Opinion

It’s Never Too Late to Start Giving Back

By Stacie Mastin, wealth advisor for Tompkins Financial Advisors

Giving back to my community is something that has been near and dear to my heart throughout my lifetime. Giving back, or paying it forward as some call it, looks and feels different for everyone; there is no one size fits all approach. Some volunteer their time, some donate goods and services and others are able to provide financial support. Regardless of how you give, the impact is profound in supporting the health and wellbeing of our communities – and businesses play a key role as well.

Philanthropy is needed all year, every year, not just during years of great hardship such as during a pandemic, though times like the ones we’ve just experienced make that need more profound. According to philanthropy research group Candid and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, more than a third of nonprofits in the U.S. are at risk of closing within two years due to the financial strains of Covid-19.

That’s why when, just about a year ago, I was asked to manage the Tompkins Charitable Gift Fund, I was honored to take the opportunity. This was an easy decision for me as it combines my passion for helping our community and my talent for managing money.

While corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained traction in recent years, with many employees saying they prefer to work for a company with a focus on giving back, it’s important that we see this less as a trend and more as a moral imperative. I’m proud to say the Tompkins Charitable Gift Fund was established 22 years ago, long before CSR was a popular term, to provide members of our community an efficient and costeffective way to provide financial support to not-for-profit organizations through a grant process. Since its inception we have distributed over $1.2 million to not-forprofit agencies throughout New York State and Pennsylvania. Surprisingly, in spite of how long the fund has been around and the financial grants given, many donors and nonprofits are unaware of this valuable resource.

It is the generosity and commitment of individuals, families and corporations that enables organizations to thrive and support the variety of ever-changing

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Wait…

By Charley Githler

Wait...I thought Afghanistan was the Soviet Union’s Vietnam. Now it’s ours? Didn’t we already have one?

Wait...I’m having a deja vu moment. I thought we were out of the COVID woods. We’re not?

Wait...Prince Andrew is cancelled? He has to ride horses and live in palaces the rest of his life? How awful.

Wait...the UN report said that unless immediate, rapid and large-scale action is taken to reduce emissions, the average global temperature is likely to reach or cross a critical warming threshold within 20 years. Shouldn’t we, like, do something?

Wait...so are cryptocurrencies nonsense? Or not? Seems like we should figure that out since the amount of energy used to mine Bitcoin now exceeds the amount of energy used by Sweden.

Wait...they’ve been washing cars and watering the desert to grow almonds in California for decades and now Lake Powell is a wading pool? Seriously, how was anyone expected to see that far into the future?

Wait...so the 2020 Census says the City of Ithaca grew by 2094 people since 2010? If we can just get 8000 more people we can justify all the new units currently being built in town!

Wait...Marjorie Taylor Greene was actually elected to the House of Representatives? By citizens? Are you sure?

Wait...the Jet Propulsion Lab and Cornell University tested the Perseverance rover on Ithaca streets to mimic surface conditions on Mars? I guess that checks out.

Wait...we’ve been printing money like cocaine-fueled counterfeiters, and now we’re experiencing ‘inflationary pressures’? Don’t see the connection.

Wait...so now Florida’s now the most backwards state in the country? Sorry, Mississippi. You’re never going to out-douche Ron DeSantis.

Wait...the My Pillow guy is a bloviating, conspiracy-swallowing, Trump-sucking, laughable-symposium-conducting buffoon? Mind blown...

Wait...I thought Andrew Cuomo was America’s Governor. And didn’t Giuliani used to be America’s Mayor? Or are they still?

Wait...Mark Zuckerberg makes money when Republican politicians run fundraising ads falsely blaming immigrants for COVID?

Wait...so the masks protect OTHER people?

Wait...it’s August 18 already. When exactly is Trump being reinstated? Couldn’t they just announce that? I can move some things around, but a little notice would be nice.

Wait...I saw a sign looking for literally every position from manager to waitstaff in front of the new Milkstand on the corner of Buffalo and Meadow Streets. How is anyone still drawing unemployment?

Wait...so I’ve actually already been vaccinated against a lot of other diseases? How long has this been going on?

Wait...should I be wearing a kevlar vest downtown? Seems like a lot of ‘shots fired’ lately.

Wait...we’re in another surge, but schools are going back to all students full-time? I guess this surge must be different from the last ones...