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David Crouse
Trent Dailey
Mary Eckerle
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Donate Online
to any fund by clicking on our donation button.
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Thanks from a recent
scholarship recipient...
To the
Foundation,
It is with
great excitement and gratitude that I am writing to
express my thanks for being selected to receive the scholarship from
Round Robbins. I am thrilled and elated to be able to put this
toward my education in Criminal Justice at Grant County's Ivy Tech
campus. This lifts part of a financial burden from my parents
and me and enables me to be able to reduce the number of hours I will
have to work while I attend school. My main focus can now be
directed toward my studies and career goals.
Again,
THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart, you have been a blessing
beyond words!!
A student
frm the Class of 2010, Mississinewa High School
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Turnaround Business
Development Group, Inc. SCAMS some Indiana Businesses
Turnaround Business Development Group,
Inc.presents themselves as turnaround specialists who know how
to help companies with products and/or services that have marketplace
demand, but are cash strapped and without documented
business plans. They
offer to put the infrastructure in place and fund that infrastructure with a
grant for which they have grant writers prepare and follow through to
award.
This group will ask
businesses to execute an agreement with your signature and request
that the agreement along with
a $3,000 retainer be sent directly to them in overnight mail. The check will be cashed and then
the company completely violates their end of the agreement.
They promise to send a
package of information that needs to be filled out so they can begin
work on the company business
plan and
website. They will not follow
through with this promise and will not return calls.
Please be on the
lookout for scams
such as this and, if you are suspicious, contact the Better Business
Bureau for more information.
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Just For You
In Giving You Receive
Would you like to receive
increased income and an immediate tax deduction? Click here
to receive our brochure entitled In Giving You Receive and
learn more about the benefits of setting up a charitable gift
annuity.
Personal Planner
Helping
Children Tomorrow
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Parents and children often have
a different perspective on saving and spending. Parents of
retirement age today were born during the Great Depression or
during the 1940s and have a strong desire to save and invest in
order to increase economic security.
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Savvy Senior
Volunteer
Opportunities for Retirees
Dear
Savvy Living,
"Where's the best place to find good volunteer opportunities?
Since I retired, I'd like to do a some volunteering, but most of the
opportunities that I know of don't get me too excited. What can you tell
me?"
Unexcited Volunteer
Washington
Hotline
Senate Debate
on Extending 2001/2003 Tax Cuts
The
Senate Finance Committee conducted a hearing on July 14, 2010 to discuss
the potential extension of tax cuts. In the Economic Growth and Tax
Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) and the Jobs and Growth
Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA), there were tax
reductions for nearly all Americans.
Finances
CPK Rises on
Better-Than-Expected Earnings
Shares
of California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) rose this week when the restaurant
chain reported a sales decline that was smaller than investors
anticipated. In a preliminary second-quarter earnings release, CPK
announced that revenues decreased by 4.6% to $163.1 million for the
quarter.
Treasury
Prices Rise
Treasury
prices rose this week following a statement from the Federal Reserve
(the Fed) suggesting that it would consider policy measures to fuel
growth in the economy. Two-year note yields fell to a record low
following these comments.
Interest Rates
Continue to Decline
Freddie
Mac reported mortgage rates stabilizing this week. The 30-year
fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.57%, unchanged from last week
when it averaged 4.57%. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM
averaged 5.14%.
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The $600
Billion Challenge
Bill Gates, Melinda Gates,
and Warren Buffett are asking the nation's billionaires to pledge to
give at least half their net worth to charity, in their lifetimes or
at death. If their campaign succeeds, it could change the face of
philanthropy.
By Carol
J. Loomis, senior editor-at-large, Fortune Magazine
Just over a year ago, in May 2009, word leaked to
the press that the two richest men in America, Bill Gates and Warren
Buffett, had organized and presided over a confidential dinner
meeting of billionaires in New York City. David Rockefeller was said
to have been a host, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Oprah Winfrey to
have been among those attending, and philanthropy to have been the
main subject.
Pushed by the press to
explain, Buffett and Gates declined. But that certainly didn't dim
the media's interest in reaching for descriptions of the meeting: The
Chronicle of Philanthropy called it "unprecedented"; both
ABC News and the Houston Chronicle went for "clandestine";
a New York magazine parody gleefully imagined George Soros to have
been starstruck in the presence of Oprah. One radio broadcaster
painted a dark picture: "Ladies and gentlemen, there's mischief
afoot and it does not bode well for the rest of us." No, no,
rebutted the former CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,
Patty Stonesifer, who had been at the meeting and had reluctantly
emerged to combat the rumors. The event, she told the Seattle Times,
was simply a group of friends and colleagues "discussing
ideas" about philanthropy.
And so it was. But that
discussion -- to be fully described for the first time in this
article -- has the potential to dramatically change the philanthropic
behavior of Americans, inducing them to step up the amounts they
give. With that dinner meeting, Gates and Buffett started what can be
called the biggest fundraising drive in history. They'd welcome
donors of any kind. But their direct target is billionaires, whom the
two men wish to see greatly raise the amounts they give to charities,
of any and all kinds. That wish was not mathematically framed at the
time of the New York meeting. But as two other U.S. dinners were held
(though not leaked), Buffett and Gates and his wife, Melinda, set the
goal: They are driving to get the super-rich, starting with the
Forbes list of the 400 wealthiest Americans, to pledge -- literally
pledge -- at least 50% of their net worth to charity during their
lifetimes or at death.
Without a doubt, that plan
could create a colossal jump in the dollars going to philanthropy,
though of what size is a puzzle we'll get to. To begin with, a word
about this article you are reading. It is the first public disclosure
of what Buffett and Melinda and Bill Gates are trying to do. Over the
past couple of months Fortune has interviewed the three principals as
the project has unfolded, as well as a group of billionaires who have
signed up to add their names to the Gates/Buffett campaign.
In a sense this article is
also an echo of two other Fortune stories, both featuring Buffett on
the cover. The first, published in 1986, was "Should you
leave it all to the children?" To that query, Buffett emphatically said
no. The second article, "Warren
Buffett gives it away," which appeared in
2006, disclosed Buffett's intention to gradually give away his
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) fortune to five foundations, chief among them
the world's largest, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (For
Buffett's thinking on the disposition of his wealth, see "My philanthropic
pledge.")
Since then, in four years of
contributions, Buffett has given the foundation $6.4 billion, not
counting the 2010 gift, to be made this summer. The foundation in
turn has in that same period combined Buffett's money and its immense
gifts from the Gateses to raise its level of giving to about $3
billion a year, much of it for world health. One small example: the
Medicines for Malaria Venture, heavily funded by the Gates
Foundation, has worked with pharmaceutical company Novartis (NVS) to develop good-tasting malaria pills and
distribute them to millions of children -- the principal victims of
the disease -- in 24 countries.
Another fact about the 2006
Buffett article is that it was written by yours truly, Carol Loomis,
a senior editor-at-large of Fortune. Besides that, I am a longtime
friend of Buffett's and editor of his annual letter to Berkshire's
shareholders. Through him, my husband, John Loomis, and I have also
come to know Melinda and Bill Gates socially. The Loomis team has
even occasionally played bridge against Warren and Bill.
All that said, the question
of what philanthropy might gain from the Gates/Buffett drive rests,
at its outset, on a mystery: what the wealthiest Americans are giving
now. Most of them aren't telling, and outsiders can't pierce the
veil. For that matter, the Forbes 400 list, while a valiant try, is a
best-guess estimate both as to the cast of characters and as to their
net worth. (Buffett says he knows of two Berkshire shareholders who
should be on the list but have been missed.) As Bill Gates sums it
up, "The list is imprecise."
Those qualifiers noted, the
magazine stated the 2009 net worth of the Forbes 400 to be around
$1.2 trillion. So if those 400 were to give 50% of that net worth
away during their lifetimes or at death, that would be $600 billion.
You can think of that colossal amount as what the Buffett and Gates
team is stalking -- at a minimum.
Leaving aside the Forbes 400
and looking simply at Internal Revenue Service data for both annual
giving and estate taxes, we can piece together a picture of how far
the very rich might be from a figure like that $600 billion. Start
with an admirable fact about Americans as a whole: The U.S. outdoes
all other countries in philanthropic generosity, annually giving in
the neighborhood of $300 billion.
Some of that gets reported as
charitable deductions on the tax filings made by individuals. But
taxpayers at low income levels don't tend to itemize, taking the
standard deduction instead. At higher income levels, charitable gift
data begin to mean something. To take one example for 2007 (the
latest data available), the 18,394 individual taxpayers having
adjusted gross income of $10 million or more reported charitable
gifts equal to about $32.8 billion, or 5.84% of their $562 billion in
income.
Tune in next week to see Part
II of this story...info on the world's billionaries.
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Wow! It's
been a long time since I've written. We took a little eNews
vacation for the summer, but we are back with many exciting things in
the world of philanthropy.
Buffet and Gates are asking
billionaires to give all of their money to charity and the Foundation
is offering a grant matching opportunity to those who aren't
billionaires! :)
The summer has been
beautiful and there are many things to enjoy as we head to various
vacation locations or simply outside in the backyard to enjoy a nice
campfire and some smores. So as you enjoy your many blessings
this year think about how you might be able to share some of those
blessings.
We have a variety of funds to choose
from at the Foundation. Check 'em out!
 
Dawn Brown, CFRM
Community Development Officer
Community
Foundation of Grant County
Feel free to visit
www.comfdn.org
to see all
eNewsletters and
articles.
Our
website is open 24 hours a day!
Find Us:
505 West Third Street, Marion, Indiana 46952
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www.comfdn.org
foundationoffice@comfdn.org
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765.662.1438
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Community Foundation of Grant County is confirmed in
compliance with the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations
by the Council on Foundations.
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Note:
Articles, commentary and other materials in the GiftLegacy system are
included solely as educational information. Since articles may not
always reflect the current AFR or tax law, it may be necessary to run
any illustration with a current version of Crescendo Software to
obtain updated information. If professional services are required,
all persons shall consult with their qualified professional advisors.
Tax Quotes are courtesy of Jeffery L. Yablon, Washington, D.C.
© Copyright 1999-2009 Crescendo Interactive, Inc.
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