Blog

August 8, 2022

Arkansas Community Foundation made a grant from the Lindsey East Endowment as part of the Access to Local Foods program. This grant supports the Center for Arkansas Farms and Food and Arkansas Food Innovation Center (both programs of the University of Arkansas) by providing funds to teach undergraduate interns how to create value-added foods from […]

July 7, 2022

Retirement planning is an important discussion topic during client meetings every year. In recent months, though, you may have observed an uptick in clients’ questions about their plans for retirement related to:  –Required minimum distributions (“RMDs”) from qualified retirement plans, including questions prompted by media coverage of pending legislation known as SECURE 2.0;  –Stability of […]

July 7, 2022

Advisors frequently comment that they’re surprised to discover the many ways the Community Foundation can help their clients, especially compared with national donor-advised fund programs affiliated with brokerage houses or financial services firms. Here are three examples of the types of comments community foundations have heard over the years from attorneys, accountants, and financial advisors:  […]

June 24, 2022

By Kimberly Dishongh Tony McDaniel’s life has changed drastically in the last two years. He still enjoys watching sports and fishing, but his thoughts are often dominated by dialysis and medical debt. It’s been a shock to his system. “Especially when you’re healthy and all of a sudden your life gets turned upside down, no […]

June 24, 2022

Danna F. Grear, M.D., is a radiologist and founding partner of The Breast Center, a MANA Clinic in northwest Arkansas. The physicians of MANA hold the MANA Fund with Arkansas Community Foundation. Started to recognize a colleague, the fund supports a benevolence fund for employees facing personal emergencies, and the Murray T Harris scholarship fund […]

June 24, 2022

The Arkansas Asset Funders Network, Arkansas Community Institute, Arkansas Community Foundation and Hope Policy Institute joined together in January 2022 for an announcement highlighting the escalating debt issues in Arkansas and a set of recommendations for addressing the issue. Moderated by Talk Business and Politics host Roby Brock, the event provided an overview of medical […]

June 24, 2022

Medical debt is a barrier for 37 percent of Arkansans. That is a disheartening statistic, but the future need not be bleak. National and local experts are tackling the problem strategically in hopes of creating a better tomorrow. “These aren’t mistakes those individuals made. This isn’t where an individual has taken out a loan,” said […]

June 24, 2022

In April, a new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau “Medical Debt Burden in the United States” was issued, which elevates medical debt as a larger problem nationwide. Some findings from the report: • The Consumer Financial Protection Bureaus research shows $88 billion in medical debt on consumer credit records as of June 2021. […]

June 24, 2022

By Adena J. White If there is one thing Kevin Ryan wants people to take away from the conversation around medical debt, it is that there are no villains. “People seek out medical care because they need it. Providers are willing to provide medical care to save lives. Businesses have to generate an excess of […]

June 8, 2022

With the help of a scholarship from the Oaklawn Foundation, Demarius Grant plans to attend Arkansas Tech University this fall and play football as a walk-on. At 6-foot-1,310 pounds and benches around 400 pounds, he has pretty good chances. Demarius is a graduate of Fountain Lake High School. He plans to pursue a career in […]