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COMMUNITY CONNECTOR - MAY 2020
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| Welcome to CFAAC
The Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County is thrilled to welcome the following to our family of funds:
Chaney Enterprises Disaster Relief Fund- A Field of Interest Fund to provide short-term, emergency financial support to employees of Chaney Enterprises who are facing financial hardship as a result of certain unforeseen and unpreventable circumstances.
Margaret and Drew Davis Designated Fund- A Designated Fund for the support of the following nonprofit organization(s): Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County and Princeton University.
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| CFAAC awards $122,000 to local nonprofits in response to COVID-19
Since March 16, CFAAC’s Community Crisis Response Fund has awarded 58 grants totaling $122,000 to 47 local nonprofits providing food security and support for basic human needs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund provides financial assistance directly to organizations serving vulnerable and underserved populations such as children, seniors, domestic violence survivors, recently released hospital patients, persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, immigrants, persons who lack transportation, and the recently unemployed.
CFAAC is proud to help support long-standing partners like the Anne Arundel County Food Bank, Arundel House of Hope, Boys and Girls Clubs of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, Center of Help, Creating Communities, Light House Homeless Prevention Center, Providence Center, South County Assistance Network, We Care and Friends, and more. We are also excited to collaborate with new grantees like Be Rose International, a county nonprofit, that received funding for its Project LockDown - Stay at Home. The grant allowed Be Rose to provide food and essential items to maintain safe and healthy environments, including cleaning and hygiene supplies, to 42 low-income families in Annapolis, Millersville, and Edgewater. One senior citizen recipient, Fidelma, was elated and stated "I really appreciate this gesture, because I take the bus to the grocery store, and when I get there, there are hardly any supplies on the shelf."
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| To learn more about each grantee's project, visit www.cfaac.org/news.html. Organizations and programs receiving funding in the second cycle will be announced next week. The third cycle of grant-making will open on May 18, 2020 and close on May 29, 2020 at 6:00 PM.
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| As nonprofits respond to this pandemic, many are relying now more than ever on contributed support. We have seen nonprofits quickly scale-up their services to meet significant demand, others have shifted to provide new programs that support emergency needs, and some are left wondering if they will even survive the COVID-19 crisis. It is essential for nonprofits to be able to quickly respond to the urgent needs of our community. If you have a favorite nonprofit that you support directly, CFAAC encourages you to make your donation "unrestricted" so that these trusted organizations can serve their clients efficiently. If you are unsure about what organization to support, consider making a gift to CFAAC’s Community Crisis Response Fund so that we can continue providing vital funding to address Anne Arundel County’s most critical needs.
Together, we will come out of this crisis stronger!
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| | Established in 2018, CFAAC's Community Crisis Response Fund provides flexible financial assistance to Anne Arundel County nonprofits immediately following a violent incident, natural disaster, or other crisis in our community.
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| Crosby Foundation Grants $50,000 to Local Food Bank and Community Crisis Response Fund
Through their Corporate Advised Fund at CFAAC, the owners of Crosby Marketing Communications have granted $40,000 to the Anne Arundel County Food Bank and $10,000 to CFAAC's Community Crisis Response Fund. These generous grants will help provide food security and basic human needs to vulnerable and underserved individuals in Anne Arundel County.
The Anne Arundel County Food Bank grant will go to immediately purchase meals, baby food, and daily necessities for residents who have lost their jobs or are experiencing financial hardship. “We read that the Food Bank was overwhelmed by the demand and felt compelled to help our neighbors in need,” said Crosby Marketing’s President Raymond Crosby. “Hopefully, we can help bring some relief to people who are struggling during this difficult time and inspire other companies to give.”
With the help of the individuals and companies, like Crosby Marketing, CFAAC's Community Crisis Response Fund has distributed $122,000 in funding for immediate needs directly related to COVID-19. Grants have been awarded to 47 organizations working with Anne Arundel County's most vulnerable individuals, including seniors, homeless shelters, residential programs for people with disabilities and mental health needs, and food banks.
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| One Annapolis Streaming Festival
The City of Annapolis is hosting the One Annapolis Streaming Festival on Saturday, May 23, 2020. The event is a virtual fundraiser to benefit community organizations providing resources for domestic violence, food insecurity, homelessness, mental health, and substance use disorders during the COVID-19 Pandemic. CFAAC is partnering with the City to accept and distribute all the donations received from the event.
Watch the live-streamed event on Facebook and use this link to view the full list of performers.
Proceeds from the event will be distributed to the following 5 organizations:
- Domestic Violence - YWCA of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County
- Food Security - Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, designated for Feed Anne Arundel
- Homelessness Prevention - Co-Op Arundel
- Mental Health - Street Angel Project, Inc.
- Substance Use Disorder - First Christian Community Church of Annapolis
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Since most of us are at home, this is the perfect time to fill out your CENSUS 2020 forms. Your results help Anne Arundel County in many ways including:
- Directing federal funds to our community for schools, roads, and other public services.
- Determining the number of seats Maryland has in Congress and your political representation at all levels of government.
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| Maryland Nonprofit Webinar
Webinars are free for members of Maryland Nonprofits. Non-Members are asked to choose a price on a sliding scale of $0, $10, or $15 depending on what is possible for your organization right now.
Pivoting for the Future: Reimagining Your Nonprofit Strategy
May 18 at 11:00 am
Nonprofit leaders need to remain grounded in their missions and adapt their organizations' work in the next phase of a COVID-19 approach.
Nearly 8 weeks into COVID-19, nonprofits have swiftly responded with emergency protocols and tactics to assist communities as best they can. Crisis management can’t last forever, so nonprofit executives should now consider the long-term impact of this crisis on all aspects of their organization and the community. Join Maryland Nonprofits for their webinar, Pivoting for the Future: Reimaging Your Nonprofit Strategy. Click here to learn more and to register.
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Community Grant Opportunities
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| IMPACT100 Greater Chesapeake Grant
IMPACT100 Greater Chesapeake will award one $54,000 grant to one local nonprofit who offers services in the Greater Chesapeake area in the areas of Arts and Culture, Education, Environment, Family, or Health and Wellness.
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| PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM: The Paycheck Protection Program or PPP is a Federal emergency forgivable loan program for nonprofits, small businesses, self-employed and independent contractors. For nonprofits, the PPP covers payroll (including benefits), operations and debt service expenses to help employers to retain employees during the COVID-19 pandemic over an 8-week period ending June 30, 2020. Nonprofits can receive up to $10,000,000 (or 2.5 times their average monthly payroll (including benefits) through this program. You do not need to prove economic injury from COVID-19 to apply. We encourage all eligible nonprofits to apply for these funds. Resources and information on the PPP are available online through www.marylandnonprofits.org.
FOUNDATION DIRECTORY ONLINE: Nonprofits can access information on grantmakers and their grants through a database of over 92,000 foundations, corporate giving programs, and grantmaking public charities in the U.S. The Anne Arundel County Public Library is now offering temporary, free, remote access to the Foundation Directory Online (FDO) Essential. Access is available on the library grants page at:www.aacpl.net/grants. Anne Arundel County nonprofits that need help searching FDO Professional while the library is closed can email grants@aacpl.net.
A list of additional community resources can be found on our website.
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If it sounds too good to be true, it likely is. Cybercriminals are using the COVID-19 headline as a tactic to spread viruses and steal personal information. Many individuals have begun to receive robocalls, emails, text messages, and social media requests from scammers promising high paying work from home opportunities, free home testing kits, promoting bogus cures, selling health insurance, and preying on virus-related fears. Some are even impersonating government agencies offering COVID-19 protection in exchange for payment and sensitive information.
Use the following tips to help protect yourself from scams, including coronavirus scams:
- Right now, there is nothing that has been proven to prevent COVID-19. Watch for emails claiming to be from experts with "inside information" on the virus.
- Always check prior to donating to charities or crowdfunding sites. Do not let anyone rush you into a donation, particularly those who ask for cash, gift cards, or wiring of funds.
- Do not click on links or open attachments in text or emails from sources you do not know. If a friend sends you a suspicious link that seems out of character, call them to make sure they weren't hacked.
- Be suspicious of urgent demands and emergency requests that pressure you to share personal information, payment information, or sensitive workplace information via email, text message, or over the phone.
- Government agencies will never call you to ask for personal information or money. Never give your Social Security, bank account, or credit card number to anyone who contacts you. Again, not even if they say they’re from the government.
When in doubt, ask a coworker, family member, or friend for their opinion. If you believe you have fallen victim of a scam, call your local police department's non-emergency number, and consider reporting to the FBI’s IC3 Internet Crime Database.
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NEWS FOR PROFESSIONAL ADVISORS
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| Charitable lead trusts: A timely revival
Among the many factors swirling together in the pandemic marketplace are (1) historically low interest rates and (2) historically high needs for increasing charitable giving to support organizations dealing with the health crisis. This makes the charitable lead trust an attractive vehicle for your clients who want to help charities in the near term and still preserve assets for their families.
Here’s how a charitable lead trust works. Your client transfers cash or other property to an irrevocable trust. For a term of years, a charity designated by your client (which could be a donor-advised fund) receives an income stream. The trust can be structured to maximize income tax benefits, or estate and gift tax benefits, in varying degrees. At the conclusion of the term of years, the remaining assets in the trust are distributed to the client’s designated non-charitable beneficiaries.
The reason a charitable lead trust is so advantageous right now is because if, over the term of the income period, the trust assets outperform the current IRS 7520 rate (which should be easy to do because rates are so low right now), the non-charitable remainder beneficiaries will receive assets with a value much higher than the taxable gift reported when the trust was created. This results in a tax-free transfer of wealth.
What’s more, if a client designates a donor-advised fund to receive the income during the term of years, the client can stay involved by recommending grants to the most appropriate charities as the health crisis moves through different stages of need during the months and years ahead.
Charitable lead trusts are complex instruments. As with any charitable planning vehicle, it is important to consult professionals as you evaluate whether a particular strategy is right for you.
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| COVID-19: A new tipping point for disaster philanthropy?
The Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County provides context and education for your philanthropic clients at all levels of giving and across the full range of charitable interests. The global COVID-19 pandemic in many ways has likely united your clients and other donors in a collective effort to support people in the communities they love. You’re no doubt seeing increased interest in this trend as you talk with clients and their families.
By many accounts, this new era of collective charitable giving in response to humanitarian crises was ushered in 10 years ago after a major earthquake occurred sixteen miles west of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. According to authorities, the 7.0 quake and its many aftershocks caused catastrophic damage, killing more than 100,000 people, and affecting more than 3 million others.
Only time will tell how the response to the current pandemic crisis will compare with the response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. But it is worth reflecting on the experience of a decade ago for the important lessons that can help guide giving strategies to benefit people impacted by COVID-19.
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was the first-time social networks played a major role in philanthropy. Accelerated by Internet connections and social media, millions of people got the message that relief organizations needed help. Individual donors contributed an estimated $43 million to the assistance and reconstruction efforts using the text messaging feature on their cell phones, according to a study conducted at the Pew Research Center. Fueled by the speed of communication, within days of the earthquake, more than $200 million had been given to the relief effort. Within a year, total gifts and pledges surpassed $5 billion.
Since then, philanthropy has learned lessons that are helping maximize effective support during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here are two helpful resources:
Grantbook offers valuable insights, such as the observation that Haiti’s earthquakes taught us that charities, funders, and governments need to work together. Plus, immediate needs for medical supplies and food were part of just a first wave of issues. As time went on after the disasters, deeper economic and health problems emerged that were also critically important for philanthropy and its partners to address. Grantbook also observes that money and volunteer efforts are important in the midst of a disaster and its immediate aftermath, but deploying the aid can be a huge challenge that donors need to keep in mind.
The net-net?
Our communities need both immediate philanthropic support for people affected by the pandemic and long-term support for ongoing ramifications of COVID-19, including preparedness to blunt the effects of the next pandemic, and resources to address future humanitarian disasters. Encourage your clients to consider endowments, field-of-interest funds, designated funds, and other perpetual structures available through the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County to ensure that the community we love is protected for generations to come.
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The COMMUNITY CONNECTOR is CFAAC's monthly eNewsletter. Here you will read stories about our donors and fundholders making a difference, our grant programs making an impact on the critical needs in our county, our work to help strengthen local nonprofits, and how we partner with philanthropists, estate planning professionals, and nonprofits.
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The Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County (CFAAC) is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3), publicly supported philanthropic organization with the long-term goal of building permanent funds that provide support to local nonprofit organizations through grants and special projects. Our mission is to inspire and promote giving in Anne Arundel County by connecting people who care with causes that matter. Established in 1998, CFAAC is one of the largest funders of nonprofit organizations in Anne Arundel County. CFAAC distributed nearly $3 million in 2019. Learn more at www.cfaac.org.
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