in CFAAC’s established endowment in honor of our 25th anniversary or create an endowment fund for the benefit of another nonprofit, each year a gift in the fund’s name will be distributed to the cause. For CFAAC, we know our endowment will ensure that we will be able to continue inspiring and promoting philanthropy in our county by connecting people who care with causes that matter. And that feels really good.
To learn more about endowments, contact John Rodenhausen, our Director of Gift Planning, at john@cfaac.org or 410.280.1102, x103.
As this anniversary year unfolds, we are excited to continue to offer important educational events to our community and nonprofits. Read about all the impactful programs that are planned for May and beyond in this newsletter.
Mary Spencer
CFAAC President & CEO
CFAAC’s 2022 Annual Report is Now Available Online
Check out CFAAC’s 2022 Annual Report online! This report highlights CFAAC’s significant community impact in 2022 such as distributing 487 grants and 10 scholarships to more than 260 different organizations, and granting nearly $4 million dollars in funding. It also features CFAAC’s 25-year timeline that highlights our rich history, shares intriguing stories about some of our generous donors and fundholders, and outlines our Always Anne Arundel plan that will help ensure our future growth.
Click to view the electronic copy here to view as a PDF click here.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
CFAAC Welcomes New Funds
The Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County is thrilled to welcome the following to our family of funds:
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The Ripple Fund: A Donor Advised Fund established to support the philanthropic interests of the fund advisors; including but not limited to helping women and children with physical hindrances that might hold them back from reaching their full potential.
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Prudence Clendenning AAWGT Lifetime Membership Fund: An Endowed Fund established to support Anne Arundel Women Giving Together and its mission to support grantmaking activities that are devoted to improving the lives, health, education, and well-being of women, their children, and families.
STRENGTHENING NONPROFITS
Grants 4 Teachers helps fund the highly creative ideas of Anne Arundel County Public School (AACPS) teachers across the County, that otherwise would be impossible to implement in the classroom due to school system funding constraints. Award size is up to $500. The application opens on May 20, 2023 and deadline is September 29, 2023. Awards presented in October 2023.
Help CFAAC fund more AACPS teachers, donate to Grants 4 Teacher here.
ACDS and CFAAC Nonprofits Workshop Series
Anne Arundel Community Development Services (ACDS) and the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County invite nonprofit staff, board, and volunteers to attend a series of five nonprofit skills workshops designed to help nonprofits gain the knowledge they need to sustain and grow their organizations. Each workshop is offered twice — once in-person and once virtual. Generous support provided by the Office of the Anne Arundel County Executive. *Scholarships are available for nonprofits who want to attend in person but need financial assistance.
#2: Program Outcomes & Evaluation
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In-person: Wed. May 10 | 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. – Learn More Here – ONLY A FEW SEATS LEFT
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Virtual: Wed. May 17 | 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. – Join the Waitlist – SOLD OUT
#3: Succession Planning
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In-person: Thurs. June 8 | 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm – Learn More Here
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Virtual: Wed. June 14 | 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. – Learn More Here – ONLY A FEW SEATS LEFT
#4: Nonprofit Organizational Financial Management
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In-person: Wed. June 21 | 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. – Learn More Here
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Virtual: Wed. June 28 | 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. – Join the Waitlist – SOLD OUT
#5: Leading Teams with Intentionality Around Justice, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
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In-person: Thurs. September 14 | 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. – Learn More Here
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Virtual: Wed. September 20 | 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. – Learn More Here
Anna E. Greenberg Board Leadership Symposium: How to Build the Best Board
May 18, 2023, 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation - 6 Herndon Ave, Annapolis, MD 21403
Fee: $25, includes program and continental breakfast
CFAAC will host the Anna E. Greenberg Board Leadership Event: How to Build the Best Board for Your Organization event on May 18, 2023. Whether you’re a CEO, Executive Director, Board Chair, or Board member, your goal is the same: How can you build the best, most effective nonprofit board for your organization? But what is the best way to recruit new board members? And once you succeed, how do you retain them?
This event is sold out, however, we are often able to accommodate wait-listed participants; click below to register for the waitlist.
Environmental Justice Workshop
May 22, 2023 at Noon | Via Zoom
Environmental and climate justice means that no group of people, including racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic groups, should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, land-use planning and zoning, municipal and commercial operations or the execution of federal, state, local and municipal programs and policies. Representatives from the Maryland League of Conservation Voters (MLCV) will give some history and context of the current issues that are facing Anne Arundel County, and the goals for rectifying overburdened communities.
Topics discussed will include: the need to clearly define the at-risk communities, examples of environmental (in)justice issues in Maryland and Anne Arundel County, addressing these issues in local and state governments, and current bills and legislation that are addressing the issues. The presentation will include a question and answer session with the panelists.
CFAAC is presenting this program as a part of our Community Impact Speaker Series, focusing on the issues presented in CFAAC’s Community Needs Assessment, Poverty Amongst Plenty VII: Moving Forward Together, specifically the data related to the environment, groundwater, and air quality. This event is open to the public and free to registered participants.
Panelists:
Rebecca Reher
Director of Climate Policy & Justice, MLCV Education
Rebecca will provide an overview of the environmental justice movement's history, describe current environmental injustices in Anne Arundel County, and suggest ways to advance environmental justice.
Ramón Palencia-Calvo
Deputy Director and Chispa Maryland Program Director
Ramón will describe MLCV's approach to building and sustaining partnerships to advance environmental justice, how that is modeled in Chispa Maryland’s work with the Latino community in Langley Park, and opportunities to replicate this model in Anne Arundel County.
Special Guest - Tracey Garrett
Tracy is a community member directly experiencing environmental injustice in Anne Arundel County and has been invited to participate in the conversation.
IMPACT100 Announces 2023 Grant Applications and Workshops
IMPACT100 Greater Chesapeake is proud to announce its 2023 Grant Cycle is open to fund nonprofit programs that support Anne Arundel County. This transformational grant opportunity will focus on the following areas: Arts & Culture; Education; Environment, Preservation & Recreation; Family; and Health & Wellness. The 2023 grant amount was announced on May 1, 2023. Please note that attending the Request for Application (RFA) workshop is a mandatory step for submitting an application. RFA workshops will provide a walk-through of the grant application process on Tuesday, May 9, 2023 at 9 a.m.
To RSVP for a workshop email: grants@Impact100GreaterChesapeake.org or visit their website.
NEWS FOR PROFESSIONAL ADVISORS
CFAAC Professional Advisor Recognition Society
Focus on: Chadwick (Chad) Watson, Partner, Charter Financial Group
The Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County (CFAAC) launched its Professional Advisor Recognition Society at the 2022 Celebration of Philanthropy, naming six inductees to its inaugural class——Chadwick (Chad) Watson is one of the first members to receive this honor.
Chad is a partner of Charter Financial Group with nearly 30 years of experience in the financial planning industry. Chad serves on the board of the Clapham Institute and the board of Red, White and Cure, a nonprofit focused on defeating childhood diseases. He is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, the Navy Supply Corps School, and served honorably until he left the service as a disabled veteran in 1991. Chad is a trustee with the United States Naval Academy Foundation and a member of the United States Naval Academy Presidents Circle and Robert Means Thompson Society. Chad is also Vice Chairman of Shallow Water Blackout Prevention.
Read More about Chadwick Watson
Retirement plans to charity: Understanding the “trifecta” of tax benefits
Over the last few months, many advisors have noticed an uptick in client inquiries about leaving their IRAs and other retirement plans to charity. It likely has a lot to do with the buzz about Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs), which allow those who’ve reached the age of 70 ½ to direct up to $100,000 annually to qualified charities (such as a Designated or Field of Interest Fund at the Community Foundation), avoiding both the need for a Required Minimum Distribution (if they’ve reached age 73) and the income tax hit.
However, it’s probably more than just the QCD, though, that has spurred your clients to ask questions. Charitable planning with IRAs and other qualified retirement plans is a hot topic in financial and mainstream media. A case in point is a September 2022 article in the Wall Street Journal, titled “Win an Income-Tax Trifecta With Charitable Donations.”
When your client names a public charity, such as a Donor Advised Fund or other fund at CFAAC, as the beneficiary of a traditional IRA or qualified employer retirement plan, your client achieves extremely tax-efficient results.
Tax scrutiny: Should clients worry about the IRS’s bigger budget?
A major portion of the $80 billion scheduled to be invested in Internal Revenue Service upgrades is earmarked to “increase tax compliance among wealthy taxpayers and businesses,” according to the IRS’s plan. The IRS is investing upwards of $47 billion toward enforcement efforts, an amount that towers over the next-largest item on its spending plan, which is just over $12 billion slated for technology enhancements.
Your high income-earning clients can expect more oversight and less room for error. This reality is of concern to attorneys, accountants, and financial advisors who are responsible for helping their clients adhere to the tax laws with integrity.
Looking at the Big Picture
As you talk with your clients about charitable giving, are you leading with tax benefits? Deferring philanthropy topics until November and December? Not looking at the big picture? If so, you may want to rethink your approach, according to a recent article in Private Wealth magazine. The article points out the importance of engaging specialists to assist you in advising a client about how to make a difference in the community. The team at CFAAC specializes in charitable giving and community impact. We’re just a phone call away.