What’s especially notable is that in recent years, Congress has expanded planning opportunities by indexing annual giving limits for inflation ($111,000 per person in 2026) and allowing certain one-time QCDs (“Legacy IRAs”) to fund charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts. And now, proposed legislation known as the “Charity Parity Act” would, if enacted, extend QCD treatment beyond IRAs to include employer-sponsored retirement plans such as 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and 457(b)s. This potential change in the law would remove the extra step of rolling assets into an IRA before making a charitable gift, simplifying the process for many donors whose retirement savings remain primarily in workplace plans.

Consider a typical client scenario. Your client, age 74, is taking Required Minimum Distributions (“RMDs”) from a traditional IRA. Because the client claims the standard deduction, charitable gifts do not generate additional tax savings. By instead directing a portion of the RMD to a qualified charity as a QCD, the client can satisfy part or all of the RMD obligation without increasing taxable income. In many cases, this can also help reduce Medicare premium surcharges and lessen the taxation of Social Security benefits, creating planning advantages beyond the charitable deduction itself.

Here are three examples of how the Lenawee Community Foundation can help your client achieve charitable goals through QCDs:

1. A client directs a QCD from an IRA to Lenawee’s Health, Happiness, and Hope Fund at the Lenawee Community Foundation to support broad community needs. The client satisfies part or all of the client’s annual RMD requirements while supporting flexible grantmaking that addresses changing priorities in the region.
2. A client uses a QCD to contribute to a field-of-interest fund at the Lenawee Community Foundation focused on causes such as education, healthcare, the arts, or environmental conservation. This allows the client to support a specific area of passion while relying on the Lenawee Community Foundation’s expertise to identify effective nonprofit organizations over time.
3. A client makes a QCD to an existing designated fund or scholarship fund held at the Lenawee Community Foundation. For example, the client may support a favorite local nonprofit through a designated fund or help students pursue higher education through an endowed scholarship fund, all while reducing taxable income through a QCD.

Keep in mind that charitable giving with IRAs goes beyond current gifts to charity! As part of advising clients about their IRAs, be sure to check their beneficiary designations. Not only is it tax advantageous for a client to name a fund at the Lenawee Community Foundation or other public charity as beneficiary of an IRA, but it’s also a best practice to avoid problems in the future. (Retirement plan beneficiary designations continue to show up in cautionary tales!)

For attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors, developments related to QCDs are worth watching closely. QCDs increasingly serve as a natural connector among retirement planning, philanthropy, and legacy conversations. Just as importantly, QCD discussions often open the door to broader planning opportunities, helping clients align financial goals with the causes and communities they care about most. As always, please reach out to the Lenawee Community Foundation anytime! 

The post Good news keeps coming: Retirement plans and charitable giving appeared first on Lenawee Community Foundation.

The Knight family’s generosity was a source of pride for the late Marilyn Underhill, daughter of V.C. and Velma Knight. Reflecting on her parents’ legacy, she once shared, “My parents came from humble backgrounds, but they did well financially and were able to help hundreds of people in their lifetimes.”

Velma passed away in 1980 and V.C. in 2005, but their legacy continues to change lives across Lenawee County thanks to their foresight and generosity. Since 2008, the V.C. and Velma Knight Memorial Fund has provided nearly $675,000 in grants to local programs, supporting everything from food security and mental health services to homeless prevention and childcare scholarships.

Rooted in the Knight family’s values of service, compassion, and local investment, the fund continues to make a lasting difference for the people and communities of Lenawee County.

V.C. Knight was a pioneer in the air conditioning industry and the founder of Addison Products Company. Velma was a lifelong Bible scholar with a heart for helping others. Today, they are remembered not only for their accomplishments but for their compassion, and for choosing to create a legacy that keeps giving.

Grants are awarded to programs that address basic needs, health, and human services in Lenawee County. To honor the donors’ wishes and create the greatest possible impact, priority will be given to proposals that:

• Provide direct services to individuals and families
• Leverage resources through partnerships or matching funds
• Can be sustained without ongoing Foundation support
• Encourage collaboration and avoid duplication of existing services
• Promote volunteerism and community involvement

All grant applications must be submitted electronically by August 1, 2026.
To apply, visit https://goapply2.akoyago.com/lenaweecf.

For questions or assistance, please contact Madison Roberts at 517.263.4696 or email madison@lenaweecf.com.

The Lenawee Community Foundation is honored to continue the work V.C. and Velma Knight began, and grateful to their daughter Marilyn for preserving and extending their commitment to building a stronger, more compassionate community.

About Lenawee Community Foundation:

The Lenawee Community Foundation is a charitable organization created by and for the community. By collecting donations and investing them for lasting impact, the Foundation funds grants, scholarships, and local initiatives to address community needs, support nonprofits, and enhance the wellbeing of Lenawee County. More than just an organization, the Lenawee Community Foundation is an opportunity for individuals, families, and businesses to leverage the power of collective giving to make sure their community stays strong and supported for years to come.

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For more information, please contact: Kirsten Stiver, 517-263-4696, kirsten@lenaweecf.com.

The post Applications open July 1 for the V.C. and Velma Knight Memorial Fund grants supporting basic needs, health, and human services in Lenawee County appeared first on Lenawee Community Foundation.

All of this is wonderful! There’s one more step, however, that is often overlooked: Connecting the dots. If you are a donor or fund holder at the Lenawee Community Foundation, or plan to establish a fund in the near future, please consider introducing your advisors to the Lenawee Community Foundation team. A simple introduction can make a tremendous difference in ultimately achieving your charitable goals. Here’s why:

• Attorneys, CPAs, and wealth managers are experts in many aspects of financial and estate planning, and their work is essential in helping you develop and implement strategies through legal documentation, tax filings, and other technical guidance. Not all advisors, however, are experts in charitable giving.
• The Lenawee Community Foundation, by comparison, brings to the table specialized knowledge about charitable giving strategies, local nonprofit needs, philanthropic tools that may be best suited for your particular situation, and the types of assets you might consider giving to achieve your goals.
• The Lenawee Community Foundation certainly does not offer legal, tax, or financial advice, but we absolutely stay current on legal, tax, and charitable developments. In turn, we can keep you and your advisors informed about which trends to watch.
• When you establish a fund at the Lenawee Community Foundation as part of your charitable plan, our team will handle the paperwork and administration to create and manage that fund. This is often a relief to your advisors, not to mention a relief to you!

Importantly, collaborative conversations among donors, advisors, and the Lenawee Community Foundation are not only for ultra-high-net-worth families. Even relatively straightforward charitable plans can benefit from collaboration between your advisors and the Lenawee Community Foundation. In many cases, donors discover giving opportunities they might not otherwise have considered. What’s more, many advisors appreciate having philanthropic specialists available to help explore charitable strategies that benefit both the donor and the causes they care about.

So, what can you do? We invite and encourage you to take the lead! A simple email introducing each of your advisors to the Lenawee Community Foundation team is often all that is required to open the door to better communication and stronger planning. The Lenawee Community Foundation is always happy to join a conversation with you and your advisors, but a baseline introduction is the most critical part. 

When professionals work together, the result is often a more coordinated and impactful charitable plan. By connecting your advisors with the Lenawee Community Foundation, you help create a team that can support both your financial goals and your desire to make a lasting difference. We look forward to hearing from you—and meeting your advisors! Thank you for all you do to make our community a better place. 

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For many donors, the creative use of donor-advised funds at the Lenawee Community Foundation opens the door to a larger charitable impact than they originally thought possible. Here’s how:

Your fund grows and changes alongside your life

Many people do not realize that a donor-advised fund at the Lenawee Community Foundation can help simplify giving during major life transitions. If you are preparing for retirement, selling a business, receiving an inheritance, or navigating a particularly high-income year, your donor-advised fund can provide flexibility in both timing for income tax planning and philanthropic grantmaking decisions. What’s more, during many of these transitions, it may make sense to look beyond cash gifts and explore using appreciated stock, closely held business interests, real estate, and other noncash assets to fund your charitable goals in tax-efficient ways.

Your fund can help you engage the next generation

Some donors are using donor-advised funds at the Lenawee Community Foundation to involve children and grandchildren in family philanthropy. Because grants can be recommended over many years to 501(c)(3) organizations locally and across the country, donor-advised funds create opportunities for ongoing conversations about values, generosity, and community impact across generations.

The Lenawee Community Foundation supports your areas of focus

Working with your local Lenawee Community Foundation adds the important elements of flexibility, personalization, and expertise. Unlike national commercial donor-advised fund providers, Lenawee Community Foundations combine the administrative advantages of a donor-advised fund with deep local knowledge and personalized philanthropic support. The Lenawee Community Foundation can help identify community needs, connect you with nonprofit organizations of all shapes and sizes, and explore creative strategies tailored to your own charitable interests. The Lenawee Community Foundation is here to help you support your favorite causes, whatever they may be.

The takeaway? Your donor-advised fund at the Lenawee Community Foundation is much more than just a giving account—it is a flexible tool for building a thoughtful, lasting charitable legacy that supports your favorite causes and the community as a whole. Please reach out to our team to expand your impact and enjoy your philanthropy even more! 

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In the simplest terms, meeting the moment means responding thoughtfully and generously to the needs that matter most today while still keeping long-term community impact in mind. Sometimes that means supporting immediate emergency relief efforts. Other times, it means helping nonprofits today so that they can build long-term solutions that strengthen our community for years to come.

Here are three tips that may help you and your family consider how you can make the biggest difference:

Think broadly about your charitable giving plan

Many fund holders have adopted a “portfolio approach” to their philanthropy, leaning on the Lenawee Community Foundation to serve as a convenient and strategic hub. For example, your charitable giving “portfolio” at the Lenawee Community Foundation might include a donor-advised fund to support your annual and ongoing charitable giving, legacy provisions to ensure that your impact extends across future generations, capacity-building gifts to the Lenawee Community Foundation itself to ensure the growth of philanthropy and impact across our region, and special “field of interest” or “designated funds” to support particular focus areas or specific nonprofit organizations as needs ebb and flow. The combination of multiple fund types and giving structures helps ensure that your dollars make the biggest difference.

Incorporate flexibility as you carry out your charitable giving plan

With the appropriate funds and planning vehicles in place, many donors take the next step to ensure their charitable portfolio allows for flexible funding during times of crisis and transition. Specifically, nonprofits in our community often need unrestricted support so they can respond quickly to changing conditions, invest in staff capacity, and continue serving people effectively even after headlines fade. Donors who understand this can play a powerful role in helping organizations remain resilient and responsive. The Lenawee Community Foundation can help you identify instances where it’s most beneficial simply to provide general support to nonprofit organizations, rather than designating your gift to a specific program or desired outcome.

Consistency is key

Meeting the moment does not mean changing all your charitable priorities overnight, only to revert them back when the moment has passed. There will always be moments of need! Instead, “meeting the moment” means staying informed about current community needs with the help of the Lenawee Community Foundation team, remaining flexible in the causes you support and the ways you support them, and responding quickly when your philanthropy can create meaningful impact and your community needs it most. Sometimes, even a small adjustment in timing, focus, or funding approach can make a big difference in the lives of people in need.

As always, the Lenawee Community Foundation is here to help. Our team members are deeply connected to local nonprofits and community leaders, which means we are uniquely positioned to identify emerging needs and opportunities for impact. Whether you want to respond to a current challenge, support a specific cause area, or balance immediate needs with long-term charitable goals, the Lenawee Community Foundation can help you structure your overall giving strategy and serve as a sounding board as you carry out your plans.

Please reach out anytime! 

The post A moment to meet: Philanthropy’s crucial role appeared first on Lenawee Community Foundation.

Here are three things to know:

—Mainstream media is picking up the pace in its coverage of charitable planning techniques. For example, the Wall Street Journal recently published an article about donor-advised funds as a tool for tax savings and community impact. Many clients may not realize that the Lenawee Community Foundation offers donor-advised funds, along with other options for structuring a charitable giving plan to support their favorite causes and address critical community issues. Be sure to reach out to the Lenawee Community Foundation whenever a client asks you about setting up a donor-advised fund. 

—Thoughtful planning is especially important in light of the new floor on itemized charitable deductions. Starting in 2026, to be eligible for a deduction, a client’s qualified deductions must exceed 0.5% of adjusted gross income, essentially raising the threshold at which charitable giving produces a tax benefit. This could make it advantageous for some of your clients to “bunch” charitable contributions through a donor-advised fund, allowing the client to front-load donations into a single tax year to cross the threshold. 

—At the same time, under a “cap” provision in the new law, if a client is in the 37% federal income tax bracket, itemized charitable deductions are now capped at the 35% tax rate. In simplified terms, depending on other factors, this means that if a client donates $10,000, the tax break would be $3,500 instead of $3,700. In short, the floor and the cap add extra complexity to helping clients plan their charitable contributions. 

—The new tax laws have changed the landscape for not only your clients who itemize deductions but also for those who do not itemize. Non-itemizers are now eligible for an “above the line” deduction of $1,000 for single filers and $2,000 for joint filers. Be aware, however, that the new deduction for non-itemizers does not apply to noncash gifts or gifts to donor-advised funds. Because both noncash gifts and gifts to donor-advised funds are important tax planning tools for many clients, this limitation is worth noting in your discussions. 

—Finally, remember that donating appreciated stock held for more than one year is usually more tax-efficient than writing a check. That’s because it allows your client to avoid capital gains tax on the appreciation. What’s more, clients who itemize deductions will be eligible to claim a tax deduction for the full fair market value. 

Please reach out to the Lenawee Community Foundation anytime. We know the new tax laws add a lot to your plate, and we are always happy to point you in the right direction as you conduct research and offer counsel to your clients. And remember, you don’t have to jump headfirst into the complexity during your client discussions. Even talking about philanthropy in the simplest terms can help strengthen your client relationships and grow your practice.

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ADRIAN, Mich., Jun. 15, 2026 – Thanks to the generosity of community members, corporate partners, and Lenawee Cares Pillars, Lenawee Cares raised $405,839 during the 2025–26 campaign, bringing the total invested in Lenawee County nonprofits to more than $4 million since the program began in 2016.

Every dollar raised stays right here in Lenawee County, supporting trusted local nonprofit organizations that address both urgent needs and long-term challenges. From food assistance and housing support to childcare, literacy programs, mental health services, and family resources, Lenawee Cares helps ensure local nonprofits have the funding they need to respond when our neighbors need them most.

Lenawee Cares is a community-driven initiative of the Lenawee Community Foundation that brings together individuals, businesses, and organizations around a shared commitment to strengthening Lenawee County. Through collective giving, donors create a flexible source of funding that helps local nonprofits meet emerging needs, expand services, and improve quality of life across our community. With less than nine percent used for administrative costs, Lenawee Cares remains one of the most efficient and impactful ways to give locally.

“At the Lenawee Community Foundation, we know that some of the greatest challenges can be addressed when neighbors come together to help one another,” said Bronna Kahle, President & CEO of the Lenawee Community Foundation. “Lenawee Cares reflects the very best of our community. We are incredibly thankful for the individuals, families, businesses, and organizations whose generosity is creating health, happiness, and hope throughout Lenawee County.”

The success of Lenawee Cares is made possible by donors, volunteers, workplace campaign partners, and community champions who believe in the power of local philanthropy. Together, they are helping build a stronger, more resilient Lenawee County where people have access to the support, opportunities, and resources they need to thrive.

To learn more about Lenawee Cares or how to get involved, contact Madison Roberts at 517.263.4696 or email forlenawee@lenaweecf.com.

About Lenawee Cares:

Launched in 2016, Lenawee Cares is a community-powered annual fund and corporate giving campaign focused on meeting essential needs – including food, shelter, clothing, and vital local programs. Every fall, individuals and businesses make pledges, and in the following year, those funds are collected and distributed to support nonprofit organizations across Lenawee County.

About Lenawee Community Foundation:

The Lenawee Community Foundation is a charitable organization created by and for the community. By collecting donations and investing them for lasting impact, the Foundation funds grants, scholarships, and local initiatives to address community needs, support nonprofits, and enhance the wellbeing of Lenawee County. More than just an organization, the Lenawee Community Foundation is an opportunity for individuals, families, and businesses to leverage the power of collective giving to make sure their community stays strong and supported for years to come.

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For more information, please contact: Kirsten Stiver, 517-263-4696, kirsten@lenaweecf.com.

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But for some clients—especially business owners, collectors, and affluent retirees—valuable assets may take a different form entirely. Boats, airplanes, cars, RVs, and other tangible property can represent a mixed bag of characteristics: significant wealth, ongoing maintenance costs, and emotional attachment, all of which may add up to a charitable giving opportunity. These situations may no longer be one-off cases. Classic cars are a notable example, with some estimates tallying the total at more than 43 million vehicles in the United States alone—an estimated $1 trillion in total insurable value!

Here are four tips to consider as you work with your charitable clients.

Always reach out to the Lenawee Community Foundation

Anytime you’re dealing with a charitable client, please reach out to the Lenawee Community Foundation to explore your client’s options. Your clients may be surprised to learn that public charities, such as the Lenawee Community Foundation, can accept a wide range of noncash assets, provided the assets can be evaluated, valued, transferred, and ultimately liquidated to support your clients’ charitable goals.

Ask questions beyond balance sheet basics

Clients may forget to mention that they own highly appreciated noncash assets. As clients prepare to meet with you, they are often so focused on gathering investment statements and real estate information that they forget about classic cars, RVs, planes, and boats! Comprehensive conversations are especially timely as many affluent households continue to hold substantial wealth outside of traditional investment portfolios. Recreational assets purchased years ago may now hold significant value while also generating ongoing expenses, storage concerns, and succession-planning questions. Clients who are downsizing or simplifying during retirement may welcome charitable strategies that transform underused assets into community impact. 

Build your client’s charitable plan prior to a sale

When you spot unusual assets on a client’s balance sheet, and you know your client is charitable, it’s important to consider the possibilities. A client preparing to sell a classic car or boat, for example, could incur significant capital gains tax if the asset has appreciated in value. Contributing the asset to a fund at the Lenawee Community Foundation before a sale may help reduce or eliminate those taxes while also generating funds to support charitable causes the client cares about.

Pay attention to the rules

Gifts of noncash assets require careful coordination. Unlike publicly traded securities, these assets involve additional due diligence. Title transfers, appraisals, environmental reviews for real estate, insurance considerations, debt obligations, marketability, and liquidation logistics all require attention. The IRS also imposes specific substantiation and reporting requirements for charitable deductions involving noncash gifts.

The team at the Lenawee Community Foundation is happy to work alongside you and clients’ other attorneys, CPAs, valuation experts, and financial advisors to determine whether proposed gifts are feasible and which structures might be best. In many cases, the Lenawee Community Foundation can accept the asset and facilitate its sale.

The bottom line here is that for a charitable client, using a much-loved car collection, boat, or other luxury asset to support favorite causes and address community needs may be far more appealing than knowing the asset could sit in storage for years and years, with no end in sight to the maintenance expenses. You can add tremendous value by helping your clients consider whether highly specialized collections and “passion assets” are better suited for charitable planning than for transfer through an estate, especially when heirs may not share the same interest in maintaining or managing them. Whether your client owns a rare bicycle collection, antique toy collection, classic cars, or a country music producer’s private library, conversations about donating unusual assets can help clients simplify their estates, support charitable priorities, and avoid placing the emotional and logistical burden of niche collections on the next generation.

Please reach out anytime!

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Kahle has served as President & CEO during a transformative season for the Foundation, helping strengthen the organization internally while expanding its visibility, responsiveness, and impact across Lenawee County. Under her leadership, the Foundation has experienced significant growth in charitable assets, donor engagement, grantmaking, and community leadership initiatives focused on improving Lenawee’s health, happiness, and hope in partnership with donors—now and forever.

During Kahle’s tenure, the Foundation successfully completed the $2 million Health, Happiness, and Hope Fund campaign, launching a stronger flexible grantmaking resource to help Lenawee County respond to current and future community needs. The Foundation also expanded donor services, strengthened grantmaking and community partnerships, and increased organizational capacity to better serve Lenawee for the long term.

“Serving the Lenawee Community Foundation and the people of Lenawee County has truly been one of the greatest honors of my life,” said Kahle. “This work is deeply meaningful because it is ultimately about people, relationships, generosity, and community. I am incredibly humbled by what we have built together and deeply grateful to our donors, volunteers, nonprofit partners, staff, and board members for their trust, partnership, and shared commitment to this community.”

Kahle added that she has complete confidence in the Foundation’s future leadership.

“Paula Trentman is exactly the right person to lead LCF into its next chapter,” Kahle said. “She brings decades of community foundation experience, strong relationships across Lenawee County, deep institutional knowledge, and, most importantly, a genuine heart for serving others. The Lenawee Community Foundation will be in excellent hands.”

Trentman has served the Lenawee Community Foundation in various capacities for more than 25 years and currently serves as Executive Vice President. Throughout her tenure, she has played a key leadership role in grantmaking, donor stewardship, scholarships, nonprofit partnerships, and many of the Foundation’s most important community initiatives and programs.

“LCF has always been about helping connect people who care with causes that matter,” said Trentman. “It has been a privilege to be part of this work for so many years, and I am honored by the trust the Board has placed in me. Lenawee County is filled with generous people and strong community partners, and I look forward to building on that momentum together in the years ahead.”

Board Chair Dave Hickman said the Board is grateful for Kahle’s leadership and excited for the Foundation’s future under Trentman’s direction.

“Bronna Kahle has provided exceptional leadership during an important season of growth and organizational strengthening for the Lenawee Community Foundation,” Hickman said. “Her passion for Lenawee County, commitment to community philanthropy, and ability to bring people together around meaningful work have left a lasting impact on the Foundation and our community.”

Hickman added, “At the same time, the Board is thrilled to announce Paula Trentman as LCF’s next President & CEO. Paula is respected throughout Lenawee County and across the philanthropic community. She understands this work at every level, believes deeply in the mission of the Lenawee Community Foundation, and leads with both experience and heart. The Board is confident LCF’s future is incredibly bright.”

The Lenawee Community Foundation Board of Directors noted that the transition plan reflects a thoughtful and strategic leadership succession process designed to ensure continuity, stability, and continued momentum for the organization and the community it serves.

About Lenawee Community Foundation:

The Lenawee Community Foundation is a charitable organization created by and for the community. By collecting donations and investing them for lasting impact, the Foundation funds grants, scholarships, and local initiatives to address community needs, support nonprofits, and enhance the wellbeing of Lenawee County. More than just an organization, the Lenawee Community Foundation is an opportunity for individuals, families, and businesses to leverage the power of collective giving to make sure their community stays strong and supported for years to come.

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This free presentation will share key findings from the newly updated Lenawee County Databook, highlighting important trends affecting our community, including economic pressures and financial stability, childhood and family resilience, health and well-being, workforce changes, and overall community capacity.

Developed in partnership with the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University, the Databook provides valuable insights into where Lenawee County is thriving and where opportunities for growth remain.

All nonprofits, businesses, organizations, and residents interested in the future of Lenawee County are encouraged to attend.

Attendance is free, but registration is required and seating is limited.

To register, scan the QR code or contact the Lenawee Community Foundation at forlenawee@lenaweecf.com.

The Lenawee Community Foundation connects people who care with causes that matter, bringing health, happiness, and hope to Lenawee County—now and forever.

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For more information, please contact: Kirsten Stiver, 517-263-4696, kirsten@lenaweecf.com.

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