Conservancy working to protect 700-acre hardwood forest - Grand Traverse Insider - Morning Star Publishing

by Kristine Morris
Contributing Writer

The Leelanau Conservancy has signed an option to
purchase the largest contiguous privately-owned tract of land remaining
in Leelanau County. Shown: an aerial view of the Palmer Woods land.
Courtesy of Caroline Faught.

LEELANAU – The Leelanau Conservancy has signed an option to purchase the largest contiguous privately-owned tract of land remaining in Leelanau County. Located a mile east of Glen Lake just beyond  Miller Hill, its 700 acres straddle the Glen Lake and Good Harbor Bay watersheds, with acreage in both Glen Arbor and Cleveland townships. If preserved, the property will stay on the tax rolls and be open to the public.

“The proposed Palmer Woods Forest Reserve would offer unparalleled four-season recreation opportunities on miles and miles of trails through rolling hills of quintessential northern hardwood forest,” said Conservancy Executive Director Tom Nelson.

The land also adjoins the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and provides a 2.4-mile long buffer to the park, adding to an extensive wildlife corridor.

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Conservancy working to protect 700-acre hardwood forest - Grand Traverse Insider - Morning Star Publishing

Commission on Aging to celebrate 40th anniversary - Grand Traverse Insider - Morning Star Publishing

by Kyle Kaminski
Lead Writer

Through the senior center network, the Commission on
Aging provides a plethora of opportunities for seniors to exercise and
stay active in a social and engaging environment. Pictured above, a
group of seniors are guided on a walk down Traverse City’s TART trails.
Photo courtesy of Georgia Durga.

GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY — This week will mark the 40^th year of the Grand Traverse County Commission on Aging’s service to older adults throughout the community.

Since its inception in 1975, the organization has been providing an increasing level of care for seniors throughout the county, both expanding its client base as well as its offerings. Director Georgia Durga has been at the helm of the commission for the last 27 years and has witnessed its growth first hand.

“The commission on aging provides services that help seniors live at home while improving the quality of their lives,” she said. “We have grown immensely both in our client load, our employees and the number and
types of services we offer. We’ve been able to expand a lot more and spread further in the county so people don’t always have to drive a long distance. It’s really been great to see the growth.”


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Commission on Aging to celebrate 40th anniversary - Grand Traverse Insider - Morning Star Publishing

Goodwill Northern Michigan seeks Advancement Professional

Goodwill Industries of Northern Michigan seeks a Director of Advancement to organize and implement a comprehensive philanthropic and marketing program for its charitable organization in the 10 county region.

Click here for job description.

Circulated through the Northern Michigan Fundraising Professionals group.

Contact Goodwill for more information.

What type of charity giver are you?

In down time, between paying the bills and making the money to pay the bills, I imagine that I have a secret stash. I enjoy making a list of how I would give philanthropically.

Davison Cheney, FamilyShare • Modified: May 13, 2015 at 7:32 pm •  Published: May 30, 2015

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You get physically involved, and you have the tee shirt to prove it. In fact, you have about twelve of them, and you have walked, ran, biked and car washed. (©istockphoto.com/asiseeit)

In down time, between paying the bills and making the money to pay the bills, I imagine that I have a secret stash. I enjoy making a list of how I would give philanthropically.

Of course, I would do it all on the down low — very mysteriously. No one would know where that fridge for the neighbor family came from, or who contributed to the little one's medical bills. Sneaky. That's my style.

What kind of philanthropy describes your particular style of giving?

See styles - click here

Why Advisors should encourage giving?

May 29, 2015 • Ken Nopar

Donors to charity are often high-net-worth individuals and families who have worked hard to accumulate their wealth and have used financial, tax and legal advisors to grow and protect their assets. Nearly all of these advisors’ clients have at least some charitable intent and want to support their favorite causes during their lives or after.

Studies, including one by U.S. Trust in 2013, have shown that advisors often do not initiate the philanthropy discussion, even though clients would appreciate the input. Some clients may not be aware of how their advisors can provide important advice that will help them in their giving efforts.

But there are many benefits to advisors who engage in the conversation. They may bring in additional AUM from current clients, deepen relationships or differentiate themselves from other advisors.

And when advisors realize that nearly all of their clients, at many levels of wealth, can benefit from the discussion, they are more likely to initiate it. These are just some of the following things they can bring up:

1. Many donors give cash or make donations by credit card, even though both of these methods are the least tax-efficient ways to donate. Yet many clients are unaware of other options.
2. Advisors can help clients identify their appreciated publicly traded securities. When these are donated, donors can avoid capital gains taxes on them if they have been held for longer than a year. (Assets with difficult-to-find cost bases are ideal.) If these assets are donated and the advisor and client want to acquire them again, they can be repurchased at the current value.
3. Advisors can identify other assets such as real estate, insurance, art or collectibles that clients (or heirs) may no longer want or need. These can be donated at their fair market value in many instances.
4. Advisors can help clients who want to sell a business donate some or all of the privately held company stock before the sale and avoid or minimize capital gains and other taxes.
5. Advisors often can manage the charitable investments so clients can receive consistent investment advice and performance.
6. Advisors can help clients set aside money for charitable giving during their high-income years so they can continue to give during retirement.
7. Advisors can help clients donate the appropriate amounts, sometimes helping them give more than they thought they could, or reducing the amount if the clients cannot afford it.
8. Advisors can help donors receive a stream of income during retirement while still providing support for a favorite charity.
9. Advisors can help clients involve their heirs in charitable giving.
10. Many advisors can help clients think about the who, what, why, when, where, how and how much questions about charitable giving, or they will have access to resources that can help the clients.
11. Advisors may be able to reduce some frustrations that clients experience when they donate, perhaps helping them simplify their efforts by suggesting methods like donor-advised funds or services to manage their private foundations.
12. Advisors can be an objective resource for clients, especially when a client is contemplating a large donation or the creation of a charitable vehicle. They can help clients determine which donor-advised fund sponsor would be most appropriate, whether the client should create or close a private foundation or discuss other options.

If advisors do not initiate occasional conversations about charitable giving, the client may assume that the advisor cannot be helpful, is not interested or has no reason to be involved in the decision. Instead, the clients may rely on friends, family members or a charity for help.
For clients to receive the best overall tax, investment and legal advice, it is important for them to discuss their giving plans with their advisors. While there may or may not be some initial costs for this advice, in the end the clients, their advisors and their favorite causes and charities will all benefit substantially.

Ken Nopar is the principal of Nopar Consulting, a firm that advises wealth management and other professional firms on how to have charitable giving conversations with clients. The firm also helps charities work with advisors and donors. The firm's website is www.noparconsulting.com.

Bowl for Kids Raises $94k, Recognizes Top Fundraiser : News : The Ticker

June 4, 2015

The recent Bowl for Kids' Sake event – Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwestern Michigan's signature annual fundraising event – raised $94,000 thanks to more than 260 individuals representing area businesses and local groups getting pledges and bowling. The organization is also recognizing its biggest fundraiser, Ron Smith, by awarding him with two round trip airline tickets courtesy of Cherry Capital Airport. "Ron is like an army of one," says BBBS Executive Director Cecilia Chesney. "Now he would say, 'It's all the people who surround me that do the work,' but he's relentless – no job is too big for Ron. We are so blessed to have him on our side." Smith, human resource director for Bill Marsh Automotive, is a longtime supporter of the organization. He is a past "big brother" and has been the top fundraiser for Bowl for Kids' Sake for five years in a row, raising more than $20,000 with this year his highest total of $7,150.

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Bowl for Kids Raises $94k, Recognizes Top Fundraiser : News : The Ticker

Why End-Of-Life Planning Has Great Value

June 2, 2015 • Dan Moisand

A lot of financial planning puzzles would be much easier to solve if we knew our clients’ date of death. That idea of knowing when the inevitable will happen often elicits a chuckle from people because it is so clearly not something we know. But some clients have a dramatically heightened sense of when their lives will end. A diagnosis for a terminal illness is no laughing matter and presents a myriad of financial planning issues to address.

At a recent study group meeting, we had the privilege of spending some time with Carolyn McClanahan, an M.D. and CFP.  McClanahan is known in the financial planning profession for her ability to educate financial planners in a non-political way about the biggest issues facing our health-care systems.  She has been the go-to source for many on the good, the bad and the ugly of the Affordable Care Act. She is also leading the charge to equip and empower planners to better serve clients near the end of their lives.

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From the Will, Trusts, and Estates Professional Blog e-newsletter,