Little Rock, Ark. (Feb. 7, 2024) – Scholarships are now available for eligible Arkansas students through Arkansas Community Foundation.

The Community Foundation’s scholarships are for Arkansas students pursuing education at two- or four-year colleges or universities, vocational schools or technical training programs. Each scholarship has its own eligibility criteria. Some scholarships are designated for graduates of a particular high school or those who plan to attend a particular college. Others are based on extracurricular activities or intended college majors.

“Since 1976, the Community Foundation has partnered with individuals and organizations who want to support students in their pursuit of higher education,” said Heather Larkin, Community Foundation president and CEO. “These generous people provide the funding and determine the size and eligibility criteria of each scholarship, while we oversee the application and awarding process on their behalf.”

Scholarships with statewide eligibility include:

·        Abigail Robertson Scholarship, provides a scholarship for female students pursuing a business degree at a college or university in Pulaski County

·        Advancing Women in Transportation Scholarship, provides a scholarship to female students who plan to pursue a career in a transportation related field in Arkansas

·        Anne Pressly Scholarship, to memorialize the legacy of Anne Pressly and support a graduating high school senior woman who plans to pursue a career in Journalism

·        Arkansas Service Memorial Scholarship, for students who are children of Arkansans who lost their life in service in the state, nation or community

·        Barbara Mashburn Memorial Scholarship, provides a scholarship for a graduate of an Arkansas high school pursuing an education as a vocalist

·        East Student Scholarship, provides a scholarship to a graduating senior who attends any high school with an EAST program

·        Elizabeth G. Redman Republican Party of Arkansas Scholarship, for students who are members of or active in the Republican Party of Arkansas

·        Herchel and Melba A. Fildes Scholarship, provides a scholarship to students studying nursing and attending Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas or Arkansas State University in Beebe

·        Lillian McGillicuddy Republican Party of Arkansas Scholarship, for students who are members of the Arkansas Federation of Young Republicans or are active in the Republican Party of Arkansas

·        Marie and Bob Marshall Republican Party of Arkansas Scholarship, for students who are members of or active in the Republican Party of Arkansas

·        Merwin T. and Agnes Bowman Nursing Scholarship, for students seeking a Bachelor of Science in Nursing or equivalent degree from a qualified institution

·        Poultry Federation Scholarship, provides scholarships to students pursuing a degree related to the poultry industry and attending a school in the University of Arkansas system, Arkansas State University system, Arkansas Tech University or Southern Arkansas University

·        Robert P. Atkinson Hospital Leadership and Scholarship, provides a scholarship to students pursuing an advanced degree with an emphasis in healthcare and/or hospital administration

·        Ryan Mondy D.A.S.H. Memorial Scholarship, provides scholarships to graduating seniors whose lives have been affected by cancer

To apply, and for more information about these and other scholarships, visit  www.arcf.org/scholarships.

Deadlines for scholarship applications differ and can be found on the application portal.

Arkansas Community Foundation, a statewide nonprofit organization, provides resources, insight and inspiration to build better Arkansas communities – communities where our kids will want to raise their kids. The Community Foundation is the largest grantmaker in the state in the number of grants made each year. Since 1976, the Foundation has provided more than $393 million to nonprofits. The Foundation staff works directly with donors, professional advisors and nonprofits to help strengthen Arkansas communities through strategic philanthropy and focusing on local needs. Its assets rank among the top 60 out of more than 800 community foundations in the United States. Serving statewide and local initiatives, the Community Foundation helps connect those who want to give to causes they care about. Contributions to Arkansas Community Foundation, its funds and any of its 29 affiliates are fully tax deductible.

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Greetings! I just wanted to take a moment to give a huge thank you to all the incredible people who have helped make the Arkansas Community Foundation the strong organization it is today. From our donors and nonprofits to businesses, professional advisors, volunteer board members, and staff members – you all deserve a round of applause.

Alyson Bradford

Together, we’ve had an amazing year, granting over $47.4 million to Arkansas nonprofits. That’s a massive impact! Our focus is on making a difference in important areas like early childhood literacy and food security through our grantmaking efforts. And let’s not forget the hundreds of grants we make each year through donor advised funds, supporting causes like early childhood development, education, animal welfare, medical research, and financial literacy and more.

In fiscal year 2023, we raised over $1.2 million in donations to help with the long-term recovery after the tornadoes in Central Arkansas and Wynne. Our flagship grantmaking program, Giving Tree, made an amazing 499 grants totaling over $866,000.

Despite the challenges our state faces, the people of Arkansas, especially those in the Community Foundation family, continue to choose hope. We’re ending the year stronger than ever, and I truly believe the future is bright.

We’re so grateful for our partnership with trusted financial advisors who help their clients find the perfect home for their philanthropy. And a special shoutout to all our grantees who work tirelessly to serve our fellow citizens and advocate for positive change. We couldn’t do it without you.

I also want to give a personal thanks to our exceptional team at the Foundation. They’re absolute rockstars – talented, hard-working, and caring. On behalf of the board of directors, I want to express our deep gratitude for everything they do to make Arkansas a better place for all of us.

So, take a moment to dive into our fiscal year 2023 annual report and join me in thanking everyone who’s working tirelessly to fulfill our mission of building strong Arkansas communities. You’re all incredible!

Alyson Bradford 

Board Chair

Many Community Foundation donors have updated their estate plans, leaving bequests to their donor advised or other charitable funds. A “specific bequest” designates a set amount from the donor’s estate or trust, for example:

“I bequeath $15,000 to The Community Foundation (tax ID and/or address), a tax-exempt organization under IRS Section 501(c)(3), to be added to [Name of Your Fund], a component fund, and I direct that this bequest become part of the Fund.”

The Community Foundation is ready to receive such bequests, usually once the estate is settled.

Alternatively, a “residuary bequest” designates a portion of the remaining estate after specific bequests, expenses, and taxes are paid:

“I leave all the rest and residue of my property, both real and personal, to The Community Foundation (tax ID and/or address), to be added to [Name of Your Fund], and I direct that this bequest become part of the Fund.”

The amount of a residuary bequest is determined after settling the estate, and the designated charity (e.g., your fund at the Community Foundation) receives the full amount once the estate is completely settled. Typically, a “partial distribution” is made by the estate’s representative as soon as they have sufficient information about assets and liabilities.

When leaving a residuary bequest to your Community Foundation fund, our team assists at various steps during estate administration. We receive updates on assets, expenses, taxes, and periodic accountings, executing documents like receipts for distributions.

Our team welcomes the opportunity to work with you and your advisors to establish bequests that create a charitable legacy.

Addressing money, mortality, and family relationships can be challenging on their own, let alone together. Many people delay setting up or updating estate plans, considering it expensive or inconvenient. However, establishing a will, trust, and beneficiary designations is a valuable gift to heirs, sparing them stress during an already emotional time. Updating your estate plan also enables you to allocate gifts to charities upon your death.

Supporting charities through beneficiary designations in an estate plan is common. When working with advisors, review insurance policies and retirement plans, particularly tax-deferred ones like 401(k)s and IRAs. While spouses are typically primary beneficiaries, consider a charity, such as your fund at the Community Foundation, as a secondary beneficiary for tax-efficient and streamlined gifting, avoiding both estate and income tax on plan distributions.

Connect with the Community Foundation team during estate planning to:

1. Explore tax benefits of naming your fund as a retirement account beneficiary.

2. Obtain bequest language for your will or trust, accurately describing your fund.

3. Update donor advised fund terms so that your wishes are carried out following your death,, whether specifying charities or naming successor advisors.

Estate planning documents, including wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations, represent generous acts of clear distribution and conflict avoidance. An estate plan allows you to demonstrate how much you care about the people in your life as well as your charitable passions. 

We’re here to help!

Opinion piece by Mitch Daniels
Originally published in the Washington Post on January 29, 2024
The original Washington Post article can be found here.

Top-down, nationalized government continues demonstrating its ineptness and scandalous incompetence. The examples keep piling up: The Government Accountability Office reported last September that more than $100 billion was likely misspent or fraudulently stolen in pandemic relief programs, and the Education Department botched the rollout this winter of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid, delayed for months and marred by a math error that could have cost students $1.8 billion in financial aid.

No wonder Americans regularly express far greater confidence in state and local governments than in the federal leviathan.

Our nonprofit sector should take notice. The massive foundations that command the headlines all too often squander fortunes on programs that produce no detectable improvements, “grand challenges” that remain no less grand after the money is spent.

Meanwhile, a very different category of charities steadily and quietly demonstrates the American “spirit of association” at which Alexis de Tocqueville marveled. The nation’s 900 or so “community foundations” arguably deliver more tangible, meaningful results than their vastly larger counterparts. And they do so in a participatory, ear-to-the-ground fashion that can preserve, or build, the social capital and sense of common purpose that is in distressingly short supply in today’s “bowling alone” America.

Community foundations are a Midwest invention and remain heavily concentrated in the heartland. The Cleveland Foundation, in 1914, is generally credited with being the first of its kind, but it was quickly followed by counterpart institutions in neighboring states. Although at least one can now be found in every state, one-third or more are in the Midwest, more than 200 in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana alone.

These organizations leave worrying about ocean-boiling to the Fords and Gateses, aiming instead at the nitty-gritty problems that afflict their localities. Calls to foundation offices in my home state of Indiana produced a host of examples.

At the Owen County (population 21,482) community foundation, Karah described the successful construction of a bike and hiking trail from the county seat, Spencer, to the nearest state park. But with equal pride she recalled bailing out members of the Lions Club when their fish fryer failed on the eve of the county fair.

Lisa in Steuben County, home to 101 lakes (about one for every 340 people), cited her foundation’s funding of regular water-quality testing that maintained public confidence and tourism attendance over recent years. In Montgomery County, recent grants renovated two public parks and created badly needed child-care capacity.

But the good these brave little organizations do might be secondary to the way they do it. In this era of social atomization, many once-vibrant towns have seen the departure of major employers, along with the consolidation of their schools, banks and hospitals. These erosions, however rational their intent, damage the civic engagement and sense of empowerment on which self-governance depends.

Leaning against these trends, community foundations seek out and draw together as many of their neighbors as they can enlist in conceiving and deciding on their investments, serving as vehicles of consensus and cohesion.

Karah describes how a group of eight volunteers actively canvasses the county three times each year for requests and ideas. Kelly in Montgomery County works with a 13-member board to hold regular “listening sessions” and sees her office as the county’s “eyes and ears.” Tellingly, two of the three counties cited here are home to private colleges, but neither reports any of the town-gown conflicts that are all too common where two different cultures coexist in close quarters.

The profusion of these foundations in some places is the result of enlightened philanthropy by larger entities that jump-started the movement in states such as Iowa, Kansas and Indiana. The Lilly Endowment, faithful to that section of its founder’s assignment to promote community development in its home state, launched a major effort in 1990 to midwife new foundations in even the smallest of Indiana’s 92 counties.

N. Clay Robbins, then the endowment’s outside attorney and now its chairman and chief executive, recalls pushback from philanthropy experts who derided the plan, predicting it would lead to redundant administration costs and recommending one statewide organization. One suspects the criticism included a measure of doubt that, left in charge of the money, those local rubes wouldn’t make wise decisions.

The venerable principle of subsidiarity holds that decisions should be made as locally as possible. Both social progress and social harmony could be strengthened by the principle’s broader application. Stewards of both public and nonprofit funds should take notice.

The writer David Brooks has argued that the way back to a society more confident in its institutions is to encourage and strengthen localized activism. In 2018, he wrote, “Federal power is impersonal, uniform, abstract and ruleoriented. Local power is personalistic, relational, affectionate, irregular and based on a shared history of reciprocity and trust.”

Brooks was thinking about public-sector action, but his insight and the work of community foundations apply equally to the uniquely and proudly American philanthropic private sphere as well.

When Jared Smith, the CEO of Kitestring, says that giving back to the community is core to the company’s mission, he means it. You can see it in the culture, the annual budget, and the number of hours his employees have volunteered locally.

Every year, Kitestring, a technology consulting group, puts 10% of the company’s profits into a donor advised fund with Arkansas Community Foundation. “I saw a TED Talk once where the speaker said, ‘doing good is good business.’ For me, that means success should not be measured solely by profit but by the positive impact a company can have on its employees and community,” said Smith. “We talk about it every month and consider it core to our overall performance. The fund helps hold us accountable.”


KITESTRING’S PHILANTHROPIC MISSION “We will support programs that assist the under-represented in order to provide greater access to opportunities and a higher quality of life.”

Based in Bentonville, Kitestring has more than 150 employees nationwide with 56 residing in Northwest Arkansas. In 2023, employees logged more than 400 volunteer hours.

“Some companies have annual or quarterly opportunities to volunteer, but we have options for our staff to volunteer every month,” said Sapna Ramachandran, Vice President of Talent, Experience and Culture. “It gives people a sense of purpose at work, and it helps strengthen the bonds between our staff and our community. Our employees tell me that our company’s commitment to supporting the local community through volunteering and financial donations is one of the most meaningful aspects of working here.”

Kitestring was founded in 2020 with a vision to be the most trusted partner in technology consulting. After 23 years of growth in Bentonville and nationwide, the group is also trusted to show up when help is needed.

“We’ve volunteered and donated to several organizations [including] Feel the Love Food Truck, Habitat for Humanity, we help pick up litter, worked with Canopy to provide refugee support, among others,” said Ramachandran. “I hope this is just the beginning. I want to initiate volunteer opportunities for our staff nationwide, even those that are remote.”


Sapna Ramachandran, Vice President of Talent Experience and Culture and Jared Smith, President and CEO

Long term, Kitestring seeks to bring the technology it provides its clients to help build capacity for nonprofits, too. “We are doing this in small doses now with TheatreSquared,” said Smith. “We helped them with their fundraising page and website design.

“But in the future, I’d like to see us use our technology to train people up and expand employment opportunities for the underserved. Until then, we are doing what we can as often as we can. I am proud of the culture we’ve built and what Sapna is leading,” he said. “She’s made our commitment to charity and service more than something we discuss and turned it into action we take.”

When Vicki Saviers reflects on the moment 47 years ago when she married her high school sweetheart, Mark, she said “The day we got married he looked at me and said, ‘We will always be partners.’ He meant that, and we still are.”

The Saviers have lived in Little Rock for 33 years. They were introduced to Arkansas Community Foundation after seeing a brochure with a prominent journalist promoting its services and reached out to the Foundation. Their first fund was opened in 2006.

Seventeen years later, the fund, and their partnership, is still growing strong.

“This form of giving is a great fiduciary vehicle,” said Mark, “Since we started our fund, about 55% of it has been granted; the remaining balance has grown to exceed our original gift amount. Because the funds are structured and invested in a smart way by the Community Foundation, we get to keep giving year after year, in perpetuity.”

The Saviers have made their philanthropy an annual family affair. “When we saw our sons growing up, coming into the job market and starting their own families, we saw this fund as a way to do something meaningful together,” said Vicki. “All the grants we make from our fund are a family
decision. Everyone gets a vote.”

“Our boys and their wives have their own charitable intentions separate from us,” she said. “Which we love, and they often focus on other causes, too. But we all share that original fund with the Foundation, and it allows us a meaningful connection with them.”

“We aren’t very comfortable being in the spotlight about giving,” said Mark. “We believe in tithing. That’s been a driver for us since the beginning of our lives together. We would prefer to give in private, but we hope by talking about Arkansas Community Foundation, it will encourage other families to create their own fund.”

  • Melissa and John Mark Saviers with their children David and Sam
  • Beth and Marshall Saviers and their children Mary Collins and Russell

Vicki adds, “Our sons married women who were raised to be givers, too. They are very active in their own communities and are great role models for our grandchildren. We are grateful for that.”

The couple doesn’t want public recognition in regards to their legacy. Rather, they want to make a difference for the causes they care about. “We just want to see things improve for the people of our state. I want it to be a better place for our grandchildren,” said Vicki. “I’d like for them to
learn and see philanthropy as part of their lives.”

From sewing classes to manufacturing to fashion shows, INTERFORM drives creative expression in Northwest Arkansas

By Adena White

What began as Northwest Arkansas Fashion Week and the Arkansas Arts and Fashion Forum, has evolved into a multifaceted nonprofit organization that operates at the intersection of art, fashion, and community. INTERFORM transcends the conventional boundaries of fashion recognizing it as a vehicle to connect people across cultures, make the industry more attainable, and empower artists and designers to realize their creative potential.

With a background in contemporary art, INTERFORM founder and CEO Robin Atkinson has worked in the nonprofit creative space her entire career. It wasn’t until she took the helm of NWA Fashion Week in 2016 that she began to understand the transformative potential of fashion.

Robin Atkinson, CEO, and Daymara Baker, COO, rely on NWA Fashion Week as their primary fundraiser. The event takes fashion and apparel as an art form, giving the local creative community an opportunity to get involved with the burgeoning fashion industry in Northwest Arkansas.

“People connect to fashion in a way they simply do not connect to art,” she said. “Fashion is a way for people to self-identify and self-represent while also engaging with one another.”

A Three-Part Model of Creative Expression

INTERFORM programs are categorized into three areas that Atkinson likens to the three evolutionary stages of a creative’s educational path: learn, make and show.

LEARN INTERFORM offers free classes and workshops that teach sewing and apparel skills at a variety of levels. Courses range from a beginner sewing course that introduces fundamentals such as threading needles and making basic patterns to a clothing design course that dives deeper into elements of fashion design.

Daymara Baker, chief operating officer at INTERFORM, said the majority of the students participating in the courses are immigrants and refugees, most of whom are non-native English speakers or don’t speak English at all. Because apparel education and fashion design primarily involve tactile, hands-on learning, language differences are not a major issue.

“We’ve managed to find a way to create coursework that resonates with anybody who comes in contact with it, as well as creating a safe space for students, designers, and other artists to share their talents,” Baker said.

MAKE “Make” is the second step of the cycle and INTERFORM’s newest initiative. The organization offers small-batch production in its sewing studio, eliminating a barrier for many designers and creatives who do not have the means or expertise to produce more than one item at a time.

“We can help designers bring their ideas to life,” Baker said. “If a creative jots an idea on a napkin, we can turn that idea into something they can sell.”

Part of INTERFORM’s vision is to build and sustain a sewn-goods industry in Northwest Arkansas. Training people to develop prototypes and produce garments through its small-batch manufacturing operation serves as an additional revenue stream for INTERFORM, while making a major part of the fashion ecosystem more attainable. The nonprofit partners with local and global brands to produce and repair fashion products, including serving as the North American headquarters for repairs of Rapha cycling clothing.

“Shortening the supply chains and putting manufacturing back in the realm of possibility for everyday individuals instead of just giant conglomerates is empowering,” Atkinson said. “There is manufacturing capacity and apparel-product development capacity right here at INTERFORM.”

SHOW “Show” is where it all began and is the part of the creative cycle where participants involved in INTERFORM’s “learn” and “make” programs can test-drive their ideas, express themselves and showcase their apparel to a captive audience. This entails NWA Fashion Week as well as a recently launched art and fashion biennial called ASSEMBLY.

As INTERFORM’s primary fundraiser, NWA Fashion Week enables the nonprofit to generate revenue through sponsorships and ticket sales, ensuring it is financially viable in the future. The longstanding, public facing-event takes fashion and apparel as a specific form of artistic production and creates a community around it, giving the local creative community an opportunity to get involved in Northwest Arkansas’ burgeoning fashion industry.

“There is something magical about an organization that does such deep community work but then occasionally does something super splashy, fun, and beautiful with a high-production value,” Atkinson said. “Marrying those two worlds has been the magic behind INTERFORM. We believe in always doing both.”

The gifts Americans give to charity every year provide critical support for more than a million organizations that are helping sustain the quality of life in our communities. Philanthropy equates to 2% of GDP–that’s a little more than the home health care services sector! And, trust is growing as a must-have prerequisite before your clients decide to give to an organization, increasing from 63.9% to 69.9% between December 2021 and December 2022.  

With trust in charitable organizations driving so many giving decisions, it’s important for you and your clients to be aware of the Community Foundation’s role and commitment to stewardship. Every day, the team at the Community Foundation works with members of our board of directors, civic leaders, and nonprofit organizations to deeply understand the areas where the people in our community need the most help. Today, the most pressing needs might be for emergency assistance in response to a disaster. Tomorrow, our community might need scholarships for inner city youth, or investments in research to improve access to healthcare for the underserved. Indeed, the needs of our community are ever-changing. The Community Foundation always has its finger on the pulse of the community’s top priorities and the best way to address them. Through its convening power, community knowledge, and perpetual mission, your Community Foundation is an unparalleled resource to make our community better for everyone.  

As you talk with your clients about their philanthropic plans, keep in mind that many individuals and families establish multiple funds at the Community Foundation to meet all of their various charitable giving needs. For example, a family might establish a donor advised fund to organize their regular annual giving, making it easy to track gifts of appreciated stock and support for a large number of individual charities. A member of this family might also set up a charitable remainder trust with the Community Foundation to accept a gift of highly-appreciated real estate and retain an income stream for life. And, this family might also establish an unrestricted fund or make gifts to existing funds that are specifically designated by the Community Foundation and its board of directors to address the most critical needs of our community. For example, your client may decide to:  

–Contribute to an unrestricted fund at the Community Foundation to support the foundation’s long-term grant making. 

–Donate to the Community Foundation’s operating fund to support the foundation’s mission for years to come. 

–Support a special initiative fund, relying on the Community Foundation’s network and expertise to invest the dollars where they’re needed most critically. 

Whatever ways your clients choose to get involved, you’ll know that you and your clients can trust the Community Foundation to make a lasting difference in the community we all love.

If you’re not talking about charitable giving with your high net-worth clients, 2024 is the year to start doing it! Recent studies show that 85.1% of affluent households give to charity. Certainly many of your clients are among them. 

Take a few minutes this month to scan your client list for three common scenarios and related opportunities for charitable giving solutions.

Clients who made significant charitable gifts at year-end. 

You’re probably aware of at least a few clients who increased their charitable giving at the end of 2023. Perhaps you worked with a client to establish a donor advised or other type of charitable fund at the Community Foundation, or maybe you helped a client structure a Qualified Charitable Distribution to a field-of-interest or designated fund at the Community Foundation. Now that the dust has settled on year-end planning activities, go back to these clients to find out more about their overall philanthropic plans. You may discover that a client would like to work with you to update their estate plan to include a bequest to their fund at the Community Foundation, set up a charitable remainder trust with highly-appreciated stock, or proactively plan their charitable gifts for 2024 to get a jump on tax strategies. 

Clients whose stock portfolios have rallied.

2023 brought good news and record highs for the stock market  As always (and perhaps especially now!), giving appreciated, publicly-traded stock to charitable organizations is a highly effective tax strategy. This is because capital gains tax is avoided when your client transfers long-term, marketable securities to a fund at the Community Foundation or other public charity. The client is typically eligible for an income tax deduction at the fair market value of the securities, and when the charity sells the securities, the charity does not pay capital gains tax. This is a win-win for your client and the charity. Scan your client list for clients who are holding long-term stock positions that have appreciated substantially since they bought them, especially with the market’s latest rally.

Clients whose children have moved away. 

Children of affluent parents tend to move away. This means many of your clients may be seeking ways to stay in close communication with their children. Remember that while the Community Foundation can help your clients maximize the impact and tax benefits of their local giving, the Community Foundation’s tools are also very geographically flexible. This means, for example, that your clients can use their donor advised fund to support 501(c)(3) organizations across the country, including in communities where their grown children are living. When you demonstrate your interest in your clients’ charitable giving priorities, you not only are strengthening your client relationships, but you’re also helping clients strengthen relationships with their children.