It doesn’t take much to get Becky and Jim Gifford of Hot Springs Village on board with a good cause and good conversation. Jim, retired from the aviation industry, and Becky, a librarian by trade, don’t hesitate to offer guests in their home a cup of hot tea, share stories about their world travels and show passion for causes they care about. With Jim serving on the Hot Springs Village affiliate board, the couple stepped up in 2020 to help their local community schools. They learned some important lessons along the way.
“Seeing the Foundation’s CEO at the Governor’s press conference made me very proud to be a fundholder with the Foundation,” said Jim. During the early days of the pandemic in Arkansas, people were seeking a way to help. Gov. Asa Hutchinson endorsed the Community Foundation as the best place for Arkansans to give.
“The events of 2020 changed my whole outlook on philanthropy,” said Jim. “We have always tried to give generously. My wife and I both have chronic illnesses, and we support what affects us personally and many other causes. But when the pandemic hit, it really changed my working philosophy on not just where to give, but how to give.”
The Community Foundation staff has helped the Giffords for years with their current and planned giving. “Your Development team makes it easy. Once we learned about the different giving options through the Foundation, we just send an email and ‘boom’ it’s done!” said Becky.
“When we recently updated our estate plan, we changed some of our giving percentages so that the Foundation would have a greater unrestricted amount for their Giving Tree program,” Jim said.
Unrestricted donations are what made it possible for the Foundation to create the COVID-19 Relief Fund in March of 2020. After activating the fund, 799 grants were made to Arkansas nonprofits in four months.
“We wouldn’t have made that kind of decision about our charitable dollars if it hadn’t been for our relationship with the Foundation staff,” said Jim. Relationships are important to the Giffords. In the spring of 2020, their efforts in the Village with local schools through the affiliate office had already laid the groundwork to help mobilize funds when the need arose.
“We know that a gift to the Foundation is an investment to help with the most important issues facing Arkansans. An unrestricted gift provides the Foundation with more flexibility,” Jim said. “I have great confidence in knowing that my charitable dollars are having deep impact across the state.”