Advisor's Corner

Your team at Arkansas Community Foundation stays on top of tax cases, IRS rulings, and legislation that could impact the advice and counsel you provide your clients on matters involving charitable giving.  Here are a few current highlights and reminders we recommend you skim. Electronic filing is now required for private foundations For tax years […]

Designated funds and field-of-interest funds may not always be top of mind when you are developing philanthropy plans for your clients and their families, but they are extremely valuable tools in certain circumstances and it’s important to be aware of what the terms mean.  A field-of-interest fund at the Community Foundation is established by your […]

Richard Bell’s accounting business has been a family affair from day one. “I wanted to get married. But Lee told me I needed to not work at a grocery store for the rest of my life, so I went into accounting,” said Richard. Forty years of marriage to Lee, two children and four business partners […]

Your clients might make donations to entities that do not fall under a specific section of the Internal Revenue Code, but feel “charitable” nonetheless because the dollars are helping people in need. Perhaps a client has helped set up a dedicated account at a bank to provide scholarships to the children of an accident victim, […]

When tax season rolls around each spring, a new crop of questions may arise concerning clients’ gifts to various organizations and whether those donations qualify as tax-deductible charitable contributions. Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code lays out the requirements for organizations to be considered tax-exempt—a status for which an organization must seek IRS approval. Tax […]

Estate and tax attorney Neal Pendergraft lives his life looking forward, not back. A Fort Smith native now living and working in Fayetteville, he believes it is never too early to begin to educate the next generation on the importance of philanthropy. “I have some clients who will be a perfect fit for the Community […]

For many donors, the importance of a multi-generational family philanthropy plan is high on the radar, especially in the wake of 2020’s eye-opening events highlighting the importance of rallying around important social and community priorities. How do you know when a client’s family is a strong candidate for more formal philanthropic planning, beyond simply budgeting […]

Your client’s fund at Arkansas Community Foundation can be an ideal recipient of estate gifts through a will or trust, or through a beneficiary designation on a qualified retirement plan or life insurance policy.  Bequests of qualified retirement plans can be extremely tax-efficient. Because charitable organizations such as Arkansas Community Foundation are tax-exempt, the funds […]

The housing market is showing no signs of slowing down in 2021. For certain clients, this presents a strong opportunity for charitable gifts of real estate, whether a primary residence, second home, rental property, or even niche commercial property that has benefited from a multi-faceted pandemic marketplace. As is the case with gifts of other […]

Michele Sears, Certified Financial Planner™ with Taurus Financial Advisors, LLC, in Fayetteville, first learned about Arkansas Community Foundation five years ago while serving on the board of Single Parent Scholarship Fund. “That’s where my passion is. I care about Single Parent Scholarship Fund because I was a single parent, and I see the good they […]