Reflecting on Our Clients and Our Community
“For it is in giving that we receive.” ―St. Francis of Assisi
As professional advisors, we have been busy assisting clients with technical matters like Payroll Protection Loans, estate plan updates, insurance policy reviews, and individual retirement account rollovers, among a sea of other needs.
Our jobs do not end there, however. We not only provide expert advice, but more than anything we are in the relationship business. Facing COVID-19 provides an entirely new level of stress for our clients. Whether it be a change in routine, homeschooling, working from home, confinement, isolation or poor health, our clients face challenges beyond anything we previously contemplated.
And though we are struggling with a wide range of emotions these days, many of us still want to help people experiencing need. An elixir for our modern stress is in helping others.
As we work with our clients providing counsel, we have an opportunity to share with them avenues for giving to help our neighbors right here in Lancaster County. Introducing clients to giving opportunities tailored to them creates additional value and satisfaction when clients most need it. Pointing clients to local needs and solutions where they can see the impact in our community is particularly therapeutic during this pandemic.
There are multiple ways our clients can make local charitable contributions. The Lancaster County Community Foundation, however, may offer a particularly compelling solution now.
In response to the pandemic, the United Way of Lancaster and the Lancaster County Community Foundation created the Lancaster Cares Fund to provide rapid response dollars to address the urgent needs of the COVID-19 crisis. Grants through this fund have supported non-profit organizations focused on food, shelter, behavioral health, domestic violence and childcare.
Another vehicle, the I Love Lancaster Fund is an endowed fund at the Community Foundation that provides flexible, responsive, discretionary dollars. This community endowment allows the staff and board of the Community Foundation to support compelling and innovative programs, creating extraordinary community in Lancaster. Discretionary dollars from this fund allow the Community Foundation to quickly provide financial support to those in need, not only as COVID-19 struck, but in the event of additional current and future emergencies. This fund is designed to provide support to Lancaster County in perpetuity. So, if assuring Lancaster can access important opportunities or get through the next crisis is important to our clients, this fund meets that need.
If our clients want something even more tailored to their causes, they can create a fund to provide on-going support for their favorite charities – now and into the future. There are multiple options to meet everyone’s specific needs – donor advised funds, designated funds, charitable gift annuities.
The Lancaster County Community Foundation can receive a variety of gift types – cash, securities, IRA qualified charitable distributions, gifts of real estate or other appreciated assets. They’re able to help our clients get the most out of their gifts.
In these difficult times, let us stand together with our clients and our community to lift our spirits and give a helping hand.
For additional information, please contact Jessica Mailhot, about how Lancaster County Community Foundation can help us support our clients’ philanthropic goals.
– Ben Atwater, Atwater Malik
