From Our Chief Executive Officer
Holmes Hall: New Children’s Residential Program Treats the Most Complex Behaviors LifeScape has added a new residential unit in their children’s services area. Holmes Hall serves children and young adults with higher behavioral needs. It is named for the late Gaylen Holmes, in honor of his 27 years at LifeScape forerunner, Children’s Care Hospital & School.
Steve Watkins Chief Executive Officer Greetings to all friends of LifeScape. Let’s pause for a moment at this halfway point in the year 2020 to consider the word “hope.” The past few months have provided us with challenges beyond what most of us could have imagined. We are all navigating unprecedented obstacles in our personal lives and in society— while trying to remain hopeful. At LifeScape, COVID-19 has brought sorrow, inconvenience, and everything in between—and it’s far from over. The virus will remain a potential threat to all – particularly, the many high-risk people supported at LifeScape – until a vaccine is fully in place. Yet, we have seen the best in people, too. We’ve seen staff and families and the public step up in kindness and sacrifice, reminding us that there is always joy in life; there is always hope. In fact, we say that hope thrives at LifeScape. As a place of healing, caring, and support, LifeScape has an important role to play in the wellbeing of our community. LifeScape’s mission, “Empowering people to live their best life,” means we are committed to ALL individuals reaching their highest potential. These words guide what we do every day. To achieve our mission, we must address racial, ethnic, and cultural inequities daily through our defined values and culture.
Holmes Hall began operations this past spring and is designed for 15 residents from about age ten through age 21. It is located within the VanDemark and Morrison Hall area. Holmes Hall has higher staffing, all trained in applied behavior analysis (ABA) and other specialized training. Individuals referred to LifeScape specifically for intensive behavioral treatment begin their residential stay in Holmes Hall. This allows staff to assess each person’s unique needs and determine the best programming for them. It also allows staff to provide extra support as the young person gets used to living on Holmes Hall. They may or may not move on to Morrison or VanDemark Hall, depending on their needs. Like others in children’s residential programs, they attend LifeScape Specialty School. Gaylen Holmes came to the organization in 1961 as a physical therapist. He became Associate Executive Director of the school in 1970 and worked closely with founding administrator Dr. E.B. “Jon” Morrison. The two were known for creating a warm, familylike work atmosphere. Gaylen became Executive Director in 1984 when Dr. Morrison retired. “He’d go to work at 5:00 a.m. so he could talk to the overnight staff and the dietary people,” says Gaylen’s widow, Jeanelle. Ill health forced him to retire just four years later in 1988 and he died in 1997, but he left his mark. He was instrumental in starting the
organization’s Early Planning for Infants and Children program, with support from the South Dakota Elks organization. This was an outreach service that provided mobile clinics around South Dakota. LifeScape still provides outreach services to children around the state, mostly with therapies and educational and behavioral consultation.
The children’s residential halls are all named for early leaders: Besides Dr. Morrison, they are named for Dr. Robert VanDemark, longtime medical director, and Charles Austin, a Sioux Valley Hospital executive who helped launch the original “hospital and school” in 1958. The Children’s Specialty Hospital at LifeScape is alternatively known as the Irene Fisher Coon Unit, for the nurse with the idea for a combined hospital and school for children recovering from polio. Jeanelle Holmes was active in the women’s auxiliary from 1961 until just a couple of years ago. She was president of the group from 2000 to 2002 and served many years as the Wish List Disbursement Chair. The children were so important to him, says Jeanelle. She is pleased that his name will live on in with a program that helps ensure children get their best shot at a life of independence and dignity.
Jen Schaffer and Derrick Spader were the Coordinators of Support Services for LifeScape’s quarantine site, which is now closed. A second site was established but wasn’t needed. #LifeScapeHeroes signs were placed at our main locations to honor staff going above and beyond during the COVID-19 outbreak. The theme has also been used for a social media series to thank staff and community members.
“Respect” is one of LifeScape’s stated core values, and we define it as treating ALL people with dignity and recognition. Our staff feels very strongly about this value, and we will continue to model dignity and respect, every day and in all that we do. Maybe seeing respect and dignity in action will inspire others to do the same and remain hopeful. We tend to look for leaders to solve our challenges, when in reality, it starts with each one of us looking in the mirror. It starts with each one of us giving respect. When mutual respect is at the table, things progress; positive things get done. LifeScape condemns racism, bigotry, discrimination, and violence of any kind. We have a collective goal of seeing our country right these wrongs so we can build a more just and equitable society where every individual can live their best life. It starts with the R word – Respect – and it’s fueled by Hope. Keep the faith. Together we’ll get through this. With sincere thanks,
Steve Watkins LifeScape CEO
Gaylen Holmes
Heroes pic
Summer 2020 | The Journey
PorkPalooza 3 – Annual Community Event Now Supporting LifeScape! At a press conference on June 18, organizers announced that the 3rd Annual PorkPalooza in Sioux Falls will benefit LifeScape! “We are thrilled to partner with the planners of this great community event, and look forward to helping take it to a whole new level,” says LifeScape Director of Development & Public Relations Kim Haiar. “We’re excited to host it in a LifeScape parking lot this year.” PorkPalooza is great local food and entertainment with free admission! This year’s event will continue that tradition and will be bigger and better than ever. As in years past, the organizers include Frank Anderson of KBACK radio, Matt Hastad of Remedy Brewing Company, and Garrett Gross Age Media and Jekyll & Hyde Barbeque. The event this year is presented by Sammons Financial and Smithfield Foods, with Smithfield also providing ribs and roasts for the “Pork Pass” challenges on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. PP3’s new venue will be outdoors in a LifeScape parking lot (exact location TBD) and will provide more nearby parking, VIP and motorcycle parking, VIP experiences, and a larger parking lot overall for the event and vendors. Free shuttles will also be available – check the PorkPalooza Facebook page and LifeScapeSD. org for updates and announcements of shuttle locations. The event will kick off on Friday, August 28 at 5:00 p.m. with Ground Zero. The headliner on Friday night is We’re No Angels—always with a great show—so this will be an evening to remember! Friday night Pork Passes will be available for $20, which buys rib samples from eight barbeque vendors vying for your vote to win best BBQ. PP3 ends at 11:00 p.m. on Friday, and you will not go home hungry! Saturday, August 29 activities will start at 11:00 a.m. There will be activities for the kids throughout the afternoon, which will be led by our friends at Special Olympics. Bands throughout the day will be Six Feet Over, Worst Case Scenario, and GPO (Guilty Pleasures Orchestra), all leading to the night’s main event… a reunion of WAKEFIELD! Saturday Pork Passes will be available again for $20, this time for samples of pulled pork options. Saturday’s festivities end at 11:00 p.m. Proceeds from both days’ Pork Passes will benefit LifeScape, and we invite you to bring non-perishable food items to donate to Feeding South Dakota. As a thank you for bringing those items, you will receive a door prize ticket at no charge. Pop and water will also be sold by the Sioux Falls Sertoma Club, with proceeds benefitting their community activities. You may purchase other foods directly from each vendor. In addition to the BBQ food trucks, there will be other great vendors on site with food for purchase, so we encourage you to follow the PorkPalooza Facebook page for continual updates. Raffle tickets will also be available for purchase at the event for some great raffle prizes, thanks to several community partners. Also be watching for information on watch parties and other ways to participate virtually in this event. We will be working to encourage social distancing and controlling numbers on site to ensure safety. You can help us by volunteering at this great event! Please visit LifeScapeSD.org to sign up for the volunteer opportunities of your choice! You’ll get a free t-shirt and a free meal, while experiencing great music, comradery, and fun!
Ways to Give • Sustainer Club! – Set up convenient monthly gifts of $15 or more, which can even be automatically charged to your credit card or deducted from your checking account. Each year you continue your membership, an individual supported by LifeScape will receive a warm blanket in your name and you’ll receive a thank you from that individual.
• Matching Gifts – Check with your employer to see if they will match charitable contributions or volunteer hours made by their employees.
• Airline Miles – Donate your frequent flyer miles to provide transportation to children and adults in need. • Donate a Vehicle – Help provide for children and adults at LifeScape with a tax-deductible gift of a vehicle you no longer use.
From Our Foundation President
Jessica Wells LifeScape Foundation President
Compassionate Care is Possible Because of You Empowering people to live their best lives at LifeScape includes ensuring good physical and emotional health. This is provided—in part—by providing dedicated, compassionate caregivers, strong leadership, and a safety net. Supporters like you help provide that safety net in the easy and challenging times. When economics are good, your help provides for additional therapy equipment, education supplies, and enriching community activities. When times are challenging, you provide rent and food assistance for adults supported at LifeScape, personal protective equipment for our staff, and most recently, you helped to lessen the economic stressors staff are experiencing so they can come to work fully engaged to give their best selves to those they support. When schools closed, many of our staff members were suddenly faced with added hours of childcare needed for their school-aged children. For some, it was an extra $150 a week of unplanned expense. The LifeScape Foundation established an Emergency Assistance Fund to help, and you pitched in with nearly $48,000! We’ve been able to distribute over $11,000 so far to help LifeScape’s staff provide care for their children so they can continue to fulfill LifeScape’s mission during this pandemic. The Emergency Assistance Fund also helped establish two quarantine sites. These locations provided people supported by LifeScape the extra care they needed to recover and not infect others around them. At press time, all patients had been sent back to their homes from the quarantine sites, but the sites will remain in place for quarantine care as needed. We are grateful you stepped up and helped in such a meaningful way. LifeScape has been able to live our values of Integrity, Compassion, Respect, Safety & Wellbeing, Fiscal Responsibility, Excellence and Accountability because of strong support by you and our communities. Thank you for coming to our aid when LifeScape Heroes need you the most! Stay well and take care,
• Box Tops/Milk Caps – Help meet needs at LifeScape’s Specialty School by donating your Box Tops and Land O Lakes milk caps .
• Donate the interest earned at your bank through www.InterestForOthers.com • AmazonSmile – Shop at www.smile.amazon.com and designate LifeScape as your charity of choice. These are just a few of the many ways you can give to support LifeScape! To learn more, contact the LifeScape Foundation at 605.444.9800 or giving@lifescapesd.org. 3 Or, visit www.lifescapesd.org/foundation. 3
Jessica B. Wells
Wishes Granted by Ambassadors
Ambassadors grant over $123,000 to empower people at LifeScape
Adult Services • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Rent assistance Kindles to visit with families via Zoom Sign language teaching materials NuStep exercise unit Two-person outdoor swing Cricut craft cutting machine Karaoke system Art supplies Nintendo gaming system Floor puzzles Fitness games Sensory items Sensory swing Couch & loveseat Storage shed Volunteer services supplies Flat-screen TV
Children’s Services • • • • • • • • • • • •
Ventilator Eye-gaze tablet Tobii Dynavox communication device Gait trainer Therapy swing Therapy ramp PE equipment Rocker recliners Gaming recliners Classroom adaptive toys School yearbooks Kindles
Outpatient Centers • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Adjustable therapy benches Therapy tables Switch-activated toys Rocking boat for therapy Bolster glider swing Toddler bridge Bounce device Barrel swing Refrigerator for feeding therapy food Gymnastics mat Materials for autism treatment Sound machine for autism treatment Sensory gym items, swing, tunnel, etc. Highchair Power mobility trainer Weighted vests and blankets ABA therapy materials Psychological testing materials Therapy bean bags Augmentative & alternative communication programs Speech therapy materials Tobii Dynavox NuStep exercise unit Small, medium, & large gait trainers
The very best day of the year for the LifeScape Ambassadors is Wish List Disbursement Day. It’s when the fruits of their hard work for the past year are sent out to do good. On June 3, the disbursement committee met and granted $123,364.68 in wishes. Fifty-eight requests were fulfilled, either fully or partially, to empower and improve the lives of people supported by LifeScape. “It always feels good to be able to provide these things that have no other funding source,” says Wish List Disbursement Chair Paulette Fischer. “We know it makes a real difference. We receive nice notes of appreciation, sometimes with pictures of the items in use. It’s what sets LifeScape apart.” Some grants support life itself, like rent assistance for adults who live on a too-thin margin, and a ventilator for a child waiting to be admitted to LifeScape’s Children’s Specialty Hospital. High-tech communication devices will be purchased to help kids find a voice, and fun wishes were granted, like a karaoke machine for a favorite social activity. In all, the Ambassadors granted nearly $1,000 more in grants than last year! Many of you helped make this happen, by supporting the Ambassadors’ two main fundraisers, MallWalk, and One Autumn Night. MallWalk, held February 1st this year, raised $93,628. There were 39 teams with nearly 700 walkers. Our thanks to the leadership of MallWalk Chair Kathy Hammond and LifeScape Champion Lydia Van Stedum and her family who helped with promotion. Top team fundraiser was Blake’s Signing Spinners with $6,795. In second place was Smiley Goats with $6,540, and the third place winner was One Step At A Time with $2,155.
The Ambassadors purchased two Tobii Dynavox communication systems like the one shown in use here; one for the Children’s Residential/School Program, and one for outpatient services. Top Individual fundraiser was Jeff Horstmeyer with
$3,655. Thomas Ramsey came in second with $1,505, and in 3rd place was Ana’s Hearts with $1,423. Ana is also supported by LifeScape and finds joy in helping LifeScape because LifeScape helps her and her friends. MallWalk 2021 is set for February 6. One Autumn Night, held September 20, raised $34,949.33. It featured live and silent auctions, games, music by Short Notice, and a generous spread of heavy hos d’oeuvres. This year’s One Autumn Night is set for October 30 at the Museum of Visual Materials in downtown Sioux Falls. Many thanks to the Ambassadors for their fundraising efforts, and to all of you who support their events to help make the lives of children and adults supported by LifeScape so much better.
Ambassador member Marsha Heath introduces her dog, DuggyBear, to Tom Hill at one of LifeScape’s residential homes in February. She looks forward to visiting again when visitation restrictions are lifted.
LifeScape Radiothons Share Stories of Inspiration and Hope LifeScape is teaming up with great radio partners in both Sioux Falls and Rapid City to share stories of children and adults supported at LifeScape, while raising important and impactful funds. In Rapid City, we have some great new changes this year! The Hope for the Hills Radiothon for LifeScape will be on HomeSlice stations on Friday, September 18, broadcasting on location from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Kat 98.7, Fox 100.3, 93.9 the Mix, Hot 93.1, and Cowboy KKLS 104.7. We are excited to partner with the HomeSlice Media Group moving forward, and they are excited to share stories of hope, showcasing local families and children with disabilities in western South Dakota. All funds raised at the event will stay local. In conjunction with this event, local restaurants will participate in this year’s Dine Out for Kids on Tuesday, September 15, with a percentage of the day’s food and beverage sales benefitting LifeScape. If you’d like to learn how you can be a corporate partner for this event, sign on as a Dine Out restaurant partner, or volunteer, please contact Jocy Smith at 605.444.9800.
For Sioux Falls, we’ll host our 3rd Annual KBACK Rockathon for LifeScape on Thursday and Friday, September 24-25, broadcasting LIVE from LifeScape, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. each day. In between the great rock music programming on KBACK . rocks, you will hear uplifting stories about children and adults supported at LifeScape. Just as in Rapid City, there will be a Dine Out for LifeScape event in Sioux Falls on Tuesday, September 22, with participating restaurants donating a percentage of the day’s food and beverage sales. To be a corporate partner, sign on as a Dine Out restaurant partner, or to volunteer, please contact Jocy Smith at 605.444.9800. All funds raised will benefit children and adults supported by LifeScape.
Troy Chacon, 17, enjoys some time outside at LifeScape Children’s Services. Troy is from Philip, SD.
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Community Partner
Citi – Growing a Meaningful Friendship with LifeScape The relationship that Citi has with LifeScape spans back almost 40 years. Citi is not only a monetary donor supporting the children and adults we serve, but they have become a true partner for our organization. They are a friend we can count on, and we are so grateful to them. Citi supports our events through their monetary gifts, ensuring that funds support critical needs for children and adults supported at LifeScape. Recently, through collaboration with the National Disability Institute, Citi awarded LifeScape a $25,000 grant to be responsive to the needs of people with disabilities as a result of COVID-19. These funds had a direct impact on our staff and the people we support by providing additional PPE (personal protective equipment) and a higher functioning communication platform utilized by our team members. We are phenomenally grateful to Citi for making the people at LifeScape a priority. For the past several years, Citi employees have also volunteered their time to assist in hands-on needs at LifeScape through their Citi Volunteer Fair, through Citi employees working on projects during their breaks, and through volunteering at LifeScape locations for Global Community Day. When the employees come to our locations, they normally come in multiple work groups consisting of 5-10 employees, working on projects one-on-one with our children or young adults. It’s meaningful not only for the kids they impact, but also for the employees that interact and make the connections. Employees were scheduled to come to LifeScape again in June for this year’s Global Community Day, but the pandemic made the groups get a bit more creative, due to restrictions in place to protect the residents at LifeScape. Working with LifeScape’s volunteer coordinator, Becky Sluiter, the teams at Citi have come up some virtual
A group of Citi volunteers at LifeScape.
volunteer ideas, and they narrowed it down to playing Virtual BINGO with residents of one of our homes, as well as doing Armchair Exercise/Laughter Yoga with another. The Citi Family Group created cards, letters, and other things for use the day of the event. It truly meant the world to those they connected with, because it’s been so tough dealing with the COVID-19 restrictions. These virtual activities brought some much-needed sunshine and fun to their days. Becky shared, “Their employee teams always have a positive attitude, a can-do work ethic, and the ability to connect to children and young adults with disabilities supported by LifeScape to provide fulfillment and learning. Citi continues to assist LifeScape in moving in the right direction and helping people to lead fulfilling lives.” At the end of June, Becky spoke to employees receiving the President’s Volunteer Service Award at Citi’s volunteer event. LifeScape is so honored to partner with Citi on so many levels.
Suzann, a volunteer from Citi, makes cookies with Miguel, a student at Pathways to Life school at LifeScape.
New Home for Young Adults Breaks Ground in Sioux Falls! LifeScape has been awarded $902,000 from the South Dakota Housing Development Authority to build a new residential duplex in Sioux Falls. The LifeScape Continuum Home will address the need for affordable and supportive housing for young adults navigating from institutional care to home and community-based services. The Department of Human Services has provided their support for this project and is partnering with LifeScape to create new, enhanced and sustainable residential options. The program will serve as a community-based housing opportunity with dedicated behavior support and training. This housing option will provide a heavy emphasis on teaching community skills and independence. The day program will teach vocational and employment skills. The duplex is designed for eight people; four in each of the two separate units. Each unit will have four bedrooms, so each resident will have their own space. Residents from anywhere in South Dakota will be eligible to live at the Continuum Home as openings permit. Residential options for South Dakota’s young adults needing behavioral care has been a critical need for several years. The funding from the Housing Development Authority will provide a remarkable opportunity and alternative housing option for young South Dakotans with intense transition needs. LifeScape is excited to be the first community support provider in the state to offer this type of home setting.
The Continuum Home will support young adults with intensive behavioral care needs as they transition to more independent, community-based services. It should be ready for residents by the end of 2020.
LifeScape broke ground in May and anticipates finishing it by year-end. A tremendous thank you to all the staff and community partners that helped make this a reality and live out our mission: empowering people to live their best life!
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Summer 2020 | The Journey
No Limitations By guest columnist Kayley Shade My name is Kayley Shade and I was born with a genetic disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Type 2, the second most severe type of SMA. SMA is a disease that robs people of physical strength by affecting the motor nerve cells in the spinal cord, Kayley Shade taking away the ability to walk, eat, or breathe. It is the number one genetic cause of death for infants. Because of SMA, I have never walked and have required a wheelchair since I was two years old.
Despite having a physical disability and needing help with daily living, I strive to be as independent as possible. My power chair helps me achieve that independence. I can go to concerts, movies and attend sporting events. I work for the Sioux Falls Storm, an indoor football team, and my chair helps me achieve my independence. With my chair I can navigate myself at meetings and games, have private conversations pertaining to my job without an attendant present, cover a lot of ground without relying on someone else to be available to push my chair for me in the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.
tables, I can look people directly in their eyes when talking to them and people no longer have to kneel down to take a picture with me. Along with so many other things. Thanks to Jill Barron and Arlen Klämm of Rehabilitation Medical Supply and LifeScape for always knowing what chair will fit my needs and for helping me achieve maximum comfort and independence. Along with the help of Chris Rokeh and Mark Dahm who have always been able to make my crazy requests for my chair become possible.
I recently got elevation on my power chair. I now have ZERO limitations in my chair. I’m now able to see over the railings and tables, I can sit at bar
Leave a Legacy Imagine leaving a legacy that will help provide lives of dignity and fulfillment for countless people with disabilities. Through your estate planning, you can make a difference far into the future, while providing tax advantages now for yourself and your family. As you review or write your will, consider including a charitable bequest for the LifeScape Foundation. The assets you provide will be carefully invested, and only the interest is used. In this way, your gift will continue to provide for individuals with special needs indefinitely. Your attorney can advise you on the language to use. It is commonly worded as below:
I give, devise, or bequeath to the LifeScape Foundation, a South Dakota corporation, for its real purposes, all (or a fraction) of the rest, residue, or remainder of my estate whether real or personal. For more information on how you can help those supported by LifeScape—even beyond your lifetime—please call the Foundation office at 605. 444.9800.
Upcoming LifeScape Events! July 24-26, 2020: 51st Annual Winner Elks Rodeo Three days of classic
September 24-25, 2020: KBACK Rockathon Tune in for inspiring stories of
rodeo events at the Winner, SD Fairgrounds to benefit children’s outreach services across South Dakota.
children and adults being empowered, valued, and respected at www.kback.rocks – 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
August 28-29, 2020: PorkPalooza Sioux Falls Sample the area’s
October 30, 2020: One Autumn Night A fun evening of music, friendship, and
best barbecue while listening to amazing live rock & roll! This year’s event will benefit LifeScape!
food, hosted by the LifeScape Ambassadors at the Museum of Visual Materials, 500 N. Main, downtown Sioux Falls.
September 15, 2020: Dine Out for Kids-Rapid City Local restaurants
December 20, 2020: Holiday Jam with the Hegg Brothers-Sioux Falls
donate a portion of the day’s food/beverage proceeds to LifeScape in Rapid City! Check our website for participating eateries.
Tickets go on sale in October for this annual favorite at the Orpheum Theatre. Showtime is 4:00 p.m.
September 18, 2020: HomeSlice Hope for the Hills Radiothon Tune in
February 6, 2021: MallWalk This is the 27th annual fundraiser for LifeScape’s
to your favorite HomeSlice station in Rapid City for inspiring stories of children and adults being empowered, valued, and respected – 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Wish List for children and adults. It’s hosted by the LifeScape Ambassadors, and held at the Empire Mall, Sioux Falls.
September 19, 2020: 2nd Annual LifeScape Cornhole Tournament, Rapid City This year’s event will be at the Rapid City Civic Center Holiday Inn. Sign
Monthly at these Sioux Falls Dairy Queens: 10% of sales benefit LifeScape • 1st Tuesday of the month, 6:00-9:00 p.m. – DQ at 10th & Sycamore • 1st Thursday of the month, 6:00-9:00 p.m. – DQ on Minnesota Ave. • 2nd Thursday of the month, 6:00-9:00 p.m. – DQ at 26th & Marion Rd. • 3rd Thursday of the month, 6:00-9:00 p.m. – DQ at 57th & Western Ave.
up your teams beginning in July. Watch LifeScapeSD.org for the event Facebook page for details.
September 22: Dine out for LifeScape-Sioux Falls Mark your calendar and
Third Monday of the Month, September through May: LifeScape Ambassador Meetings The Ambassadors support children and adults
watch for restaurants who will donate a portion of the day’s proceeds to LifeScape!
through activities and fundraising. 11:45 luncheon meeting with speaker.
Get details on all these events at www.LifeScapeSD.org, or call the LifeScape Foundation at 605.444.9600. 7
CARES Act and Your Philanthropy – A Time to PIVOT Three Main Changes That May Influence Your Charitable Giving You likely have been keeping up with the “goings-on” in the world and may have thought to yourself, “How do I make heads or tails of all this?” We all have had to adapt quickly and learn to give each other a little more grace. Out of discomfort, comes the great opportunity to grow and make a positive impact. Taking a nod from my favorite tv show, Friends, here are a few ways you can PIVOT and make your charitable giving go even further.
Required Minimum Distributions Many of our friends choose to support LifeScape annually with a QCD (qualified charitable distribution) from an IRA or qualified plan. Based on recent legislation, if you reached the age of 70 ½ on or before Dec. 31, 2019, you can use your gift to satisfy all or part of your required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year. If you turned 70 ½ on or after Jan. 1, 2020, you can use your gift to satisfy all or part of your RMD starting at the age of 72. (Note: The RMD requirement has been waived for 2020 via CARES Act and the age requirement changed via SECURE Act).
THE PIVOT – You may still want to use your IRA to support the mission of LifeScape regardless of the change in legislation. Given that the cap on cash contributions has been lifted (addressed later in this article) you could take money out of your qualified retirement plan (rather than directing your account administrator to make the QCD), pay the income tax, then make a cash contribution to LifeScape. I highly recommend that you consult your own financial advisor first, since this may not be the best option for everyone.
Universal Charitable Deduction As we know from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017, the standard deduction nearly doubled to what it is now in 2020: $12,400/single filer, $18,650/head of household, and $24,800/married joint filers. It is estimated that over 90% of taxpayers are, in fact, taking the standard deduction. The CARES Act created a new $300 above the line deduction per taxpayer, meaning each individual taxpayer may deduct donations to charity of up to $300 on their 2020 federal tax return, even though they take the standard deduction.
Two-year-old Arlie Kraut of Rapid City gets therapy at home through Zoom from Speech-Language Pathologist Heather Bradley. Insurance companies made allowances for telehealth treatments during the COVID-19 outbreak.
THE PIVOT – Now, you may be thinking that doesn’t seem like very much in retrospect. But, if every person that loves the mission of LifeScape chose to use their additional $300 tax-deductible contribution to make an impact, imagine what we could accomplish!
Cash Contribution and AGI
Needs & Dreams Wish List
Your gift helps change lives. Here’s what your gift can buy for the kids and adults supported by LifeScape:
Big Dreams o Smart Board o Tobii Dynavox I-110 Communication Device Kameron Nelson Director of Major Gifts
For individuals, the new law raises the annual limit on cash gifts for those who itemize, from 60% to 100% of AGI in 2020. This is a one-year gift incentive that does not apply to stock (see my final PIVOT). Only contributions made in 2020 qualify, so excess cash contributions carried over from a prior year and treated as made in 2020 are not eligible. If a contribution exceeds a donor’s adjusted gross income, the excess can be carried over to subsequent years, but is subject to the percentage limitations in the carryover years if the law is not extended beyond 2020. The increased deduction is not automatic and must be elected, most likely on your 2020 tax return.
THE PIVOT – If you have had some stock values decrease in recent months, you may want to sell depreciated stock, make a cash gift and deduct up to 100% of the AGI. You may also still have other gains in the market, so you could sell the depreciated stock at a loss, offset the gain on sale of appreciated assets and make a cash contribution to LifeScape. Even if a taxpayer recognizes capital gain, a cash gift of the sale proceeds could eliminate taxation of any ordinary income, leaving only capital gains to be taxed. Additionally, a taxpayer could eliminate any taxable income tax this year by making sufficiently large cash charitable contributions. Again, I recommend consulting with your financial advisor on how to make the best decisions regarding your personal finances. Any way you spin it, LifeScape is truly grateful for your continued support of empowering people to live their best lives. Thank you for your commitment to our mission.
$2,500 o Small Hi-Lo Training Staircase o Rent Assistance o Food Assistance
$1,000 o Home Modifications o Therapy Equipment
$750 o Protective Head Gear o Parallel Bars for Therapy o Adaptive Aquatics Scholarships o Horsepower Fees
$500 o Hearing Assistive Device o Medical Bill Assistance
$200 o iPod Touch o GoTalk 4+ AAC/Communication Device
$100 o Language Builder Picture Cards o Visa Card
$50 o HyVee or Target Gift Card o Jelly Bean Switch o Paratransit Tickets
$25 o Melissa & Doug Wooden Peg o o
Puzzle Sets Restaurant Gift Cards Arts and Crafts Supplies
If you wish to donate for one of the above needs, please circle the dollar amount and check the need you’re interested in funding. Clip this form and include in the attached envelope with your gift.
Thank you!
For your generous support
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