LIVE UNITED Y’All!

by Brennan Cox

Charitable gifts provide an opportunity for individuals to support a charitable organization. The Internal Revenue Service defines a charitable gift as “a donation or gift to, or for the use of, a qualified organization… without getting, or expecting to get, anything of equal value.” When calculating income taxes, most gifts of money and other property are considered tax deductible for federal income tax purposes. Those who support such organizations understand that giving is about more than a tax deduction – and everyone understands the benefits of paying fewer taxes every year.

However, not many people realize the benefits of including charitable gifts in their estate plan. Gifts made through one’s estate plan, will or trust, are deductible without limit in the computation of the federal estate (and state death) tax. Such gifts may be made in any form, whether it be an outright gift of money or even stocks, bonds and real estate, just to name a few. By giving property that has increased in value, one may be able to avoid paying the taxes that have accumulated by this increase.

A recent trend has been to gift life insurance policies or even transfer the payouts from a retirement plan to a charitable organization. By deeding an entire policy and making yearly payments of the premium, an individual can combine the benefits of yearly deductible charitable gifts with a single legacy endowment to the charity. Similarly, one can avoid estate and income taxes on retirement plans payments. The advantage of naming a charity as the primary beneficiary is that the retirement plan interests will not be subject to estate or income taxes, which can reduce such savings by as much as 75%.

Charitable contributions can also take on a form that can shelter taxpayers from certain taxes during their lives. Individuals can choose to establish Charitable Remainder Trust. This trust allows individuals to leave assets to a charity and receive income and tax benefits at the same time. They can then receive income from the trust for a specified period of time, after which all remaining assets are transferred to the charity.

Similarly, a trust can be established that provides income to a charitable organization while still allowing the assets to passed on. With the Charitable Lead Trust, assets are put into a trust to provide income to a charity on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis. After the creator of the trust passes away, the assets are distributed to those the creator designates.

Individuals can continue to support organizations they believe in and receive not just a personal benefit, but a financial benefit, with the right estate planning. It is important to be aware of all available options. For further information, contact Pam Ottersbach, the director of the Red Feather Society,  Metro United Way’s planned giving program – at 292-6138 – or your estate planning attorney.

Brennan Cox is an attorney with Lynch, Cox, Gilman & Goodman, P.S.C., in Louisville, Kentucky with a practice focusing on matters of estate planning and taxation.

Mr. Cox is a graduate of the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville and will soon complete his LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Alabama.

General estate planning, how to, Red Feather Society

By Kelly Hutchinson, Donor Relationship Manager

I have been thinking a lot about the upcoming annual campaign in our community. It is what I do…think, plan, connect, encourage, communicate, review, explore, inquire, inspire, discuss and consider what will make a difference this year in someone’s workplace campaign. What is important to an individual donor? How can I demonstrate appreciation for the good works made possible by our Metro United Way corporate partners, donors and volunteers? I am also leaning into my work and trying to look at things a little bit differently this year. Quite frankly we must. You have heard it before right? If you continue to do things the same as in the past and you continue to get the same results then why does it surprise you?

My list will be kept short, but I hope you will join my conversation and share some of your idea’s on what you think is HOT and what you think is NOT.

What’s HOT:
• Making sure all children are safe, nurtured and prepared to succeed in school ( learn more about Success by 6)
• Making plans in your workplace to educate and build awareness for the work the work of United Way in our community and to Ask for participation in a company campaign where you work…WOW that’s hot!
• Serving as a volunteer Employee Coordinator for a United Way campaign and recruiting some co-worker friends to join you and help make it a success…sizzlin’!
• Sharing stories about your personal experience with United Way or how someone you work with whose life has been touched (meet someone you have helped here)
• Identifying the root causes of problems and providing solutions and support so that people can avoid some problems in the first-place…yep, it’s HOT
• Partnering with schools, service providers and community groups to improve high school graduation rates
• Saying YES when you are invited to join the United Way campaign and following up your giving by volunteering to get closer to the work you make possible and the lives you touch
Did you hear fire trucks?
• Being able to laugh at yourself and have fun while helping create opportunities for a brighter tomorrow
NOT HOT:
• There are nearly 9,000 children in JCPS who are homeless
• There are senior citizens in our community who live in fear of going outside or don’t have enough income for prescriptions and food…so they make choices
• Ice storms, wind storms, flash flooding that destroys peoples property and depletes their savings ( sign up with our volunteer center)
• An increase of nearly 40% of first time callers to 2-1-1 for assistance with basic human needs for food, clothing, shelter and necessities…a term I am hearing called “new poor” in our community
• Too many employees feel like United Way only comes around once a year when it’s time to ask for a donation. That’s not hot. There are endless possibilities and creative fun ways you can stay involved, thank loyal donors and contributors in your work and help employees understand they are making a difference 365 days a year
• Not planning ahead, setting goals or stretching yourself to do better in all that you do. Because if you don’t aim for something then you can’t be surprised when you miss the mark
• Seeing your coworkers dress up like Elvis and sing Viva Las Vegas… not hot…but a great way we added some fun to our employee campaign at Metro United Way and we are all looking forward to see who on our executive team will be donning a polyester jumpsuit next

Tried to keep it short…what’s hot where you work and what’s not?

Advocacy, Education, General, Giving, Health, Income, Volunteering campaign, Common good, community service, how to, recovery, Success By 6

I’m a big list-maker. Right now as I sit at my desk typing this blog I count six without digging under piles of papers: 2 to-do lists, 2 phone lists, a list of contacts for my company accounts, and a list of companies (that shall remain nameless) with pledges still out for the 2008 campaign.  Making a to-do list has proven to be the most effective way for me to organize tasks and get my work done.  And I’ve found there’s nothing more satisfying than being able to cross an item off the list once the task has been completed.  In fact, I relish those times when my complete tasks outweigh my incomplete ones – it’s rare, but all the more satisfying! 

Oddly enough, it didn’t occur to me until very recently that perhaps the same system would work well for my life outside of work.  I was constantly disappointed by my inability to accomplish “life tasks.”  Even simple things like setting aside time to call out-of-town friends or cleaning out the closet were unsuccessful.  My so-called life tasks only got more complicated and lengthy with the planning of my upcoming wedding (just 16 days away now!).  And so, my fiancé and I sat down at the beginning of this week and made a list of everything we need to do by May 23^rd.  This week’s list looks something like this:

- Schedule wedding gown fittings

- Discuss ceremony music with organist 

- Finish designing the ceremony program 

- Create a must-play list for the DJ

- Purchase jewelry and garter

- Obtain marriage license

- Get directions from church to reception

- Send thank you cards for bridal shower gifts

Though the list is long, now that it’s been populated I’m more confident in my ability to get it all done.  I have a plan and I can visualize how I’m progressing and reward myself when I do well.  But more than that, it serves as a reminder for me that prioritizing my personalize life is just as important as prioritizing my work life. 

What about you?  Do you have “life tasks” you’ve been putting off?  What are they?  Where would your community fall on your personal priority list?  If we had a to-do list for our community, what would you add to it?

And now if you don’t mind, I think I’ll go cross this blog off my list . . .

General how to, lists, to-do

And, no, I don’t mean Jay Leno or the colicky baby or your spouse’s snoring.  I mean, what weighs on your mind and causes you worry?  Are you afraid of losing your job…or have you already lost it?  Is your child doing poorly in school and you fear for his or her future?  Is your marriage in trouble and you don’t know what to do?  Are your aging parents becoming more and more fragile and you don’t know what the best choice for them is…or even what the choices are?  Have you had your world turned upside-down by an unexpected pregnancy and you don’t know what to do?

I wish I could wave a magic wand and tell you that everything’s going to be OK.  Believe me, if I could do that, I’d solve some of my own problems!  But I can tell you that there IS help available and it’s as close as the nearest telephone.  2-1-1 is Metro United Way’s 3-digit phone number for information and referral.  Trained 2-1-1 phone counselors are available 24/7 and they have a huge database of community services at their fingertips.  They’ll listen as you describe your situation and then refer you to places that can help.

You can rest easier knowing that there’s a lot of help available in our community.  The solution to your problem may not be quick or easy, but you don’t have to figure it out by yourself.  So call 2-1-1 and then get some sleep, for heaven’s sake!

General 2-1-1, Community, help, how to

Top Tip: Let your readers know what to expect.

Same tip, broken into three simple parts:

1. Introduce yourself. Who’s writing?
2. Explain what you’re blogging about and why.
3. Tell readers how they can be involved.

For example…

LIVE UNITED Y’All! What does it mean to LIVE UNITED? We hope to share many answers to this question through our posts related to Metro United Way’s work to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community. This group blog, written primarily by Metro United Way staff but also by community volunteers and advocates, is not only ours, its yours. We want YOU, that’s right, YOU, to read and, more importantly, to be involved by commenting and letting us know your thoughts.

We’ve written a nice About page (well, we think it’s nice) that explains more about LIVE UNITED Y’All, like our comment policies, why we started this blog and what to do if you have found your way here and need help.

Be sure you’ve subscribed either via an RSS reader (orange button, upper right), or email (also upper right) so that you can get the insider’s scoop immediately from us. We’ll be posting 3 - 5 times per week on business days.

So there are our details. Would you add anything to the ‘reader expectations’ list tips for letting readers know what to expect in a first post?

With that, I hereby officially kick off our new blog, along with the new year. [Insert favorite cliche. I like: It's a fresh start for us all.] We, as a community, have a lot ahead of us, but that includes opportunity- opportunity to communicate, collaborate and create.

Let’s make it a year to live united, ya’ll.

Flickr photo: robinhamman

General blogging, first post, how to