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Conversations - Spring 2000
LWA NEWS
LWA turned 15 years old on March 27, 2000.
We are celebrating this anniversary in several ways.
First we have redesigned our stationery, business cards and brochures to
provide more information about LWA and the services we offer today.
Look for the new materials in a special mailing soon. And most exciting
of all, we will unveil our totally redesigned, energized and updated LWA web
site in June. Stay tuned. We are dedicating a series of articles in the Year
2000 newsletters to Volunteering and Charitable Giving.
Read more below. Suzanne C. Low, J.D., CFP®, of our Naples, Florida
office has been writing a regular column in GulfCoast Woman Magazine
covering Southwest Florida. Suzanne
was also featured in the March issue. Diahann and LWA were profiled in the April issue of
the Journal of Financial Planning. Diahann is scheduled to appear on CNBC’s Power
Lunch with Bill Griffeth at 12:50 in the afternoon on: 5/11, 5/31, 6/19 and
7/10. By Roxanna Pletchan, CPA,
CFP®, On April 7, President Clinton signed into law the Senior
Citizen’s Freedom to Work Act of 2000. This
Act eliminates the social security earnings test once an individual reaches full
retirement age (65) as defined under social security law.
Previously, the social security earnings test required a $1 reduction for
every $3 earned above a specified earnings limit.
Reductions still apply to benefits received prior to normal retirement
age. VOLUNTEERING
AND CHARITABLE GIVING By Roxanna M. Pletchan, CPA, CFP®, and Clients In choosing a series of articles for our Year 2000
newsletters, we wanted to find something special. After some discussion, we kept coming back to one thing.
We really enjoy helping our clients meet their charitable giving goals
and hearing about their volunteer efforts.
So this year’s series is dedicated to all of you and your special
charities. The series will include several articles throughout
the year. The first is on the
significance of giving and volunteering. The
second will cover tax advantageous ways to meet your charitable giving goals,
and the third will discuss using trust and estate planning tools. In sitting down to write the first article on the
importance of giving and volunteering, I kept thinking of many of your stories
and the inspiration you have shared. After
discussion, we decided to ask several of you to contribute your stories: From a newer client who volunteers: I
started doing Meals-on-Wheels about twelve years ago because I felt that I owed
at least my time for all the blessings I have received. It turns out that
I have gained far more than I have given with the wonderful, inspirational
clients I have had over the years. They have taught me so much on how to
age gracefully - rather than bitterly. From a long-time client who gifted stock: So it went like this: Diahann
asked me where that block of stock had come from, and I said with my usual
brilliance, “I’m not sure.” So then she asked what the cost basis was,
and, of course, that question was just rude. “Well,” she explained
carefully, trying as always not to make me feel like a complete fool, “if we
can’t find out when you got it, we’re going to have to go back a lot of
years and your capital gains tax will be horrendous!”
“Oh,” says I with some desperation, “what can we possibly do?” “That’s easy,” she
replied – kind of as if I’d had the idea all along. “Use it for gifts to a
charitable organization. In that way you will get the tax credit; the
Institution will get all the money with no penalty; and you sure won’t miss
the stock.” “You mean just give it?”
I asked weakly, the dawn beginning to break but no sunlight flooding in.
“Sure” she answered. “Look. The income isn’t very helpful and you can
certainly use a tax credit.” Anyway, that’s why a year ago a Supplemental
Scholarship Fund was established in a secondary school -- and that’s why even
fifty years from now some kid with no money on a full scholarship will also be
able to pay for piano lessons, or trips to museums, or sports equipment,
whatever the need is. And that makes me extremely happy. Gosh, I’m glad I
thought of this! From
a client who turned volunteering into a second career: I have been
involved with several non-profit organizations as a volunteer, but the most
rewarding for me has involved my passion for dogs.
As a “career” AT&T and Lucent person, I was concerned that there
would be no time for volunteer activities, and for the first 15 years of my
career, I did no community service work. When I moved to Madison, New Jersey, as
a single person with a Great Dane, having St. Hubert’s Giralda Animal Welfare
Center so close seemed too convenient to ignore.
I wrote a letter to the President, offering my services in any way that
would help. I served on the Board of St.
Hubert’s for eight years, was the first Chairperson of the Dog Walk, and
generally provided support to the President and Development Director.
It was exciting to be a part of the success that they have built as the
most respected shelter in New Jersey, and with national recognition.
I really got “hooked” on working with the animal welfare field, and
began to get involved with some other organizations and began to think about how
I could turn this into a “second career.”
With St. Hubert’s help, I made many contacts in some of the national
organizations, attended some great conferences, and was recruited as a volunteer
for the Delta Society – a national organization that educates and promotes the
field of anima- assisted therapy. I also got involved with Canine Companions for Independence,
as they were establishing a new organization to provide funding to the service
dog industry. After I
moved to Flemington, I resigned from that Board and did not “adopt” another
shelter to work with for a few years. I
did expand my pet-assisted therapy volunteering to Hunterdon County, visiting a
nursing home and Women’s Crisis Services with Mariah, one of my labrador
retrievers and a St. Hubert’s adoptee. I
recently became involved with Friends of Homeless Animals of Mercer County that
provides adoption support to the Trenton Animal Shelter – quite a different
setting from serene St. Hubert’s! That
involvement has resulted in the third addition to my canine family – Mazie the
“mutt puppy” from Trenton! After 25 years, I moved out
of corporate life, and was determined to somehow turn my “avocation” into my
“vocation” – not easy to do in the field of animal welfare.
A friend, who is now President of the San Francisco SPCA, offered me a
consulting assignment to make the business case for a multi-million-dollar
capital project, which kept me busy for a year (I might mention, with the help
of Kathrin Gschwend of Lassus Wherley). As that project began to wind down, I was asked to be a
volunteer committee chair for the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and
participate in their long-range planning session.
That resulted in an offer to be the Executive Director of that
organization, which I have been since September of 1999.
Although I am very busy these days with responsibility for a national
organization with 3000 members and phenomenal growth, I still make time for my
volunteer work, which keeps me highly motivated to make the world a better place
for homeless animals. I can truly
say that my vocation IS my avocation now– not a bad way to embark on my second
career! From a long-time client who supports many
charities: When I was
a little girl, I could not pass by a beggar on the street, so my Mom or Dad
would always give me some coins to drop into the tin cup. Now those coins are dollars, increasing through the years as
I became more aware of the needs of others, and my circumstances permitted. Some people might feel
embarrassed to give small amounts, so, therefore, give nothing.
But, just imagine, if everyone gave small amounts, what a sizable sum
could accrue. Others might prefer giving
their entire charity budget to two or three organizations.
As for me, so many causes touch my heart, I would rather spread out my
modest contribution so many worthwhile appeals would not go unanswered. Thank you to all our contributors! You have explained
the importance of volunteering and charitable giving from the volunteer’s
point of view. It was great fun to
speak with each of you! The first several people I contacted responded so
enthusiastically and quickly that I had to stop calling before the newsletter
became a book. I know there are
lots of great stories out there. Please
e-mail your volunteer or charitable giving story, and we will use them in future
newsletters. My email address at
LWA is roxanna@lassuswherley.com.
Thanks to all of you for making our job so much fun. If you are reviewing your giving program, here is
some more food for thought. Diahann
ran across this in a magazine on an airplane, of course: “Never underestimate the power of giving.
It shines like a beacon throughout humanity.
It cuts through the oceans that divide us and brightens the lives of all
it touches. One of life’s
greatest laws is that you cannot hold a torch to light another path…without
brightening your own.” Next month: Tax
advantageous ways to complete your charitable giving goals. By Gigi Collins, CFA In your asset
allocation, it is important to have funds that represent different styles of
investment. Over the last couple of
years, the large cap growth funds have been the stars in the performance area
while the large cap value funds have lagged behind. However, when you look historically over long periods of
time, the value stocks have performed better than growth stocks.
And recently, after several years of underperformance, value funds have
held up well in the current volatile market and are beginning to move up. One large cap
value fund that is on our recommended list is the Dodge & Cox Stock Fund.
It had a rough year in 1998, but performance has bounced back due to a
broadening of the market and the fact that management tends to be more patient
than other funds with their stock picks. It
favors companies that look cheap based on standard valuation measures, but that
offer good growth prospects over the three- to five-year period.
Its long-term
trailing returns are in the top-quartile, and due to its low turnover, the
performance looks even better on a tax-adjusted basis. Over the long term this steady approach has served the fund well.
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