Hope, and opportunity

PS: Schedule an appointment with us to take advantage of tax incentives through the CARES Act, and to act on your year-end giving. Just reply to this email, or call us at (563) 326-2840.

By Sherry Ristau / President and CEO

Ah, fall: the season of pumpkin spice lattes, warm sweaters, and amber-colored trees.
 
I admit that I become very reflective this time of year, knowing that a New Year will be here before we know it. Chief on my mind right now is the way the pandemic has helped shape giving priorities by exposing real needs—and opportunities—in this community.
 
This is especially true for Quad Citizens working in the nonprofit sector who have dedicated their lives in service to others. We have seen and heard more clearly how they have been challenged in unprecedented ways to deliver their services safely, and to the people who are most vulnerable. The necessity to provide basic human needs like food and shelter, and enhance lives with arts, culture, education, and music, has always been here. This year, those needs have been amplified even more.
 
When the future seems uncertain, we tend to hold tighter to our resources. However, now—right now—is the right season to extend our hands further, to dig deeper and give more, to seek out opportunities that strengthen our neighbors, and to invest in transforming our community for the better.
 
And that’s where you come in. We’re here to help you expand your generosity. There are so many ways we can help. Now, for instance, is the perfect time to start a donor-advised fund or endowment at the Community Foundation, options that provide opportunities for great tax incentives. Gifts of appreciated assets like stock as well as IRA charitable distributions continue to make tax-wise gifts and impactful ways to make a difference. For those already working with us, now is also the right time to reflect on growing an existing personal or nonprofit fund or granting generously to open new doors for your favorite charities and Quad Citizens struggling the most. With great need comes great opportunity—a chance to consider what we give, and how, in deeper ways.
 
As we journey toward 2021, we call on the expertise and generosity of you, our friends and neighbors, whose perspective and commitment to their hometown will have an indelible impact on our bi-state region. 
 
I invite you to leverage the vast knowledge bank we have of the needs and opportunities in this region to give in ways that address immediate needs, sure up daily operational support, and steward long-term solutions.
 
Talk with us about how you can give in the best possible way.
 
Build on relationships to impact the causes you care about, and the community you care about. 
 
If there has been a silver lining to what we have faced in 2020, it is this: We have hope because of the steadfast generosity you are sharing as a direct result of the needs born from this pandemic. And we are inspired to continue rising to the challenge alongside you now, into a New Year, and beyond.