WWW.CFSJC.ORG • (574) 232-0041 • 205 W. JEFFERSON BLVD., SUITE 610 • SOUTH BEND, IN 46601

DECEMBER 2017 CONNECTING PEOPLE WHO CARE WITH CAUSES THAT MATTER

Community Foundation Grant Reduces Fire Risk for CopshaholmA Major Venture Grant helps the History Museum replace the Oliver Family Mansion’s original electrical system.

The Oliver Family Mansion, known as Copshaholm, is one of our community’s most beloved historic treasures. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the 38-room Copshaholm was built in 1896 by J.D. Oliver, president of Oliver Chilled Plow Works. The home, its contents, and the surrounding gardens were donated to the History Museum in 1988.

As part of its stewardship of Copshaholm, the Museum hired CTA, an architectural firm that specializes in the preservation of historic buildings, to assess the home and its needs. The biggest risk facing Copshaholm was clear: Fire, sparked by its outdated electrical system.

Fire can devastate any structure, but the Oliver Mansion is especially vulnerable. No amount of insurance could ever replace the home or its contents, all of which belonged to the Oliver family. That

includes everything from personal diaries to antique furniture and precious metals, dating from the 1400s through the 1970s, according to Kristie Erickson, curator of Copshaholm.

When Museum staff reviewed CTA’s report, “We knew we had to move quickly to protect the mansion,” says Brandon Anderson, the Museum’s deputy executive director, “but the cost out-strapped us.”

In response to this unique need, the Community Foundation awarded a $150,000 Major Venture ArtsEverywhere Grant to the Museum to help make the electrical upgrades possible.

In August, work began in the basement, where the bulk of the electrical infrastructure is located. Upstairs, changes are proceeding a room at a time

continued on p. 2

In the library in Copshaholm, portrait lights above three of the room’s original paintings are operational for the first time in many years as a result of the Museum’s electrical upgrades.

The biggest risk facing Copshaholm was clear: Fire, sparked by its outdated electrical system.

HIGHLIGHTSEvery three years, the Community Foundation conducts a Grantee Perception Survey with nonprofits that have applied for grants from us over that period. These blind surveys generate content that helps us strengthen our grants processes.

We invited 144 organizations to take the survey this year and received more than 80 replies. All of the respondents described their interactions with our staff as “very good,” or “excellent,” and also gave the Foundation high marks for fairness, visibility, responsiveness, and quality of leadership. We’re grateful for all of our nonprofit partners and the work they do to make our community a better place.

SPECIAL GIFT-MATCHING OPPORTUNITY: Camp Millhouse has only one item on its Christmas list this year, and you can help! In celebration of its 80th anniversary, this unique, much-loved residential camp for children and adults with disabilities has a one-time opportunity to buy its camp property for $500,000 before its lease expires on December 31. Purchasing the camp property will give Camp Millhouse security and the freedom to plan upgrades and improved programs in the future.

A small group of generous donors has brought Camp Millhouse in sight of its goal, and the Community Foundation will help the camp reach the finish line by matching all new contributions up to a total of $50,000. To learn how you can help, call the Community Foundation at (574) 232-0041.

Camp Millhouse campers

Even after Bill’s death in 2010, Katie stayed active in philanthropy. Just weeks before she died this past October, she established a new endowed fund with the Community Foundation to support Heroes Camp, a local youth ministry.

“Bill was one of the Community Foundation’s biggest boosters,” says Rose Meissner, president of the Community Foundation. “He’d talk to anyone he could find about our value and potential. He and Katie brought that level of support to all the organizations they believed in. With the Shields, it was always more than money—it was leadership, influence, and time.”

Like the Shields, you can support your favorite cause or charity forever with a gift to its endowed fund with the Community Foundation. To make a gift that lasts, visit www.cfsjc.org/give.

COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY • PAGE 2

Our Donors: Bill and Katie Shields In the ever-evolving world of medicine, it’s critical for practitioners at all levels—CNAs, nurses, doctors, and others—to stay up to date. But medical education is expensive, and scholarship options for those already working in the field are limited.

Businessman and entrepreneur Bill Shields and his wife Katie understood that challenge, and decided to give the community they loved a way to meet it.

In 1993, the Shields established the William S. and Kathryn L. Shields Fund for the Education of Medical Professionals. The couple challenged Memorial Hospital and St. Joseph Regional Medical Center to match their contributions and built their fund into a significant resource for the community. Since then, the Shields Fund has awarded over $1,300,000 in grants to support healthcare education.

“This support has been invaluable to our efforts to elevate the quality of our nursing staff and level of care to our patients,” says Kristin Michel, Business Operations Manager of the Foundation of St. Joseph Health System. Because of the Shields Fund, she notes, 70% of staff nurses at SJHS now hold BSN degrees.

In addition to creating this fund, the Shields were devoted supporters of many local nonprofits, including the Fischoff National Chamber Music Association, the History Museum, IUSB, Studebaker Museum, and others.

in order to minimize the impact on Musuem visitors.

“It’s been less invasive than I feared,” says Erickson. She credits a talented team of contractors that includes Kurt Hornack, with Martell Electric.

“A lot of the younger guys have never seen this stuff,” Hornack says, as he points out some of the obsolete knob-and-tube wiring in the basement. “But I love a challenge.”

Once finished, the new electrical system will allow the Museum to tackle another item on its stewardship list: Upgrading the home’s HVAC system, which is still dependent on a less-than-efficient boiler system.

Visitors to Copshaholm can already see positive impacts from the work. In the library, Erickson points out portrait lighting that illuminates three large-scale paintings. The fixtures aren’t new—rather, the original wiring, which failed years ago, has been replaced and is functional again. “Now,” she says, “visitors can view the paintings as the Olivers intended them to be displayed.”

The History Museum hopes to have the project completed by March.

Learn how you can support the Community Foundation’s ArtsEverywhere initiative at www.cfsjc.org/arts.

COPSHAHOLM continued from p. 1

“With the Shields, it was always more than money—It was leadership, influence, and time,” says Rose Meissner.

New grounded outlets, covered with period-appropriate plates, will allow for safer lighting throughout the Oliver Mansion.

Bill and Katie Shields

or that of a favorite charity. Many Community Foundation donors establish donor-advised funds as a charitable savings account. Their fund is invested to produce earnings that subsidize their annual gifts to charity in the future while creating a permanent legacy. Donor-advised funds can be established for as little as $10,000, payable at once or over a period of time.

Charitable gift annuities. Charitable gift annuities are a great way to increase your own income now and benefit your favorite charity later. How? You give a gift of cash or stock (minimum: $10,000) to the Community Foundation now, for which you (and your spouse, if applicable) receive a fixed income, guaranteed for life. The gift annuity rate (typically 5%–8%) is based on age (older people receive higher rates). Your gift annuity is partially tax-deductible and your annual income will be partially tax-free.

Act before December 31, 2017, to save on this year’s taxes. If I can be of any assistance, please let me know (rose@cfsjc.org; 574-232-0041). Best wishes for a peaceful holiday season and a wonderful new year!

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At the Community Foundation, we regularly partner with professional advisors such attorneys and estate planners, financial planners, CPAs, and bank and trust officers, because we know that you trust them to help you make decisions about your personal philanthropy.

In October, we hosted a continuing education opportunity for these valued partners, bringing in nationally recognized attorney Laura Hansen Dean to present “Charitable Gift Planning for Baby Boomers.” More than 40 local advisors attended, earning continuing education credits. Do you see your advisor in the photo?

Community Foundation President Rose Meissner offers tips on year-end giving.

The end of the year is a big time for charitable giving. Here are a few practical tips for charitable giving. After such a strong stock market rally, a few of these tips may be even more appealing.

Income tax deduction. Gifts to public charities are fully deductible up to 50% of your adjusted gross income for cash gifts (30% for gifts of appreciated securities).

The new tax proposal under consideration will double the standard deduction. If this passes, most people who currently itemize will find it makes more sense to take the standard deduction. Some current “itemizers”

may choose to move up intended 2018 charitable donations into 2017 to capture the benefit of the charitable deduction.

Give stock, not cash. The steep rise in the stock market means many people have highly appreciated securities (think “Apple”, for instance). If you give away shares of Apple and use the cash you were going to give to charity to purchase new shares, your new shares will have a higher cost basis, reducing your capital gains taxes when you sell the shares in the future.

Gifts from IRA accounts. If you’re over 70½, you can make gifts up to $100,000 directly from your IRA to public charities (excluding donor-advised funds). These gifts count toward your annual required minimum distribution and will not be counted as personal income. They are not tax deductible, though, because IRA assets were never taxed to begin with. Here again, this option might be even more attractive given recent stock market performance.

Build an endowment for the future. Consider placing a portion of your annual giving into an endowed fund, either your own named family fund

Smart Giving Strategies: Making the Most of Your Philanthropy

Local professional advisors attending Laura Hansen Dean’s presentation “Charitable Gift Planning for Baby Boomers” in October

Rose MeissnerPresident, Community Foundation

Partnering with Professional Advisors

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The Community Foundation awarded $260,000 in Special Project and ArtsEverywhere Grants as part of our fall grant cycle. Recipients include:

• Habitat for Humanity of St. Joseph County, in support of the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project, scheduled for summer 2018

• Camp Millhouse, to help purchase 25600 Kelly Road, the camp’s location

• Shirley Heinze Land Trust, to help establish public access to its Lydick Bog nature preserve

• Studebaker Fountain Committee, to help restore the City’s 1906 Studebaker electric fountain

• WNIT-TV Channel 34, the Music Village, and Patchwork Dance Company, which receive annual arts program support

For more details on the scope of these grants and other recipients, visit www.cfsjc.org/grants.

Recent Grants Helping LOGAN’s Seniors Go Places

Residents of LOGAN’s Campeau Street group home with their new accessible van

One of the Community Foundation’s primary focuses is our Senior Living Initiative. Through a competitive grants process, we fund projects that make it easier for seniors to stay in their own homes, since most seniors say that’s where they want to be.

Sometimes, though, it can be just as important to be able to get out of your home in a safe, reliable way.

That’s why the Community Foundation recently made a $62,800 Senior Living grant to LOGAN. With the funding, the organization purchased a van to help residents of its group home on Campeau Street—the majority of whom are over 65—safely attend appointments and activities.

According the Matt Harrington, president and CEO of LOGAN, the van has made a major difference for the women who live in the Campeau Street home.

“Having reliable transportation is something many of us take for

granted,” Harrington says. “At LOGAN, we know how hard—and expensive—it can be to find handicap-accesible rides. And this is not just any van, but a handicap-accessible van capable of transporting up to four wheelchairs! We can’t put a price tag on the fulfillment such accessibility brings.”

Learn more about our Senior Living Initiative and other Community Foundation efforts—as well as ways that you can support projects like this—at www.cfsjc.org.