The Future is Bright for Partnerships For Doug Seelicke at Stephens Inc., trust and stellar service strengthen advisor-client relationships.

When it comes to philanthropy, professional advisors play a vital role in connecting clients’ financial goals with their desire to make a difference. For Doug Seelicke, an investment advisor at Stephens Inc. and a former attorney, that balance is at the heart of his work.

“My role is to help clients preserve and grow assets for their families and future generations and satisfy their desire to give back,” he said. “Philanthropy isn’t an either-or. It can do both.”

Seelicke regularly refers clients to the Community Foundation, where donor advised funds and other giving vehicles provide a seamless way to integrate charitable giving into financial planning. What gives him confidence in making those referrals is simple: trust.

“I can’t introduce my clients to a service provider unless I can rely on their level of service,” Seelicke said. “With Arkansas Community Foundation, that trust is always there. They provide stellar service, both to me as the advisor and directly to my clients. Their professionalism and responsiveness go a long way.”

It isn’t just about managing paperwork. It’s about a meaningful partnership and building relationships. “The Foundation simplifies the administrative and compliance aspects of philanthropy,” he said. “That allows me to focus on growing my clients’ wealth while still helping them realize their charitable goals. They are a great partner for advisors.”

One client experience stands out. Late in the calendar year, a family experienced a significant liquidity event and needed to establish a donor advised fund quickly to benefit from tax planning.

“Time was of the essence,” Seelicke recalled. “The staff at the Foundation took an all-hands-on-deck approach. Everything was completed in just a matter of days. My client and I were deeply appreciative, not only of the speed and efficiency, but also of the local knowledge the Foundation staff provided. And they were able to connect that family with other like-minded philanthropists and causes in their community, which really made an impression.”

For Seelicke, experiences like this confirm that working through the Community Foundation is a value-add. I view it as managing the money on behalf of my clients through Arkansas Community Foundation, for the benefit of my clients and their communities. It’s not a loss at all. In fact, I’d say it helps me build stronger relationships with my clients.”

That belief ties directly to Stephens Inc.’s broader commitment to Arkansas. As a family-owned firm with deep roots in the state, Stephens has long viewed giving back as part of its responsibility.

“Even though I wasn’t born here, I’ve lived here more than 16 years and raised my family here,” Seelicke said. “There’s a real sense of obligation to help those who need it and make our communities stronger. That mentality flows through the firm, from the top down.” For Seelicke personally, the most rewarding aspect of this work is watching clients experience the deeper meaning of their generosity.

“It’s fulfilling to see them realize that their wealth management is about more than just growing dollars,” he said. “They learn that they can do more and actually touch lives within their own communities. That, to me, is what makes the most impact.”

Tamara and Johnny Roberts make sure their giving is both intentional and impactful for their family.

Tamara and Johnny Roberts believe generosity works best when it is intentional, organized, and shared across generations. As Chairman and former CEO of J.B. Hunt, Johnny is accustomed to structure and long-range planning. Tamara is the “CEO of the home,” and brings that same discipline to the family’s philanthropy. Early on, they decided that giving would be part of their family story. “We know from our faith that we don’t manufacture what’s happening; we participate in it,” he said. “And to whom much is given, much is expected.”

That conviction shaped a five-year family plan for philanthropy. Their children were invited in from the start. “Starting young teaches stewardship,” Tamara says. “It builds the habit of thinking about needs beyond your own.” Over time, their giving coalesced around areas that resonate deeply with the family: health care, education, food security, just to name a few. The result is a steady, efficient and values-driven pattern of support that they hope their children and grandchildren will continue.

Impact matters as much as intention. Some of the family’s most meaningful moments have come from smaller, local projects. Johnny points to a pre-K breakfast program in Fayetteville. “It was not our largest grant, but it was one of the most impactful,” he says.

“I was a teacher,” Tamara adds. “Children can’t learn if they’re hungry. Seeing that program, and knowing those school meals might be the only ones some children get that day, stays with you.” For Tamara, the local cancer support home holds special significance. After her own preventive surgery, she helped expand services that restore dignity for patients. “To see women leave with a quality wig, a soft robe and a little more confidence was unforgettable,” she says. “Small comforts can change how someone faces a hard day.”

Early in their marriage, as their philanthropy grew, so did the complexity. Gifts of appreciated stock, multi-year pledges, and dozens of commitments and requests quickly became difficult to manage while Johnny was leading a major company. The couple credits Arkansas Community Foundation staff with creating order out of the chaos. “It has been one of the best decisions we have made,” Tamara says. “The Foundation team keeps us organized, makes the transactions seamless, and gives us confidence that nonprofits can count on timely support.” Johnny adds that the ability to make a single transfer into their fund, then let Foundation staff handle timing, paperwork, and reporting, has been “transformational.”

Beyond logistics, the Foundation staff provides candid guidance to align each gift with the family’s goals. “If I bring an idea forward, they’ll tell me if it makes sense,” Tamara says. “It’s like having a philanthropy concierge. We don’t worry about the mechanics; we can focus on impact.”

At the heart of their giving is their faith. “We have been blessed far beyond what we ever imagined,” Johnny says. Asked how they hope to be remembered, both keep it simple: faithful, devoted to family, and known as people who tried to help our state be better.

For Arkansas, that faithfulness looks like a brighter future: stronger hospitals and patient recovery centers, students ready to learn, families with food on the table, and so many other small and large efforts to help. For the Roberts family, it looks like the next generation learning to plant seeds whose shade they may never sit under, but that will shelter many others.

From education to lifesaving equipment, Delta Area Community Foundation is investing in local solutions that bring hope, safety and opportunity across Desha and Lincoln counties.

When the Desha County Sheriff’s Office received a grant to purchase its first two automated external defibrillators (AEDs), the impact was immediate and deeply personal. “Our patrol units are often the first to respond to an emergency,” Sheriff Mitch Grant explained. “Earlier this year, one of our deputies arrived before EMS to a heart attack call in a rural part of the county. He began CPR, but without an AED, there was only so much he could do. With this equipment, that life might have been saved.”

Today, the sheriff’s office has three AEDs in total and hopes to secure two more so that every patrol vehicle is equipped with lifesaving technology. Delta Area Community Foundation stepped in quickly to make the initial purchase possible, just one example of how the affiliate listens and responds when local leaders identify urgent needs.

For Executive Director Randi Stinyard, that responsiveness is central to their mission. “We exist to make grants that help our communities be safer, stronger places to live.”

That same spirit drives the Delta Area board, a diverse and committed group representing education, healthcare, clergy, law enforcement and more. They rotate meetings across towns, announce grant opportunities in churches and civic groups, and make sure local voices shape their work. Board chair and Arkansas City mayor Carolyne Blissett summed it up: “We are very much a working board. We all play a role, and we’re intentional about making sure our grants address real needs in every corner of our counties.”

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Scholarships are one of those priorities. Blissett recalled how, early on, schools weren’t always engaged. But with personal visits and workshops, participation grew. “Now, more young people are finding opportunities they might have missed,” she said. Dr. Chris Allen, the Alternative Learning Environments (ALE) Director for Star City School District, added that simple steps like walking students through the online application process have made scholarships more accessible.

The same approach applies to immediate needs. Whether it’s providing fans to elderly residents during scorching summers, supporting food pantries in communities where fresh groceries can be 20 minutes away, or expanding early literacy programs, the Community Foundation is deliberate about solving problems close to home. Board member Elaine Hargraves sees it daily at the UAM McGehee campus where she is the assistant vice chancellor, “I see students every day who need food. Even something as simple as setting up a snack station changes lives.”

For board member Spencer Chastain, the connection between this work and the county’s AED grant is clear. “Families here often think college, or even basic resources, are out of reach. But the Community Foundation helps people think bigger, and it makes hope tangible. In the same way, something like an AED can literally change the outcome for a family in crisis.”

That determination is what sustains the board’s optimism. Cortez Smith pointed to the financial support from donors. Chastain emphasized the resilience of Delta people: “No matter how bad it gets, folks here step up for one another.” 

The AED grant to the sheriff’s office is just one example, but it captures the essence of the local Community Foundation: neighbors coming together, a working board listening closely, and modest investments that can change, and sometimes save, lives.

Ruth Wood’s century of generosity ensures students have the support they need to learn, belong and thrive.

At 103, Ruth Wood of Eureka Springs still remembers the day a teacher changed her life.

“When I was in college, I didn’t have any money,” Wood recalled. “A teacher loaned me some, and when I went back later to pay her, she said, ‘No, don’t pay me back. Just do something for somebody else.’”

That simple lesson, to pass it on, has guided Wood’s giving for more than eight decades.

Today, her generosity is focused on students in the three school districts in Carroll County. Through her fund at the Community Foundation, she has supported everything from field trip fees and epi-pens to the steel-toed work boots required for students in the county’s vo-tech program and even hearing aids for a child in need. Her philosophy is simple: fill the gaps that no other resource covers, especially when a small gift makes a life-changing difference.

“I don’t want kids to be left out,” she said. “If you’re the only child who can’t go on a field trip, that hurts. I want them included.”

One of her earliest grants helped a boy travel to see his brother in the hospital in central Arkansas. “That made me feel better than almost anything,” she said. Another time, she quietly gave money to a teacher so a student could join the class on a field trip. Later, the child’s grandfather showed up at the school with a crumpled $5 bill to say thank you. “That was probably his last five dollars,” Wood remembered. “It meant so much that he wanted to give back.”

Stories like these echo her own experiences growing up during the Depression. “We just didn’t have anything, like most during that time,” she said. “People needed things, and you helped each other. My mother always said, ‘You do what you have to do.’ So that’s what I do.”

Wood’s giving reflects her lifelong focus on education and health, with a touch of travel for good measure.

“I think if you teach kids, they can do anything they want to do, but be reasonable,” she said. “You don’t have to be the best. Enjoy life and experience as much as you can, travel as much as you can, read as much as you can.”

Her fund ensures those values will outlive her. When she is gone, her endowment will continue to support children in Carroll County for generations to come. She isn’t concerned with specifying every detail. Instead, she wants her fund to be flexible so that it can meet whatever needs arise.

“I can’t say exactly where it should go, because it’s whatever’s needed,” she said. “And you never know what will be needed.”

For Wood, that is the legacy she hopes to leave: not only direct help for young people today, but an example of generosity that inspires others to act. “I hope it will teach them to give to others,” she said. “There’s always need.”

Her story comes full circle because a teacher once asked her to pay it forward. Now, more than 80 years later, she is still doing exactly that.

Many people without children wonder how they want their legacy to take shape. Without the need to plan for biological heirs, they often have unique freedom to direct their resources, time, and values toward the broader community. In fact, Americans over 50 without children are more than four times as likely as parents to include charity in their estate plans.

If this sounds like you—or someone you advise—here are three themes to explore when creating an intentional philanthropic strategy:

1. Treat charitable giving as part of your identity.

Your giving can reflect what matters most to you. A fund at the Community Foundation can carry your name or a name that expresses your values—“Smith Family Fund,” “Building Stronger Communities Fund,” “Animal Welfare Innovation Fund,” or anything meaningful to you.

2. Integrate charitable planning into your estate plan.

Without the need to provide for children, many donors have more flexibility to create a lasting legacy aligned with their values. We can work alongside your estate planning advisors to structure charitable gifts—during life or at death—that direct your assets to the causes you care about most.

3. Expand the circle.

You may choose to involve nieces, nephews, younger relatives, or trusted community members in your philanthropy. A donor-advised fund allows you to name successor advisors who can continue recommending grants after your lifetime.

Whether or not you have children, the Community Foundation is here to help you build a charitable plan that reflects your values and strengthens the community you care about. We would be honored to support you—reach out anytime.