Page 24 – Arkansas Community Foundation

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 2020 and beyond, all private foundations must file Form 4720 (Return of Certain Excise Taxes) electronically, beginning with returns due on or after July 15, 2021. The Internal Revenue Service will no longer accept paper returns filed by a private foundation with a due date on or after July 15, 2021. More information is available from the IRS in a special notice and on a reference list of software providers.

Charitable giving legislation introduced

Senate Bill 1981 was introduced on June 9, 2021 by Senators Angus King and Chuck Grassley. The Accelerating Charitable Efforts (ACE) Act, as it is called, aims to increase the flow of support to nonprofits’ efforts to help the communities they serve. The Act would impose new requirements and limitations on private foundations and donor-advised funds.

We, together with our colleagues at community foundations around the country, are watching this legislation closely. We encourage you to reach out to our team if you have questions or concerns about how potential changes to the law might affect the charitable planning work you do for your clients.

Conservation easements remain on the radar

If any of your clients have deployed a conservation easement as a charitable planning tool, you’ll want to keep a close eye on the law in this area. Long the subject of scrutiny, arguably due to the behavior of a few bad actors claiming aggressive deductions, conservation easements may soon be subject to the provisions of the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act introduced in both the House and the Senate on June 24, 2021. The proposed legislation intends to prevent abuse while still encouraging the proper use of the conservation easement as a vehicle for the long-term protection of public land.

Indeed, TOT Property Holdings LLC et al. v. Commissioner, a recent Eleventh Circuit case affirming the Tax Court’s decision to disallow a deduction for a charitable gift of a conservation easement, is one of 80 cases currently being pursued by the Internal Revenue Service to challenge aggressive “syndicate” forms of conservation easements.

This newsletter is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended as legal, accounting, or financial planning advice.

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 client for a charitable purpose described by your client. For example, a field-of-interest fund can be established to support research for rare diseases, to support organizations that assist homeless families in getting back on their feet, to enable art museums to acquire works that celebrate the region’s diversity, and so on. The knowledgeable team at the Community Foundation distributes grants from the field-of-interest fund according to the spending policy set by your client to further the client’s wishes. Your client selects the name of the fund, whether they wish to use their own name (e.g., Samuels Family Fund or Samuels Family Fund for the Arts), maintain anonymity (e.g., Maryville Fund for the Arts), or something else altogether (e.g., Bettering Our World Fund).

A designated fund at the Community Foundation is a good choice for a client who knows they want to support a particular charity or charities for multiple years. This is useful so that the distributions can be spread out over time to help with the charity or charities’ cash flow planning, enable your client to benefit from a larger charitable tax deduction in the current year when the client’s tax rates are high rather than spreading it out over future years when tax rate projections are lower, or both. The client specifies the charities to receive distributions according to a spending policy they select, and the client can choose a name for the fund.

Perhaps one of the most compelling reasons to encourage a retirement-age client to consider establishing a field-of-interest fund or a designated fund is to take advantage of the Qualified Charitable Distribution planning tool. As an advisor, you are well aware that clients who own Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) are required to take “Required Minimum Distributions” each year beginning at age 72, whether or not they need or want the income. These distributions often cause an increase in the client’s income taxes.

A Qualified Charitable Distribution permits a client to transfer up to $100,000 from an IRA to a qualified charity instead of taking a Required Minimum Distribution, thereby avoiding the income tax hit. Although the IRS does not permit Qualified Charitable Distributions to donor-advised funds, charities eligible to receive a client’s Qualified Charitable Distribution do include designated funds and field-of-interest funds at the Community Foundation.

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 later, Richard runs Bell & Company, a regional certified public accounting and business advisory firm. The firm boasts a diverse staff who all have a strong educational background and excellent professional experience.

“The Foundation of Family” is the hallmark of Bell’s company. Jeff Lovelady, CPA, serves as the attest and audit partner, and Kelly Phillips, CPA, is the small business tax partner. Alongside them are Richard’s sister, Nell Sterling, a partner and COO, and his daughter, Jennifer, also a partner.

“Jennifer could manage an Excel spreadsheet when she was 13 years old,” said Richard. She is an attorney and CPA, serves on a local bank advisory board and served on the board for the Community Foundation for Faulkner County. His son Clayton is a doctor on the medical staff at the University of Tennessee and is nationally recognized for his volunteer work in Haiti through a nonprofit he established, Where the Stars Still Shine.

“My father has always been in philanthropy ever since I can remember,” said Jennifer. “Whether it was doing pro-bono work for someone just starting their own business, helping employees pay for their college or tithing at church. As someone who had to pay his way through college and then law school, working full-time, he made sure that both my brother and I did not have to endure the same stress.”

Richard is a firm believer in giving back, but credits most of his success to his public education. “I’m a first-generation college graduate and went entirely through the public school system in Arkansas. This has played such an important role in my life. I’ve tried to instill this importance into my children, but it also drives how and why I give back,” said Richard.

“My father had to work hard for everything in his life – there were people along the way who helped open doors for him and gave him an opportunity that he otherwise would never have gotten,” said Jennifer. “I saw several of his mentors, some of whom happened to be our clients, throughout my life and I observed the gratitude my father had for them. The most inspiring part, though, was that it was him who usually helped them out with their businesses. Seeing this over the years has taught me to take the time to help others, regardless of the context, because it truly does come back tenfold in life.”

Richard and his team at Bell & Company are fully committed to a culture of philanthropy. The firm has a donor-advised fund with Arkansas Community Foundation and every year a group of young professionals, both CPAs and future CPAs, choose the organizations to support through the fund.

“We recruit employees who have a history of public service in their resume. It is important to me that we find a way to give back and support our local community. Giving is a teaching tool, and I think our employees have embraced this. Some staff have been with the firm for 30 years,” said Richard. The firm was recognized nationally as the AICPA Public Service Firm of the Year for 2011. In 2020, Richard received the Lifetime Achievement Award in accounting from Arkansas Business.

One continued mechanism for the firm’s philanthropy is Arkansas Community Foundation. “We recommend the Foundation to our clients to help them meet their charitable goals and use philanthropy for the tax benefits,” said Richard. “We use the Foundation for our charitable giving but we refer our clients to them too. Look at who the Foundation represents! It handles million-dollar endowments, but also the smaller funds. The Community Foundation makes it possible for almost anyone to be a philanthropist. It makes giving back accessible for the masses.”

Along with the funds with the Foundation, Bell & Company also created a scholarship with UALR Bowen School of Law. Jennifer still sees the effect of her dad’s commitment to giving back through that scholarship. “Scholarships can make a huge impact for students to get even a small amount of financial assistance. I am very proud of the scholarships that our firm and family have been able to provide to students in Arkansas, and hopefully the few students we get the opportunity to help each semester will have life a little easier, at least from a financial standpoint,” said Jennifer.

“I’m really fortunate to be an example of the ‘American Dream’” said Richard. “My father was a sheet metal worker and my mother had about an 8^th grade education. I’m a product of Arkansas schools and want to make it possible for more people to have what I did.

The grants the Foundation makes every year blow my mind. Providing so many large and small grants all over the state, they all make a difference. It reminds me of a story in the Bible where Ruth and Naomi were gleaning in the fields… every little bit added up to be life-changing. That is how I see philanthropy. And the Foundation makes it possible for anyone to give back. Every little bit counts.”

Little Rock, Ark. (May 26, 2021) – Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Foundation (ABHOF) awarded $48,000 in grants to projects benefitting minority and under-served communities in an online grant presentation May 25. The grants, administered by Arkansas Community Foundation, support projects focused on education, health and wellness, youth development, strengthening families, and economic development in Arkansas.

“We are pleased to support the efforts of grassroots and other nonprofit organizations in Arkansas through our grant program” said ABHOF Foundation Chairman Charles Stewart. “Their work to improve education, health and wellness, youth development, economic development and to strengthen families and helps to validate the mission of the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Foundation. We are proud of our partnership with these great Arkansas institutions.”

Over the past 17 years, ABHOF has made $619,288 in grants to Arkansas nonprofits. This year’s grant recipients are:

Arkansas Disability Coalition (Southeast Arkansas) – expand telehealth access in Southeast Arkansas to families of children with special healthcare needs.
Arkansas Prostate Cancer Foundation (Chicot and Phillips counties) –provide two free prostate cancer screenings/education events. One in Eudora and one in Helena/West Helena.
Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub (Central Arkansas) – Xtraordinary Minds PreKoder program introduces children ages 3 to 8 years-old to basic computer coding concepts to enhance their literacy and math skills.
Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund (Desha County) – awards scholarships to single parent students of Desha county to allow for the removal of financial barriers that would cause a student to drop out of school.
Barbershop Books (Pulaski County) – partnering barbershops are located in communities that have strong ties to the Black community and support early literacy programs at four barbershops in Pulaski county.
Central Arkansas Freedom School (Pulaski County) – facility service area is home to some of the most economically disadvantaged children, ages 6 to 16, in the city of Little Rock.
EducationCorps, Inc. (Pulaski County) – serves high school and GED foster care students interested in attending college or a vocational certification program, with additional academic preparation to pass the ACT.
Hamilton Haven (Clark, Hempstead, Nevada counties) – provides temporary emergency shelter for families and individuals temporarily displaced.
OneCommunity (Washington County) – brings bilingual and African American culturally responsive books and materials to families participating in the 2021 Springdale and Fayetteville Feed Your Brain (FYB), Alimenta Tu Cerebro bilingual Summer reading program.
Southeast Arkansas College (Jefferson County) – offers a Kids Virtual Learning Summer Camp
St. John AME Church Lay Organization (Jefferson County) – funds project called “STOP” Students Trained to Operate in Peace.
The Hub (Ouachita County) – a virtual reading program designed for first and second graders that supplies cookbooks, food for recipes and all supplies needed to read, follow instructions and use math skills for cooking.
UCA Center for Community and Economic Development (Faulkner County) – funds the inaugural Arkansas Racial Equity Summit.
UrbanPromise Arkansas (Pulaski County)– supports the Street Leader Program for the summer.
Village Place (Pulaski County)– in partnership with Ujima Maternity Network tp provide prenatal, childbirth and parenting support classes in Census Tract 5.
Women & Children First (Pulaski County) –provides funds to purchase furniture for survivors of domestic violence moving into independent living situations.

Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Foundation aims to provide an environment in which future generations of African American achievers with Arkansas roots will thrive and succeed. Arkansas Black Hall of Fame honors the contributions of African Americans through its annual Black Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and awards grants to support charitable endeavors in underserved communities. Learn more at www.arblackhalloffame.org.

Arkansas Community Foundation, a nonprofit organization with over a half billion dollars in assets, fosters smart giving to improve communities. The Community Foundation offers tools to help Arkansans protect, grow and direct their charitable dollars as they learn more about community needs. By making grants and sharing knowledge, the Foundation supports existing charitable programs that work for Arkansas and partners to create initiatives that address unmet needs. Since 1976, the Community Foundation has provided more than $314 million in grants and partnered with thousands of Arkansans to help them improve our neighborhoods, our towns and our entire state. Contributions to Arkansas Community Foundation, its funds and any of its 29 affiliates are fully tax deductible.

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By Laura Landreaux

It’s been one year since Entergy Arkansas joined with the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, community leaders and elected officials at the Arkansas State Capitol to announce our participation in the ALICE (asset limited, income constrained, employed) research report. Little did we know, COVID-19 would drastically impact our world as we knew it.

According to the recently updated ALICE in Arkansas report, 46% of households struggled to make ends meet in 2018 — and that was before the current public health emergency triggered by COVID-19. These ALICE Arkansans have incomes above the federal poverty line, yet they often struggle to afford daily necessities such as housing, childcare, food, transportation and healthcare.

Entergy Arkansas and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation helped produce the ALICE in Arkansas research, because we see the struggles first-hand and wanted to target long-lasting solutions.

Nearly three quarters of calls handled by our Entergy phone centers each year are from households that face some level of financial hardship. That’s why Entergy teams with community partners and organizations to invest in solutions that make a difference, as well as volunteer at programs that provide vital assistance to people like ALICE.

The pandemic hit our communities shortly after the ALICE research was announced last year, and this crisis has caused even further hardships for Arkansans.

As soon as the pandemic hit, Entergy Arkansas issued a moratorium on disconnects for nonpayment and implemented an Enhanced Customer Assistance Plan that provides customers with flexible options to extend time to pay their utility bills.

That moratorium and payment plan continues to this day, but as things slowly return to our “new normal,” disconnections for nonpayment will begin again. Meanwhile, we are working to make sure our customers can get assistance they need to recover.

The Power to Care utility assistance payment program has received a great deal of support by our customers this past year to help senior citizens and disabled customers pay their electric bills. Remarkably, with your help, we increased support for the program by $500,000, which allowed us to help more low-income older adults and people with disabilities. When customers contribute to The Power to Care via their monthly electric bill, Entergy shareholders match all gifts, dollar-for-dollar, up to $1 million annually. Every penny received provides direct support to those who are struggling.

In addition to The Power to Care, Entergy Arkansas sponsors Super Tax Day events to help ensure customers qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit and file their income taxes at no cost.

Additional help this past year came from increased funding of the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which provides money to help customers with energy bills and other energy-related expenses. And soon, we will help promote a new federal program that will provide assistance directly to landlords and renters. Entergy Arkansas is committed to helping lead economic recovery by working with our public officials, industry peers and investors to move our state – and our customers -forward.

As Arkansas government and business leaders wrap their arms around the interventions necessary to get our state’s economy strong again, we would be wise to look at the vulnerabilities that existed before the crisis hit. This means we need to take a hard look at ALICE and, using the data at ALICEinAR.org, prioritize long-term policy solutions and programs that put Arkansas’s working households on more secure ground in the future.

We appreciate all our customers and especially, you, who care so much about the ALICE families and work each day to make Arkansas a better place to live and work.

At Entergy Arkansas, we believe that we can only be as strong as the communities we serve. We look forward to providing affordable power to all our customers, including ALICE, through this period of uncertainty and working with leaders across the state on policies that put Arkansas workers first.

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, or even participated in a GoFundMe fundraiser to help a specific family. These vehicles, along with other crowdfunding platforms, typically do not meet the qualifications for a charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3), usually because the funds are earmarked for a particular person or person.

The issue is no longer academic or obscure. According to a Lilly Family School of Philanthropy survey, nearly one-third of respondents said they donate at least once a year to a crowdfunding venture, especially responding to family members and close friends in need.

Even with the increase in popularity of crowdfunding and online fundraising platforms, the IRS has only just begun to issue guidance. Consider Private Letter Ruling 2016-0036. Here, the IRS referenced a notion it referred to as “detached generosity” and noted that giving to strangers on a platform such as GoFundMe did not generate the “quid pro quo” that is an automatic knockout punch for charitable deduction eligibility. Still, the IRS indicated that the absence of a quid pro quo is not enough to cause a transaction to rise to the level of a charitable contribution. Taxpayers and professionals still must pay close attention to the circumstances and facts of each situation.

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 exemptions apply to certain types of nonprofit organizations, but status as a nonprofit (which is a state law construct) does not necessarily mean that the organization will be exempt from Federal income taxes.

Furthermore, even under Section 501(c), there are different types of nonprofits that are recognized by the IRS as tax-exempt. To qualify under the Internal Revenue Code Section 170 charitable deduction for gifts to Section 501(c)(3) organizations, for example, the recipient must be organized and operated exclusively for “charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition, and the prevention of cruelty to children or animals.” “Charitable,” according to the IRS, has a very narrow definition.

You might support 501(c)(3) charities, but also social welfare groups organized under Section 501(c)(4). Examples of social welfare groups include neighborhood associations, veterans’ organizations, volunteer fire departments, and other civic groups whose net earnings are used to promote the common good. Donations to social welfare groups are tax deductible only in certain cases (e.g., gifts to volunteer fire departments and veterans’ organizations). Chambers of commerce and other business leagues fall under Section 501(c)(6); donations to these entities are not tax deductible.

One major advantage of having a fund with Arkansas Community Foundation is that we are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and a gift to a charitable fund or endowment with us is fully tax deductible. And, when you or your clients want to grant out of that fund or endowment, we will do the research and vetting to make sure the organization qualifies to receive the grant as a charitable entity. If you have any questions, please reach out to our team at the Community Foundation. We are immersed in the world of Section 501(c) and are happy to help you navigate the rules.

Arkansas Community Foundation leads organization’s largest gift to help homeless persons

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (May 3, 2021) – New Beginnings announced today it has received the largest gift in the organization’s history from Jane Hunt. The $1 million gift will help with the completion of the capital project, while providing critical financial support for sustained programming.

New Beginnings is a nonprofit located in Fayetteville, Arkansas that welcomes people experiencing long-term homelessness into a safe community supported by staff and volunteers where residents can access resources to care for their health and connect with long-term housing.

“New Beginnings is overjoyed and grateful to Jane Hunt for embracing the vision of this project and her extreme generosity in supporting New Beginnings. This gift allows us to complete construction and the initial capital campaign and shift our focus to ongoing, sustained programming support for the staff and services that will make the difference in our residents’ lives,” said Aaron J. Marshall, president of the Board of Directors of New Beginnings. Marshall continued, “Ms. Hunt has given us a considerable runway toward funding the program, and we invite others who want to make this kind of impact to join her in partnering with us in this difficult but necessary effort.”

The generous gift from Jane Hunt was organized with help from the team at Arkansas Community Foundation. The Community Foundation’s mission is to engage people, connect resources and inspire solutions to build community. Ms. Hunt is a founding member of the Foundation’s Philanthropy Club in Northwest Arkansas. The Club is made up of 44 women who are committed to learning about the needs of the community.

“I have been exploring the complex issue of homelessness in our community for several years. When I learned about the plans for the New Beginnings Bridge Housing program, I felt that for the first time there was a real solution that could truly work. I am happy to lend my support to the New Beginnings team’s efforts,” said Jane Hunt. “At our March Philanthropy Club meeting, we heard a presentation from New Beginnings Board Member and University of Arkansas Professor, Dr. Kevin Fitzpatrick, and Program Director Solomon Burchfield that ultimately inspired Jane’s gift,” said Jody Dilday, development director for Arkansas Community Foundation. Dilday continued “It is truly my pleasure to work with people like Jane to facilitate deeply rewarding philanthropic experiences.”

About Arkansas Community Foundation

Arkansas Community Foundation is a nonprofit organization that fosters smart giving to improve communities. The Community Foundation offers tools to help Arkansans protect, grow and direct their charitable dollars as they learn more about community needs. By making grants and sharing knowledge, the Community Foundation supports charitable programs that work for Arkansas and partners to create new initiatives that address the gaps. Since 1976, the Community Foundation has provided more than $314 million in grants and partnered with thousands of Arkansans to help them improve our neighborhoods, our towns and our entire state.

Contributions to the Community Foundation, its funds and any of its 29 affiliates are fully tax deductible.

Additional information about Arkansas Community Foundation is available at www.arcf.org.

About New Beginnings

New Beginnings is a bridge housing community designed for unsheltered people who have experienced long-term homelessness in Northwest Arkansas. The complex is composed of twenty temporary shelters surrounding a shared building where kitchen, shower house, and laundry facilities are located. Residents will share in the governance and maintenance of the community with the support of a team of volunteers and staff, including an onsite social worker. In this safe, supportive living environment residents can begin to care for their health and connect with housing. As residents successfully move into appropriate permanent housing, space opens for new unsheltered people to enter. The 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report found that for “the fourth consecutive year, homelessness increased nationwide,” with 2020 marking, “the first time since data collection began that more individuals experiencing homelessness were unsheltered than were sheltered.” New Beginnings represents an innovative new program model which, in collaboration with other partners in Northwest Arkansas, can change that.

For more information visit https://newbeginningsnwa.org.

Little Rock, Ark. (April 15, 2021) – Arkansas Community Foundation and the Arkansas Black Philanthropy Collaborative announce the availability of grants from the Building Black Communities Fund to benefit Black-led and Black-serving nonprofit organizations. Applications open today for grants of up to $25,000 each to support programs and initiatives specifically designed to impact Black people and communities in the Little Rock metropolitan statistical area, which includes Pulaski, Saline, Perry, Grant, Faulkner and Lonoke Counties.

“Our experience shows us that diverse, inclusive and equitable communities are stronger and more resilient. In the midst of the recent dialogue around the inequities facing Black communities, the Community Foundation recognizes the need for action,” said Heather Larkin, President and CEO of Arkansas Community Foundation. “Facebook, Inc. has provided the funding, the Foundation is providing the infrastructure to make the grants, and Black leaders in Central Arkansas are guiding the grantmaking strategy for the Building Black Communities Fund.”

Arkansas Community Foundation is one of 20 community foundations in the United States selected to receive funding from Facebook, Inc. to manage grantmaking to support Black communities and Black-led nonprofits. This commitment is part of Facebook’s broader $1.1 billion investment in Black and diverse suppliers, creators and communities in the U.S.

“There is an alarming funding gap for Black-led organizations which often adds to the continued compounding equity issues in the communities they serve. Our hope is the Building Black Communities Fund grants will bring empowerment and revitalization to Black-led organizations as well to minority and underserved communities. The Arkansas Black Philanthropy Collaborative hopes that the funding seeded through the help of Facebook and Arkansas Community Foundation will empower Black-led organizations to amplify their voice in the giving space.” said Derek Lewis of the Black Philanthropy Collaborative.

Applications details are available at the Foundation’s website, www.arcf.org/bbcf. Applications are being accepted now and the deadline for applying is 11:59 p.m. CST May 15, 2021.

“The Arkansas Black Philanthropy Collaborative encourages any 501(c)(3) organization that is Black-led or Black-serving that serves the Little Rock metropolitan statistical area to apply,” Lewis said. “Additionally, applicants should be able to demonstrate established relationships and have a good track record of working on activities that impact Black communities.”

Grant proposals of up to $25,000 from organizations holding 501(c)(3) public charity status with the IRS will be evaluated based on a specific work plan, and only one proposal per organization may be submitted. Applicant organizations must be Black-led or Black serving, based on the following definitions:

Black-led: 51% or more of the board and governing body are Black.
Black-serving: 75% or more of the population served consists of Black individuals in majority communities of color.

Applicants must demonstrate established relationships and have a good track record of working on activities that impact Black communities. Grantees must commit to:

Provide a brief final grant narrative and financial report.
Document funded efforts, including the use of photography, video and in written form.
Participate in grant status call, technical assistance activities and/or a networking group of grant recipients.
Expend all grant funds between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022.

The Building Black Communities Fund Committee members are:

Kandice Bell, Office of the Governor Asa Hutchinson
Joyvin Benton, Winthrop Rockefeller Institute
Alyson Bradford, State Farm
Tamika Edwards, Central Arkansas Water
Charlotte Green, Arkansas Imagination Library
Rev. Shantell Hill, Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation
Derek Lewis II, Derek Lewis Foundation and Arkansas Black Philanthropy Collaborative
Kendra Pruitt, Office of Mayor Frank Scott
Charles Stewart, Arkansas Black Hall of Fame
Kara Wilkins, Arkansas Black Philanthropy Collaborative
Darrin Williams, Southern Bancorp

Arkansas Community Foundation is a nonprofit organization that fosters smart giving to improve communities. The Community Foundation offers tools to help Arkansans protect, grow and direct their charitable dollars as they learn more about community needs. By making grants and sharing knowledge, the Community Foundation support charitable programs that work for Arkansas and partners to create new initiatives that address the gaps. Since 1976, the Community Foundation has provided more than $314 million in grants and partnered with thousands of Arkansans to help them improve our neighborhoods, our towns and our entire state. Contributions to the Community Foundation, its funds and any of its 29 affiliates are fully tax deductible.

Arkansas Black Philanthropy Collaborative (ABPC) is a coalition of black professionals who have come together to co-develop a shared transformational plan that is rooted in the aspirations, culture, and history of the African American community in the state of

Arkansas and southern region of the US. Its purpose is threefold: Develop a comprehensive plan to support and enrich black communities through strategic investments that are transparent, innovative, and indicative of the voices of the community; Build capacity for black philanthropy professionals through increased investments in training and educational opportunities and creating an intentional pipeline for professional advancement; Serve as an intermediary to identify potential funding opportunities for Black Led Organizations (BLOs) and nonprofits serving black communities, provide strategic capacity and technical assistance, and act as a liaison between nonprofits and local and national funders.

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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.

Founding member of RMP, and is Of Counsel to the firm

“I have some clients who will be a perfect fit for the Community Foundation” Neal said. “Younger givers need to know it doesn’t take multiple thousands of dollars to be a philanthropist. I’ve encouraged some clients to put their stimulus money to work in their communities through charitable giving.”

On the other end of the spectrum, one of his older clients didn’t realize she had the means to make charitable contributions during her lifetime. When she learned about giving options at Arkansas Community Foundation, she was excited to create a current giving fund and a deferred giving fund. That way, she can see for herself the benefits of her contributions while she is alive and still leave a legacy of giving after her lifetime.

Neal has been working with Arkansas Community Foundation since his friend John Lewis introduced him to the Foundation and explained its usefulness to professional advisors and their clients. He has a personal interest in the Community Foundation because of his family’s Ross Pendergraft Park Endowment.

After his family funded Ross Pendergraft Park on Garrison Avenue in Fort Smith to honor his father, Neal realized that the park needed to be kept in good condition. “I worked with Heather Larkin at the Community Foundation to see how to best set up a fund for maintenance of the park,” he said. “When I looked at the fund’s anticipated returns, what reporting we would receive and the Foundation’s plan for stewardship of the fund, I became convinced. My mom and sister agreed.”

“It was a simple process to get the agreement created, have my mother write the check, tell the city and use the reports from Arkansas Community Foundation,” Neal said. “I don’t have to worry about it. We like the returns we get on the investment in the fund and the complete ease of use. Mother always cares about what is going on with the fund for the park, and she is pleased with the Foundation’s work.”

Neal is a founding member and serves Of Counsel to the firm of RMP, LLP, in Northwest Arkansas. He received his Juris Doctor degree in 1988 from the University of Arkansas School of Law and his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Accounting in 1985 from U of A. Neal is a board member of Washington Medical System and the Washington County 4H Foundation. He is a member of the Northwest Arkansas Council and the advisory board of Signature Bank.

For professional advisors like Neal, it is important to be able to make recommendations you know will benefit your clients. He sees the Community Foundation’s staff, professional investment advisory firm and board of directors as excellent stewards of client funds.

Charitable Giving is Possible at Any Age. “The ease of creating funds is ideal, and the funds are well invested. You won’t get a huge return, but it is very nice, and you don’t sit up at night worrying if you as an advisor should do something else with funds. You have good folks handling it,” said Neal. “Clients get funds that are well managed, that do what you set them up to do, without any headache. You as an advisor can rest easy knowing it’s taken care of and achieving the charitable goal your clients set.”