nashenhurst's blog

Presented by Nancy J. LaPointe

Charitable gift annuities (CGAs) are an arrangement between a donor and a nonprofit organization where the donor receives a regular payment for life based on the value of assets transferred to the organization. This allows donors to make a gift to their favorite charity, and, in return, they receive fixed payments for life. After the donor’s death, the assets are kept by the organization.

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Emergency Assistance Available for Those Impacted By Thurston County Flooding on January 7 & 8

January 11, 2022, Thurston County, Wash. — United Way of Thurston County has activated its Emergency Assistance Fund to provide immediate cash assistance to families and individuals impacted by recent flooding in Thurston County.

Before March 13, 2020, Catholic Community Services (CCS)was serving between 8,000 and 9,000 meals per month through its Community Kitchen program. With just one full-time employee, the program relied heavily on its 680 volunteers from over 30 churches and community groups, many of them retired. 

Wherever they exist, YMCAs are the beating heart of the communities they serve, providing essential programs for children, seniors and entire families. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, South Sound YMCA faced considerable challenges in continuing to provide those services. Not only did demand for childcare increase exponentially as centers throughout the state closed their doors, but traditional sources of funding simultaneously dried up to an alarming degree.  

We've entered the season of giving and our generous community is asking for ways to help those in need. We've compiled a list of organizations that are offering gifts and toys. You can share this page or click here for a printable poster. 

When Thurston County received more than $15.7 million in coronavirus relief funds through the CARES Act in June, County Commissioners held a special four-hour meeting to decide how to spend the money to most effectively meet community needs. One key result: $500,000 went to United Way of Thurston County to provide nonprofit grants focusing on food, hygiene products and essential services for families impacted by COVID-19.

Free federal income tax preparation services by AARP Tax-Aide IRS-certified volunteers begin January 31, 2019, at eight locations in Thurston County.

While Tax-Aide makes a special effort to serve low- and moderate-income households, especially those 50 years or older, it also welcomes taxpayers of all ages and income levels.  AARP membership is not required.

When students are not reading at grade level by 3rd grade, they are four times more likely not to graduate on time or at all. Be a cheerleader for a local elementary school student struggling to read at grade level and provide support to our teachers too. An hour a week is all it takes! Please join us for our final Reading Buddy volunteer orientations for this school year. For more information visit:

https://www.unitedway-thurston.org/united-way-reading-buddy-program

As my term as Chair of Women United draws to a close, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on what we’ve achieved together and how our work has paved the way for an exciting road ahead for Women United.

By Ryan Cole

From August 2018 to August 2019 I served as the VISTA Leader for the United Way of Thurston County AmeriCorps VISTA Team. For me, this year was filled with skill-building, relationship building, and personal discovery. Like any VISTA year, it’s hard to anticipate what you’ll experience, but I’m grateful for the opportunity to have served as the VISTA Leader for this wonderful team.

Small businesses play a critical role in maintaining a thriving local economy. Our Small Business Partners are an important, growing family of donors, who are vital to helping us meet the needs of our community. Every month, we will feature a small business partner in this SPOTLIGHT section of the newsletter.

On Wednesday, June 5, 2019 at 5:30 p.m. at Waterstreet Café United Way of Thurston County’s Women United will announce Women United Grant Award winners and we invite the community to attend.

Women United put out a Request for Proposal for Thurston County agencies who work in Women United’s current priority — providing resources to families with children who are currently homeless or on the verge of becoming homeless.

This is an exciting week in Olympia.  With many bills starting to move to the House and Senate floor, housing and homeless advocates will be working the Capitol hallways side-by-side with advocates for the United Ways of Washington's

United Ways of the Pacific Northwest represents 21 local United Ways in Washington committed to mobilizing the caring power of communities to advance the common good and improve lives. Healthy families keep our communities strong. We advocate for these critical public and private investments to help build wellbeing for all families:

On October 25 and 26, 2018, United Way of Thurston County will offer Results-Based Accountability™ (RBA) Training to program partners. RBA is part of the new framework United Way of Thurston County is implementing for all service providers applying for UWTC funding. United Way will provide lunch both days. There is no charge to attend for agencies applying for United Way funding. We recommend this training for executive and development staff.

(how to pay fewer taxes while supporting your favorite charity and complying with IRA distribution requirements)

Presented by Nancy J. LaPointe* MBA, CFP®, ChFC®, CLU®, CASL®

Older IRA owners may make tax-free donations (also known as 'charitable IRA rollovers') from an IRA directly to a qualified organization and may exclude up to $100,000 annually from gross income. These gifts would otherwise be taxable IRA distributions. This tax provision was made permanent by the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015.