ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL -...

ONE SIZEDOES NOT

FIT ALL

SMART WOMEN CAN MAKE THE MOST OF THEIR TIME, TALENTS AND RESOURCES AND THEN SOME

WAYS

9

One Size Does Not Fit All | 1

How to Make the Most of Thoughtful Philanthropy

Those inspiring words from the late Maya Angelou embrace two sides of the same coin: generosity and gratitude. It’s human nature to want to help others so that we might uplift and sustain a community that in ways large and small sustains us.

And so you’ve arrived with charitable aspirations at one milestone in your life – success born of hard work, passion and commitment – and have set your sights on the next: You’re ready to give back. To commit a portion of your wealth to the common good. To be, in the words of eternity’s poet-in-residence, “…a rainbow in someone’s cloud.”

“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”


Let’s face it, the world abounds with plans long on promise but short on delivery because even the most commendable intentions can lack strategic decision-making. You’ve seen it. Truth be told, if you’re like most of us, you’ve probably lived through an episode or two on your journey. The result is wisdom, discernment and clear-eyed life lessons. There are no apps for those. Those are earned.

And earn them you have. Whether you’ve confronted decisions regarding family life, your professional life or ways in which to most effectively make the world a better place, you understand now more than ever that to be the most effective, a thoughtful approach is key. You want to be successful in your community giving, you want to make the most of your time, talents and resources, and you’re faced with a variety of philanthropic options.

But, naturally, you have questions. How can I be sure my giving is most effective? What’s the best charitable giving strategy? How can I truly make a difference?

But how do you determine the best path?

Sarah Owen, President & CEO of the Southwest Florida Community

Foundation interviews Karen Watson, co-founder of the Impact Dunbar Fund, at the Foundation’s

Women’s Legacy Fund Luncheon


What You’ll Discover in These Pages

The purpose of this document is to provide clarity, both in suggesting ways effective giving strategies can complement wise estate planning, as well as recommending an essential area of philanthropic need in Southwest Florida where you can truly make a difference: supporting education.

We’ll also shine a light on several impactful educational initiatives that many of your friends and neighbors are championing to changes lives. This may help spur your own thoughts about the ways your support of education can generate meaningful impact in the lives that comprise our community, both now and long after your legacy is established.

Women: Philanthropic Movers & Shakers

Supporting Education Supports Lives and Our Future

Doing the Math: Philanthropy + Education = Sustainability

Charitable Giving Strategies to Support Education

STEM Education: Planting and Nurturing Success

Preparing Youngsters for the Classroom

The Road to Success Starts Here

Not sure about your passions? We have an app for that!

4

6

8

9

12

15

17

18

SWFL nonprofit design session.


Women: Philanthropic Movers & Shakers

There are many and varied ways to participate in the joy of giving, with more and more women helping to change the world through philanthropy. In fact, according to a recent study by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at Indiana University, women of the Baby Boomer generation (1946-1964) and of the Silent Generation (1929-1945) are more likely to give to charity and to give more than their male counterparts when other factors affecting giving are taken into consideration.

“Women of the Baby Boomer generation and the Silent Generation are more likely to give to charity and to give more than their male counterparts…”

— Women Give 2017 Report, Women’s Philanthropy Institute, Indiana University

SWFL Dunbar design session.


But, rest assured, properly planned philanthropic giving can be a sound part of a wise financial strategy. Scott White, president of Scott White Advisors, says the benefits of prudent philanthropic planning can extend from the deep personal satisfaction that comes from giving, to the nuts-and-bolts of sensible estate planning.

He notes that, “Philanthropy may offer income tax deductions, avoid capital gains tax, and reduce the amount of taxes you or your estate may owe when you die.”

Still, Mr. White points out that charitable giving is rarely about tax planning in the end. “It often starts out that tax planning may have been an incentive, but there always should be a passion toward a cause ahead of tax planning.”

“The benefits of prudent philanthropic planning can extend from the deep personal satisfaction that comes from giving, to the nuts-and-bolts of sensible estate planning.”

— Scott White, president, Scott White Advisors

The reason is clear: no one can predict the future. “For example,” he says, “what if one sets up a giving vehicle designed to last many years based on tax reasons, then the tax laws change and makes it irrelevant? If there is a passion for a cause to begin with, then the donor can always have the satisfaction that their work has gone to support a worthy cause regardless of tax laws.”

The confluence of women’s desire to give back to their communities and their understandable financial-planning concerns requires philanthropic approaches that provide a way for those two realities to coexist. And the answer is not one-size-fits-all. Your needs, concerns and aspirations are unique – so, too, is the range of customizable giving strategies to address those.

You need a plan. A roadmap. We’ll revisit that shortly. Know that everyone’s roadmap is different, depending on individual circumstances, even though the destination is the same: real philanthropic impact. And when it comes to moving the needle of positive change in Southwest Florida, you need look no farther than supporting education.


Supporting Education Supports Lives and Our Future

Educational philanthropy can be a singular game-changer for communities because it impacts the sustainability of our quality of life, economically, culturally and in workforce development, not to mention elevating individual lives to new heights.

To better understand the current state and future prospects of education in Southwest Florida, more than 80 educators, business owners, government officials, nonprofit organizations, philanthropists and private citizens joined forces to launch the regional FutureMakers Coalition in 2015. The coalition has evolved to become one of just 75 community partners of the national Lumina Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to increasing the proportion of Americans with college degrees, technical and continuing education certificates, and other educational credentials.

“Employment in occupations requiring more education and training is on the rise...”— Pew Research Center


Because a measurable vision without baseline data is merely wishful thinking, the coalition turned to a research resource known as 3D (Data, Dialogue and Decisions) the Southwest Florida Community Foundation had previously developed. An analysis revealed several community challenges, including limited systems focused on education and workforce development.

When FutureMakers formed, only 27% of Southwest Florida residents had completed some form of post-secondary education. With the foundation serving as the organizational backbone, the coalition set out to double that number and transform the workforce by increasing the number of degrees, certifications and other educational credentials held by our community members to 55% by 2025.

It’s no secret that jobs are becoming more and more knowledge-based, driving profound change in the employment landscape. Not surprisingly, when it comes to post-secondary education, a recent survey by the Pew Research Center found that “employment in occupations requiring more education and training is on the rise, and many workers are realizing that retraining and upgrading their skills needs to be a lifetime commitment.”

The challenges facing our region in educational achievement touch many lives and have a ripple effect. Consider these crucial community action initiatives currently being supported with concerned community members’ time, talent and financial resources:

• Scholarship funds for deserving students in financial need

• Educational resources and mentoring for young middle school girls and young college women in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

• Educational support services for young special-needs students, particularly those on the autism spectrum.

• Support for Southwest Florida’s groundbreaking Collaboratory, a connective hub of ideas, innovation and philanthropy that will help drive educational opportunities along with the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge well into the future.


Doing the Math: Philanthropy + Education = Sustainability

A well-educated community contributes to the promise of this place we call home. The key is building a sustainable future, which is at the core of the emerging trend of multiple-year scholarships.

These funds empower a student through college or technical school and are an area of substantial community need. Establishing multiple-year scholarship funds is an opportunity for donors who desire to have an ongoing impact, both for high school seniors and the growing number of nontraditional-age students returning to school to finish a degree or certification, or completely change careers as technology drives a rapidly evolving job market.

Sarah Owen, president and CEO of the Southwest Florida Community Foundation, notes that, “Getting a scholarship for freshman year or the first year for nontraditional students is the beginning of the story. Getting it done is equally important as getting in.”

Increasingly, first-time college students aren’t graduating high school seniors, nor do they necessarily complete their degrees in four years.

“The new norm is six years,” Ms. Owen says. “And a large percentage of students are now nontraditional who need a different support system. We have to take a new approach because things have changed.”

Source: Hamilton Project initiative at the Brookings Institute

SWFL collaboration on communication


Charitable Giving Strategies to Support Education

There’s an array of ways your generosity can support education. For example, you may choose to establish a Advised Pass-Through Scholarship Fund. These enable you to help set applicant qualifications, such as students from a specific high school who maintained a certain grade point average, or you can identify an academic discipline, career path, or any number of other requirements. Alternatively, reducing the number of stipulations maximizes flexibility in awarding the scholarship to a student most in need. You can decide the amount to award each year based on your current financial or tax situation.

“We were very aware of the fact that many of the students don’t have the resources to continue on after the first year without multi-year scholarships.”

— Dawn-Marie Driscoll and Norman Marcus, Norman Marcus Scholarship Fund

Women’s Legacy Fund Prima Donor dinner.


Multi-Year Scholarship Funds Change Everything.Consider that a rising tide of education has the power to lift individual lives. And when a life is lifted, our community is lifted. It’s just such a rising tide that lifted Evelyn Suarez, who received the Norman Marcus Scholarship through the Southwest Florida Community

Foundation and is now studying at Florida Gulf Coast University in the high-demand field of nursing.

When Dawn-Marie Driscoll and her now late husband Norman Marcus established the scholarship fund in honor of his 80th birthday, they helped address the need for multi-year scholarships while establishing a legacy.

Ms. Driscoll says, “The only thing Norman wanted to stipulate was financial need, and students who earn the scholarship receive the funds every year until they finish their schooling. We were very aware of the fact that many of the students don’t have the resources to continue on after the first year without that kind of support.”

Ms. Suarez says the scholarship has completely changed her life. “Without their support, I wouldn’t be able to go to school, but now I’m able to study nursing and I’ll be able to help people,” she says. “It’s just incredible.”

Ms. Driscoll and her late husband, a former professor at Boston University, had been moved by the stories they read while volunteering as scholarship application reviewers. She believes donors are missing out if they don’t establish their scholarships during their lifetimes, when they’re able to meet the recipients and experience the mutual joy of a shared life-changing event.

“She was so wonderful,” Ms. Driscoll says of meeting Ms. Suarez, with whom she keeps in touch by email. “We were so impressed with her. It was such a special experience.”

The young student agrees. “It was amazing. To be able to meet the people who are helping you. They’ve become special in my life. They truly care, not just about my education, but about me as a person. They even remember my birthday.” One life lifted, an entire community elevated.

LIFE-CHANGING POWER OF EDUCATION

Another community member passionate about the life-changing power of education and the importance of multi-year scholarships is Gail Markham, founding partner of Markham Norton Mosteller Wright & Co. P.A.

She established the Gail Markham Believing in Girls Scholarship Fund, making it available to girls in the five-county region who demonstrate financial

need and have a minimum 3.0 grade point average. It’s renewed annually up to four years.

“I didn’t want too many restrictions,” says Ms. Markham, who received five four-year scholarships while attending the University of Maryland. To this day, she credits the kind generosity of others for changing her life. “I just want girls to go to college. That’s how I broke out of my previous world. Education was everything for me.”

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH

CERTIFICATIONS

Equally crucial, advancing workforce development through scholarships that support the education of the region’s students extends to a range of technical certifications, such as those offered by the Fort Myers Technical College.

(cont’d on next page.)


Another option is one of incredible staying power: an Endowed Scholarship Fund, which is a permanent fund invested to ensure the scholarship remains viable in perpetuity, and the scholarships produced by the endowment are funded through the income it generates.

IRA Charitable Rollovers are a great source of funding for scholarship funds. Those age 70 ½ are required to take a minimum distribution, but if you direct the contribution from the IRA (up to $100,000 is allowable by law), you are not required to pay the taxes. You simply redirect the funds to help students.

A variation of an endowment is what’s known as a Virtual Endowment. This arrangement allows you to maintain and manage the income-generating funds in your privately held investment portfolio, from which you pledge minimum cumulative distributions and participate in how the proceeds are allocated. Such an approach provides the financial flexibility to make adjustments should your economic situation change in the future.

Scholarship funds are just one way to have a real impact in education. There are many other avenues to explore depending upon your interests, as how you decide to support education is as individual as you are.

Jerry King and Dale Reiss established the Jerome L. King Scholarship Fund to assist students pursuing their Certified Nursing Assistant credential from FMTC.

The scholarship’s benefits are two-fold: it helps address our area’s nursing

shortage and it jumpstarts a “career in a year” for students in the nursing field who otherwise would not be able to afford school, denying them the chance to work in an industry that is a key employment driver in the region.

“I was aware of the shortages we’re facing,” Mr. King says. “After visiting the school, it became clear that their program could school certified nursing assistants at a time when hospitals and other facilities are struggling with staff shortages. It seemed like a natural fit.”

Ms. Reiss recognized the impact the scholarships could have. “Those of us who have been blessed with the ability to help sometimes forget how relatively small amounts of money can have a tremendous impact on the lives of others who may not be so fortunate,” she says.

“Those of us who have been blessed with the ability to help sometimes forget how relatively small amounts of money can have a tremendous impact on the lives of others who may not be so fortunate.”

— Dale Reiss and Jerry King, Jerome L. King Scholarship Fund

(cont’d from page 10.)

By 2020, the U.S. could face a shortfall of 200,000 nurses.

Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce


STEM Education: Planting and Nurturing Success

Another crucial area of need in Southwest Florida reflects a nationwide challenge: how to encourage and support school-age girls and young women in the critical fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Countless studies have documented the need for advancing females in STEM studies and careers. Gender biases shaped by cultural stereotypes are often cited as a primary challenge to increasing the representation of girls and women in these fields, from their earliest school years and into their professional careers.

I Will Mentorship Foundation girls robotics program.


STEM Education Changes MindsFGCU’s Girls in Engineering, Math and Science program provides mentoring and inspires female university students and middle school girls in Southwest Florida to pursue STEM careers by providing inquiry-driven activities. For middle school girls, it exposes them to crucial role models and hands-on experiences, allowing them to work with science and engineering professionals on campus.

Prof. Laura Frost, who holds a Ph.D. in chemistry as the director of FGCU’s Whitaker Center for STEM Education, tells the story of a fifth grader named Cecelia who grew up loving math and science, but when she got to middle school, she started to see that “smart” girls weren’t as popular, so her interest in those STEM subjects waned.

A key challenge becomes how to keep young girls who encounter such cultural biases interested in STEM subjects and the career paths they provide. Studies have shown that role models and mentors are powerful inspirations who can encourage and support students and young women throughout their STEM education and subsequent careers.

Prof. Frost says we can’t rely on young girls’ formal education alone. “What if Cecelia sees girls and women that look like her having fun teaching and learning math

and science activities that appeal to her interests?” she says. “Research tells us she is more likely to be inspired and encouraged to continue studying subjects like science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”

Seeking to address a key element of the STEM challenge, supporting mentorships was a driving factor in the Women’s Legacy Fund decision to award a grant to a partner organization’s program that creates a bidirectional STEM mentorship pipeline of high school and middle school girls, providing academic support, mentoring and professional development for girls in STEM fields.

Linda D. Hallman, CEO of the American Association of University Women, says, “By 2022, the United States will need 1.7 million more engineers and computing professionals. Women, who make up more than half the population, are still significantly underrepresented in these fields. Women’s intellect and voices need to be a part of the technologies and products created by these fields. Our country must fully utilize all of its human potential.”

Working to that end, one initiative the women of Southwest Florida have recently rallied behind is STEM support from the Community Foundation’s Women’s Legacy Fund. In 2016 the multi-donor fund provided a grant to support the Girls in Engineering, Math and Science (GEMS) program at Florida Gulf Coast University.


The Collaboratory: Incubating Ideas. Disseminating Knowledge.

Opening in September in the historic 1920s Atlantic Coast Line Railroad depot in downtown Fort Myers, which will be augmented by an additional 15,000 square feet, the Collaboratory is a space created by the Southwest Florida Community Foundation as a resource designed to bring people, ideas, funding and technology together to create social, economic and environmental change and sustainability in the region.

The core of its mission resides at the intersection of impactful innovation and actionable knowledge. Of course, those outcomes aren’t bound by Collaboratory walls, and it’s already having a regional impact even before the doors are open.

The Collaboratory welcomed graduate students from the University of Michigan School of Information who spent their Alternative Spring Break here this year researching issues affecting our region.

The students divided into two teams. The first worked with the City of Fort Myers on a research project for the city’s utilities department designed to enhance operations, while the second worked in collaboration with FGCU’s Marieb College of Health & Human Services to map “food deserts” in Immokalee, gathering data that could help inform policy change in how food scarcity is determined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The students then presented their findings to UM alumni, foundation supporters, city officials and FGCU faculty, demonstrating how collective action can educate regional stakeholders with research-based solutions to pressing regional challenges.

The Collaboratory Changes Our Region’s Trajectory

Invictus, SWFL robotics team.


Preparing Youngsters for the Classroom

The need for a solid educational foundation begins early in life and preparing students to achieve their full potential in the classroom is a key part of childhood development, particularly for special needs students and their families.

That’s because much more than book-learning takes place in a classroom. Students also learn and must rely on socialization skills that will help them succeed not only in their educational journeys but also in life. Students who struggle with social anxiety find it challenging to do their best learning, an obstacle that is particularly acute for children coping with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges.

“Our programming is designed to do everything possible to support children on the autism spectrum…”

— David Brown, co-founder, Southwest Florida’s Family Initiative, Inc

Family Initiative, Inc. activity.


Early Intervention for Special Needs Children Southwest Florida’s Family Initiative, Inc., works to help meet the needs of children on the autism spectrum and their families through a variety of socialization programs that bring these special kids together to play, express themselves and develop friendships.

Having previously worked in the region’s child welfare system, the organization’s co-founders David Brown and Anjali Van Drie, both master’s level clinicians, observed a significant increase in the number of children diagnosed, or potentially undiagnosed, entering the foster care system.

“In an effort to better serve these children, we reached out to the community to connect with local agencies focused on supporting them,” says Mr. Brown, president of Family Initiative, who realized a service gap existed that needed to be addressed. “We decided to build an organization focused on serving this population.”

Family Initiative offers structured programs that include a play group, an art/improv class and a group for parents. ASD children typically have difficulty interacting socially and communicating in social environments. Learning obstacles arise when they’re faced with school classrooms that rely heavily on interacting, socializing and communicating with others.

Mr. Brown points to a key benefit of Family Initiative’s programs: they help special needs kids improve their socialization and communication skills. The value of the organization’s offerings extends to their families through a family-centered approach that encourages parents to engage in all aspects of the programs with their children.

“Our programming is designed to do everything possible to support children on the autism spectrum to thrive and to provide them opportunities through sports, the arts and other activities for them to achieve their best selves,” he says. “Children often find areas of interest or enjoyment which may even be new to their parents.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, approximately 1 in 68, or 1.5%, of eight-year-olds were identified with ASD in 2012, the most recent year of the monitoring network’s assessment.

The CDC’s Community Report on Autism states, “We urge those who work with or on behalf of children, from healthcare providers to educators to community advocates, to join forces to ensure that all children with ASD are identified and connected to the services they need as early as possible.”

The Southwest Florida Community Foundation has been providing grants to organizations that provide resources to families with a child with autism, a family member with special needs, students attending alternative schools and others facing unique challenges.


The Road to Success Starts Here

We spoke earlier of an individualized roadmap to philanthropic impact. Because there are many individual needs and financial planning factors, a customized approach that thoughtfully addresses all those elements is best. These stories presented here are only some of the ways people are getting involved in community philanthropy. If you’d like to take a closer look at how a customized giving strategy can help you clearly define and realize your philanthropic aspirations as part of your financial future, the Southwest Florida Community Foundation can help.

Access to education is vital to the future of our community. From helping special needs children prepare for early childhood learning, to educational certifications that support crucial community services like healthcare, to helping students pursue four-year degrees and beyond, the educational investment discerning philanthropists choose to make in our community forms the bedrock of opportunity for students and the region.

What is your educational passion? Whose cloud are you going to part with a rainbow of opportunity?

An educated guess? Maya Angelou would wax poetic about the region’s blessings of philanthropy in motion: a verse of generosity in rhythm with a stanza of gratitude.

SWFL nonprofit leaders.


If you like what you see here but it just doesn’t align with your heart, we have an exercise that may help. By sitting down with someone from the Community Foundation and going through the Giving 360 program, you can narrow down your values, your interests and together develop your very own philanthropic mission statement. Donors who have invested a little time and thought into Giving 360 have been able to guide their giving more closely to their own true passions. There’s no obligation to work with the Foundation, it’s just something the Foundation offers to launch more philanthropists into a new and strategic philanthropic journey.

For more than 40 years, the Southwest Florida Community Foundation has worked with donors like you to explore ways that you can achieve your goals of giving back to the community based on your passions while maintaining financial security now, or planning for legacy giving that comes later in life, or a combination of the two.

The Foundation serves Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Glades and Hendry counties and works with deeply rooted nonprofit organizations to align philanthropic generosity with crucial regional needs to facilitate positive change and support the common good, helping to secure and sustain the social, economic, and cultural future of the region.

Not sure about your passions? We have an app for that!

About the Southwest Florida Community Foundation

We are here to help. Please contact Carolyn Rogers at the Southwest Florida Community Foundation. She can be reached at 239-274-5900 or by email at [email protected].

ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL -...

Documents

Transcript of ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL -...