Creating Incentives for families to apply for free and reduced lunches

Arkansas Community Foundation recently made a grant to the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance in response to a lower number of Free/Reduced School Meal forms being turned in across the state. Just because a family has qualified for free or reduced lunches doesn’t automatically mean their child is enrolled in the program. A parent must complete a form with their child’s school to complete the enrollment process. 

When a school has a lower number of applicants, it has a profound effect on school budgets – and schools must make up for not being reimbursed when the forms aren’t turned in by families that are eligible.

When families don’t complete the forms, they don’t get in the program, and often these families simply cannot afford to pay. This can result in schools having to call and essentially hassle parents to pay, which can be difficult for the school, parents and kids.

The grant from the Community Foundation was for the Hunger Relief Alliance to provide incentives to apply. They did this through $100 gift cards as a part of a drawing. For every student that returned a form, they were entered in a drawing to win.

In Sebastian County at the Lavaca School District, the campaign was remarkably successful.

“The $100 gift cards, along with other promotions like athletic season passes, local gift cards and some school merchandise, helped increase the number of applications submitted,” said Susan Mendez, Child Nutrition Director of Lavaca Public Schools. “The incentive effectively encouraged parents to complete the applications promptly, resulting in a quicker turnaround time for processing the free/reduced meal applications.”

The impact of the campaign was two-fold. First, there was a significant increase in the number of meal applications submitted overall. More students are now eligible for free or reduced-cost meals at the school, ensuring that more kids receive the nutritional support they need.

Second, the campaign fostered a shift to more online meal applications. The allure of the gift card prompted parents to explore the digital application process, resulting in a surge in online submissions. This transition not only streamlined the application process but also demonstrated the success of adapting to modern communication methods. By embracing online applications, it was more convenient for parents to participate, ultimately leading to an increase in overall participation rates.

The gift cards proved to be a powerful catalyst for promoting increased meal applications in the district.

“This grant made it possible to not only meet the nutritional needs of more students,” said Mendez, “But it helped foster a stronger connection between the schools and the families we serve.”

Don’t forget that August is National Make-A-Will month. Even if your estate planning documents are already in place, this is still a good time to review your will, trust, and beneficiary designations to ensure that they still capture your financial and family situation, as well as your intentions. 

It’s hard not to be inspired by the incredible stories of generosity that no one saw coming. Every year, many nonprofit organizations receive estate gifts that they had not expected. Stories about these donors are heartwarming! (And, though not a bequest, we’re all inspired by extraordinary anonymous gifts!)

Remember, your fund at the 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–such as your IRA–can be extremely tax-efficient. This is because charitable organizations such as the Community Foundation are tax-exempt. This means the funds flowing directly to your fund at the Community Foundation from a retirement plan after your death will not be reduced by income tax. This also means the assets will not be subject to estate tax. 

The Community Foundation makes it easy for your attorney to draft bequest terms in legal documents, including beneficiary designations of retirement plans and life insurance policies. Please contact our team for the exact language that will ensure alignment with your intentions. 

Keep in mind that even after you have executed estate planning documents or beneficiary designations, in many cases you can update the terms of your fund at the Community Foundation. You will love the ease and flexibility! 

We look forward to hearing from you and your advisors as you update your estate plan to ensure that your legacy is intact!

Despite the recently-announced decline in 2022 charitable giving, we continue to hear inspiring stories from you and other fundholders. And we continue to work with new individuals and families to establish their own charitable funds at the Community Foundation, and nothing could make us happier! Increasing charitable giving and connecting donors to important causes are our priorities at the community foundation.

The uptick in conversations about philanthropy has inspired us to reflect on the noteworthy generosity of so many entrepreneurs who become very generous donors and leaders in philanthropy. Over the years, we’ve observed an interesting trend. Entrepreneurs are certainly donors, but are donors entrepreneurs? In other words, is an entrepreneur’s approach to philanthropy similar to the entrepreneur’s approach to building a business? Do they give it like they made it?  

We believe the answer is yes. And often in ways that entrepreneurs–and other donors, for that matter–may not consider. 

Indeed, an “entrepreneur” is sometimes defined as a person who aspires to build something bigger than themself. That’s exactly what happens when a donor supports favorite causes through a donor advised fund at the Community Foundation. This is especially appropriate because contributions to funds at the Community Foundation are much more than simply donations. Contributions are investments in local philanthropy to improve the quality of life in our region and to support the causes the donor cares about. The return on investment is human-centered rather than financial, and those returns deliver benefits to not only the nonprofits who receive grants from the fund, but also to the community as a whole.

Here are few ways that gifts—rather, investments—via a fund at the Community Foundation are similar to entrepreneurship: 

–A gift from one person, one couple, or one household can have a generous ripple effect that “scales” to help many, whether that is to feed many families, subsidize a childcare center, or help support programs that allow parents to work and earn a living.

–Donated funds are the “seed money” that can inspire innovation, the kind that allows the grantee organization to function in new and efficient ways. 

–A gift can expedite creation of the recipient organization’s brand new programs via pilots (in the tech world, “MVPs, ” or minimally viable products). This form of testing and learning is a critical step to achieving product or service viability, whether in the for-profit or nonprofit sector.

–Philanthropic support can provide a nonprofit organization with the means to hire much-needed talent, such as a social worker or a fundraising professional. This is not unlike an entrepreneur’s need to hire key team members, such as a software engineer or a full-time chief financial or accounting officer, who may have otherwise been unaffordable or delayed in coming onboard. 

If you’re interested in reading more about entrepreneurs as philanthropists, you might enjoy specific topics such as making charity a habit, checking out a punch list of five ways to give back, and a few “oldie but goodie” perspectives that have stood the test of time. 

By employing an entrepreneurial mindset, donors can envision and deploy their gifts as investments capable of helping charitable organizations scale to great success and make a real difference in the quality of life for the people they serve. The Community Foundation is always happy to discuss various ideas and strategies to leverage entrepreneurial principles in your charitable giving. We appreciate the opportunity to work together!  

Over the years, you’ve probably taught your young children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews lessons along the lines of “share and share alike” and “better to give than to receive.” But how do you transition these lessons into more concrete instruction about charitable giving, without risking the youngest members of your family becoming overwhelmed or bored? And how can you make those lessons effective as children grow older?

To inspire teenagers and young adults, consider tapping into an increasingly popular topic among younger generations, which is the notion of “purpose.” “Finding one’s purpose,” in the context of both personal lives and careers, is also a concept that can unite generations within a single family. The overarching purpose of giving can be framed as making the world a better place or strengthening the community. This translates nicely for youth who are seemingly always asking, ”Why?”

Teaching young children about philanthropy can be a little tricky. Many donors and fundholders at the Community Foundation have expressed an interest in learning how to do this. Here are a few principles that might help. And, as always, reach out to the team at the Community Foundation for ideas related to your own particular situation. 

Positive reinforcement is a must. 

As with any successful learning experience, positive reinforcement is a must in teaching the values of charitable giving. In particular, you may want to consider reinforcing that every charitable gift is good regardless of the profile of the giver, the size of the gift, or the nature of the recipient. Positive reinforcement in charitable giving is effective because it first engages the giver’s own understanding of what it means to be philanthropic—from the giver’s own perspective–even if that giver is very young. So when your school-age children or grandchildren are raising money for a charity through a school fundraiser, throwing coins into a fountain to support a local children’s hospital, or donating gently-used toys and clothing, make sure you let the child know that these gifts really do make a difference.

Charitable giving can be defined expansively and inclusively.

When you’re talking with a 10-year-old, conversations about giving back are most productive when they go well beyond discussions about big checks written to highly-visible organizations. You may find it helpful in your conversations to cast a wide net around the definition of what it means to be charitable, often including things like adopting an older dog who needs a home, turning off lights to help the environment, cooking dinner for neighbors in need, helping to pay a family member’s medical bills, and recycling aluminum cans. Your enthusiasm during the conversation will be contagious as you convey the opportunities. The world is full of good deeds waiting to be done!

Tap into what the child cares about.

How do you know what charitable causes might inspire the children in your life? Ask! You’re likely to hear things like animals, trees, natural disasters, finding missing people, and having clean air and water. Any one of these gives you a fantastic opening for further dialogue. Charitable giving opportunities are everywhere!  

Understand that children have a power and direction all of their own.

Even 10-year-olds these days are assertive, aware of news and world affairs, and most importantly, digital natives. They like to figure things out on their own. With the tiniest bit of guidance and a lot of encouragement, their ideas go a long way. Let a child’s interests guide your lesson on giving. You do, however, have a strong power of suggestion as an adult. Kids do not necessarily know how to find the exact names of charitable entities, and they certainly do not know what “501(c)(3)” means, but they remember a place after they’re told it does lots of good for people.

Keep it short and keep it mutual.

The children in your life are brilliant, wonderful, and perceptive, but they do have short attention spans. Make the lessons informal, spontaneous, and flexible, and create plenty of opportunities for storytelling. Children have a story for everything, and they love to share. Let them talk about how they feel. Let them tell you how, where, and why they want to give.

Take action! 

Finally, don’t just talk–take action! For children with a grasp of money, charitable values can be taught through allocations. For the youngest, that may be from their allowance. For the more experienced, allotments can come from after-school or summer job earnings. Giving can be highly interactive or participatory. For example, parents can show children the causes they support or suggest potential grantees based on the child’s interests, and let them choose. Parents can also show them how a gift can be easily made from the family’s donor-advised fund at the Community Foundation, which offers many benefits and can often be named to include names of the child or children. 

At the Community Foundation, we’re here to help your family–even its youngest members–convert ideas into reality for the causes they care about the most. 

By Kim Dishongh

Usually when a university president discusses growth, he is referring to academics, student enrollment or budgets. Richard Dunsworth, president of the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, has plenty to say about those topics — but he might also share updates on his crops. He put in a garden behind the president’s residence on the edge of campus and he regularly enjoys the fruits — and vegetables — of his labor.

In recent years, he has worked to cultivate partnerships geared toward making it easier for everyone in the area to access fresh, locally produced foods, and is now leading a university initiative to open a farm-to-table restaurant and taproom in a historic building within easy walking distance of campus.

“The front of the building will be a place to be able to buy fresh produce and things made and grown here in Arkansas. You can also grab a cup of coffee and a bagel and maybe some ice cream and things of that nature,” said Dunsworth. “But it’s all designed around how to support Arkansas growers and Arkansas entrepreneurs.”

“We’re partnering with our city and our chamber of commerce to locate the community farmer’s market there,” said Dunsworth.

“Let’s say you’re a small farm and you’ve got produce of some kind that you bring into the farmer’s market. You sell everything you can and then you can go into the warehouse and package it for sale in the market, or you might decide to drop it in the dehydrator or the freeze dryer so you don’t lose it,” said Dunsworth. “In many ways it’s all about knowing where your food comes from and being able to shake hands with somebody who you know produced the meat and vegetables you’re eating.”

“Dr. Kim Van Scoy, who ultimately built a sustainable agriculture minor here at the university, started a community garden,” says Dunsworth.

Van Scoy, who retired last year, called it the Food for Thought garden.

“The class decided they wanted to call the garden the Food for Thought garden because we would hopefully help provide food in our local community, which would help with the fact that we were a food desert,” said Van Scoy. One third of the produce from the garden was donated to a school backpack program, serving children in Clarksville schools, where about 70 percent of students qualified for free and reduced lunches. Another third was sold in a farmer’s market and the remainder went to the students who worked in the garden.

Dunsworth explained that the university is better situated to absorb some of the risks that, for small businesses, might be catastrophic.

“What we’re trying to do is lend our knowledge of what we know about running nonprofits, what we know about business and marketing, what we hope our students can learn in this process,” he said. “Let us be the hub that just puts a whole lot of spokes out there and supports small farms that are kind of a side gig, a secondary opportunity for people to make money, and the outcome is for our students, who may not have ever understood where food really comes from to maybe understand a little bit more.”