Greater Kansas City Community Foundation

All in the Family

Aren’t families fun? Bright and early Saturday morning, my four-year-old informed me that we were going to play house. “I’ll be the mommy,” she told me. “Daddy will be the daddy, Ann will be the sister, and you’ll be the Jayhawk.”

See? There’s always a role for everyone! My colleague, Whitney Hosty, knows a thing or two about families and the role each person can play when it comes to charitable giving. Whitney and her team make passing those giving traditions from generation to generation a delightful experience. Contact Whitney if you’d like to find out more. 

Next time I’ll ask Lindy to explain exactly what is involved in being the household Jayhawk. It might just be a deal I can’t refuse . . . . I wonder if Jayhawks have to do laundry or change diapers?

We speak your language

I learned a new word last week: "unworky." That was how my daughter suggested I dress to avoid embarrassing her at her school's French festival. So I dutifully tossed a pair of jeans in my bag that day along with the granola bars and work papers. Voila! At 5:30 I went from an office look to "unworky" in two minutes flat. And much to Ann's relief, I fit right in with all the other moms.

Jeans, suits, hats, boots, scarves, uniforms . . . . whatever you are wearing, you'll fit right in at the Community Foundation, where what's important to you is what's important to us. Be sure to check out our affiliate foundations--Community Foundation of Johnson County, Black Community Fund, Hispanic Development Fund, Northland Community Foundation, Catholic Community Foundation, Eastland Community Foundation, and Community Foundation of Wyandotte County--if those outfits are more comfortable for you. We want you to feel good about your charitable giving. Just like your favorite pair of jeans.

Breaking records--and maybe more??

Wasn’t the weekend weather great? In the category of “What Were We Thinking?” my mother and I took the three little girls (two in strollers) on an excursion to a shop in downtown Lawrence specializing in hand blown glass art. Hello! After three near misses between pricey artifacts and flailing legs attached to screaming children, we regained our senses and got the heck out of Dodge, as they say. Fortunately the only thing tarnished was the impression we left with the horrified salespeople.

At the Community Foundation we’ve been hearing the sound of breaking records. Last week I reported that more than 180 new donors established funds at the Community Foundation in 2007. And I just heard from my colleague, Lori Larson, that giving through our DonorEdge® online resource is up, too! In 2007, dollars granted through the DonorEdge® public giving vehicle were up 200%, and the number of grants increased by 167%! More and more people are using DonorEdge® to conduct charitable giving online with a credit card. And of course, as always, if you have a fund at the Community Foundation, use DonorEdge® to log in directly to make grants out of your fund to any nonprofit organization.

More giving, smarter investments, better Kansas City. Don’t you just love the sound of that?

New Year, New Names

For the three-year-old in our house, this was the year of the princess. Princess stickers, princess clothes, princess dolls, a princess game, a princess book, and even a princess tunnel. Oh, and she also has changed her name from Lindy to Ariel, Disney's "Little Mermaid." "I'm not Lindy," she insists. "I'm Ariel."

There are plenty of new names to kick off the year at the Community Foundation, too. Would you believe that a record 180 new donors established an individual, family, or corporate foundation in 2007 under the Community Foundation's umbrella? With funds ranging in size from a few thousand dollars to tens of millions of dollars, the Community Foundation offers something for everyone. You'll see the names of the new funds when our 2007 annual report comes out later this year. Of course, as always, those donors who wish to remain anonymous can opt out of the report listing.

So what's your New Year's resolution? How about looking into establishing your very own fund to make your charitable giving a lot easier. Use your fund to make all of your annual donations, whether to the United Way, your church or synagogue, your out-of-state alma mater, or your favorite local charities. It's so easy to track your giving though our online system. And your contribution of cash or stock into your fund leaves you with just one easy-to-record deduction for income tax purposes, no matter how many grants you make.

Click here to learn how you can join Kansas City's family of giving. We'd love to add your name in 2008!