GIVING BACK
FALL 2016
INSIDE :
Good2Give Gala update Ernie and Cheryl Johnson's Love You Too Foundation, and more!
CONNECTING PEOPLE WHO CARE WITH CAUSES THAT MATTER
Ex
RA N ec DY R ut ive EDN Dir ER ec to r
AN EL H T P ent OT id SC Pres
hat an incredible year 2016 has already been! Our amazing fund holders have granted $3 million so far, plus we gave away almost $300,000 in grants toward the beginning of the year. Add to that the $25,000 given away at our inaugural Good2Give Gala and you can see how much good we are doing together! Cheryl and Ernie Johnson are prime examples of this. As you’ll read in this edition, they have dedicated their lives to using their resources to benefit others. The Johnsons recently created the Love You Too foundation, realizing that the Community Foundation would allow them to give more — more easily and with more impact.
This time of year, often known as the “giving season”, is vital to many of our nonprofits. As you consider supporting the causes close to your heart, let us help you maximize your giving efforts! You could be the person that helps turn a life around — a life like Tomika Waldon’s, whose story is also in this issue. Without the Home of Hope at the Gwinnett Children’s Shelter, Tomika and her young daughter would have a completely different story. Our hope, as you read this Giving Back Report, is that you turn the last page inspired to do more, be more, give more. Because it really is Good2Give!
Executive Director
OUR LEADERSHIP OFFICERS:
RICHARD B. CHANDLER, JR. Chandler, Britt, Jay and Beck LLC
KAREN FINE SALTIEL Primerica
STEPHEN K. HILL SKH Enterprises
BRUCE SHARP BB&T
BARBARA HOWARD Suzanna’s Kitchen
STEVE WILLIAMS United Community Bank
COLE HUDGENS Community Leader
KATHRYN PARSONS WILLIS Parsons Gifts
DICK LOPRESTI LoPresti Capital, Inc.
ADAM WILSON Sugarloaf Wealth Management
ETHEL D. ANDERSEN Andersen, Tate & Carr, PC
BILL MCCARGO BMAC & Associates
EMERITUS
JULIE KEETON ARNOLD Keeton Arnold Communications
ANDREW POURCHIER Rhodes, Young, Black & Duncan
CLIFF BRAY Westbrook, McGrath, Bridges, Orth & Bray
MAXIE PRICE, JR. Maxie Price Chevrolet World
DOUG BRIDGES Westbrook, McGrath, Bridges, Orth & Bray
MARIELA ROMERO Univision Communication
PRESIDENT: SCOTT PHELAN Morgan Stanley VICE PRESIDENT: TOM ABERNATHY Abernathy & Timberlake Investment Group TREASURER: WILLIAM E. MCLENDON Community Leader SECRETARY: SANDRA STRICKLAND Community Leader
DIRECTORS
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President
Dr. Daniel J. Kaufman Alan Najjar Bill Russell Greg Shumate Perry Tindol
Gala
Visit cfneg.org to watch the Belli Memorial Scholarship story.
What an evening we had at the inaugural Good2Give Gala! Inspiring stories, WSB Radio’s Scott Slade as host, five very surprised nonprofits who received grants of $5,000 each and more than 500 of our supporters in attendance. “At the Community Foundation our tagline is ‘Connecting People Who Care with Causes that Matter’ and our hope was that our Good2Give Gala would showcase the power of how working together we can make this place we call home a little bit better,” said Executive Director Randy Redner. “From the feedback we received, I think we achieved our goal!” “We’re very grateful to our 34 sponsors and everyone who purchased a table or tickets and helped make the gala possible.” Throughout the program, the Community Foundation highlighted five areas where nonprofits are making a big impact: community, human services, health care, arts and education. From Annandale Village’s choir and James Casto
of Home by Dark to the emotional stories of the Norcross Cooperative Ministry’s Clay family and Belli Memorial Scholarship founder Roy Belli and 2016 recipient Aaron Barnes, the audience was taken on a journey — leaving them laughing, crying and feeling inspired. One of the biggest surprises of the night was the $25,000 giveaway. Between each segment, Randy took over the floor and gave away $5,000 to five nonprofits: Street Grace, Aurora Theatre, North Gwinnett Cooperative, Good Samaritan Health Center of Gwinnett and H.O.P.E. “We’re already looking forward to next year,” Randy said. “Save the date for August 19, 2017 at 6 p.m. at the Infinite Energy Forum’s Grand Ballroom!”
Bartow Morgan Louise Radloff William R. Short T. Michael Tennant A. Ray Weeks, Jr.
CHAIRMAN IN PERPETUITY Robert D. Fowler
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we feel called to.
That same obedience led them to adopt four
“On a very practical basis, we always knew we
more children, in addition to their first two.
wanted to create a foundation but didn’t want
Three of their children have special needs,
the administrative duties. The Community
including 27-year-old Michael, who was adopted
Foundation takes care of that for us.”
Our faith plays a
from Romania.
significant role—
“He has muscular dystrophy, and we were told
time, talents or money, their desire to help
he would never walk, never talk and never bond
others permeates everything they do.
For the Johnsons, whether it’s giving of their
we’re called to be
with people. He did all those things,” Cheryl
obedient so when we feel that prompting, we follow it.” —Cheryl Johnson
A HEART FOR OTHERS
”
said. “He’s on a ventilator but his favorite
“As a family, the Johnsons give incredible
phrase is ‘Love you, too’”.
amounts of time and talent to the causes they care about,” said Randy Redner. “We are thrilled
THE JOHNSON FAMILY
Ernie Johnson buys two bouquet of flowers every week. One for his wife of 34 years, Cheryl, and one for a random stranger. Over the years, this random act of kindness has brought some to tears. Like the woman whose husband recently died. Or the woman
When Ernie and Cheryl decided to open a
they chose to give through the Community
foundation through the Community Foundation,
Foundation. They truly understand that
they named it the Love You Too Foundation, in
philanthropy goes beyond just giving of one’s
honor of Michael.
money. They embody why it’s Good2Give!”
“We grew up with parents who impressed on us the importance of giving, so it’s always been something we do, and we’re passing that on to our children,” Ernie said. They considered creating a foundation for
celebrating a birthday all alone.
many years, and this year sat down with
From seemingly simple gestures to larger scale generosity, the
Director Randy Redner.
Johnson’s have woven giving into the very fabric of their lives. You may know them as Ernie Johnson, sportscaster and TV voice of Major League Baseball (TBS), a contributor to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament (Turner and CBS) and the host of nine-time Emmy-award winning TNT’s Inside the NBA; and Cheryl Deluca Johnson, former president/CEO and now brand ambassador of Street Grace, a faith-based organization dedicated to ending domestic minor sex trafficking. But to many others, they’re the anonymous person that made a difference — sometimes through monetary gifts and sometimes through
the Community Foundation’s Executive
“We’ve been ingrained in this community for a long time — 34 years — and one of the reasons we chose the Community Foundation is because it’s a community foundation,” Ernie said. “Also, going through the Community Foundation simplifies things and provides a more focused way of giving. Plus, you can have a collective impact when needs arise and choose to be part of a group giving through the Community Foundation.”
giving their time. “We give because we feel called to,” Cheryl said. “Our faith plays
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a significant role — we’re called to be obedient so when we feel
“The Community Foundation simplifies things
that prompting, we follow it.”
and provides a more focused way of giving.”
ERNIE & CHERYL JOHNSON
“
We give because
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“The good news is, we’re ready to go once funding comes in. The bad news is we get five-to-eight phone calls a day from women needing us,” Maureen said. “It kills us to know we have these rooms ready, and we have to say ‘I’m sorry. We’re full.’
NONPROFIT FUNDHOLDER SPOTLIGHT
SURPRISING FACES OF HOMELESSNESS
In April 2016, four years after her ex left her with nothing, leaving her struggling to stay afloat, bouncing from place to place, college grad and former cheerleader Tomika Waldon found herself outside the Home of Hope at Gwinnett Children’s Shelter, giving her 4-year-old daughter one last hug. us a place to live; gave me back my sanity; gave us real food; gave me the chance to find a job.” Less than two weeks later after entering the Home of Hope at Gwinnett Children’s Shelter, Tomika found a full-time job and childcare for A’Dream.
Tomika Waldon
“We had been living in my car for two-and-half weeks, eating only instant oatmeal and grits and samples from the Mall of Georgia food court, while I tried to find work,” Tomika said. “I finally realized I had to find somewhere for A’Dream before DFACS took her. I remember sitting at the McDonald's on Sugarloaf, using the free wifi, and googling places for homeless children. I came across the Home of Hope at Gwinnett Children’s Shelter and thought it was only for children. I was so desperate, I was willing to give her up — just hoping and praying I would get her back.”
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A'Dream Waldon
Tomika called and made an appointment to go in the next day, thinking she would have to leave her child while she tried to sort her life out. When she arrived and was told the Home of Hope at Gwinnett Children’s Shelter was for children AND their moms, she broke down. “If it hadn't been for places like this, I don’t know that I would be alive because of the fact that I was already at the bottom of what little hope I had,” Tomika said. “Sometimes people don’t understand what’s behind the dollar they are giving. Coming here gave
“From the day Tomika got here, she was so humbled and grateful for the opportunity and she never lost sight of the gift she was given to be in this program,” said Maureen Kornowa, executive director. “She has worked so hard with her sights set on obtaining her own safe, sustainable housing.” The Home of Hope at Gwinnett Children’s Shelter, tucked away on a 45-acre Buford campus, provides education, life skills and job training to young mothers of homeless children as well as young women aging out of foster care. They currently house 10 women and 20 children, but a recent renovation opened up 12 more rooms, which will allow them to serve about 70 guests comfortably. Funding is needed, though, to staff the new wings.
“The newly renovated building will up our budget by approximately $120K per year. We only need $60K to get us started with helping more homeless children and their young mothers.” A fundholder at the Community Foundation for the past several years, the Home of Hope at Gwinnett Children’s Shelter is looking forward to a long partnership.
“We’re very proud to be part of the Community Foundation — the partnership has been instrumental, especially during these past two years as we’ve moved to a private organization with a new business model,” Maureen said. “Randy and board chair Scott Phelan have helped open people’s eyes to suburban poverty and have really connected those people who care with causes that matter, like ours at the Home of Hope at Gwinnett Children’s Shelter.”
TO READ MORE OF TOMIKA’S STORY, VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT CFNEG.ORG.
Giving Made Simple! Want to maximize your end-of-the year giving efforts, simply and effectively? We’ve made it as easy as 1, 2, 3!
Consider
1 2 3 4 GIVING TO THE GOOD2GIVE COMMUNITY FUND
Anyone can be a philanthropist! Whether it’s $50 or $5,000, given once or multiples times, giving to the Good2Give fund ensures you make the GREATEST IMPACT with each dollar.
IMPLEMENTING LEGACY GIVING
Giving appreciated securities (stocks or mutual funds) instead of cash = NO CAPITAL GAINS TAX. Deductible at full market value up to 30 percent of adjusted gross income each year. A direct transfer of securities is a tax-smart transition!
CREATING A CHARITABLE GIVING ACCOUNT
These provide a simple, powerful, HIGHLY PERSONAL APPROACH to giving. You choose the charity, when and how much.
DOING AN IRA ROLLOVER
Are you 70 and a half or older? An IRA rollover — a qualified charitable distribution — allows you to directly transfer funds to a qualified charity. YOU CAN GIVE MORE because you don’t have to pay federal income taxes on the donated amount.
Talk to your professional advisor about the best course of action. And don’t forget to talk to Randy Redner about maximizing your giving efforts through the Community Foundation!
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6500 Sugarloaf Parkway, Suite 220 Duluth, Georgia 30097
WHY IT IS
770.813.3380 | cfneg.org info@cfneg.org
"Giving brings blessings to others as well as to us. At its core, giving is an attitude of the heart." —Sandra Strickland Community Leader
How We Impact Our Communities! Since 1985, All-Time Grant Dollars at Work in the Community Arts $4.5 million
2015 Gifts Into The Foundation
Education $13.3 million
Healthcare $19.1 million
$68.7 million
$10.9
Faith Based $10.2 million
million
2015 427
Grants
A Financial Snapshot
Grants Into The Community
$6.3
million
facebook.com/cfneg STAFF Randy Redner, Executive Director |
Community Service $21.5 million
@cfneg
#cfneg
Margaret Bugbee, Chief Financial Officer | Karyl Kaye Miller, Executive Assistant Tarina Carter, Accounting Consultant | Heather Loveridge, Marketing Consultant