Spring Lake Village residents responded to the challenge from the Outreach Committee in December to support The Living Room with generous contributions of $28,500.

The Spring Lake Village Outreach Committee started 20 years ago in 2001 with the mission to support charitable activities in the Sonoma County community through direct services and fundraising. The committee limits annual fundraisers to three per year. In 2020, residents focused on the specific needs of housing (raising money for Habitat for Humanity, Sonoma County), childhood education (the Head Start program in Sonoma County), and hunger and homelessness (The Living Room).

When the pandemic hit, The Living Room, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping women and children who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless, transitioned to a crisis center. The SLV donations will be used to provide hot take-out meals at a pick-up window, taking meals into community shelters, and providing information services to women and children in need of help in Sonoma County.

All of these services are provided in a manner that strictly observes social distancing and minimizes exposure to the volunteers and those in need in these vulnerable times. “We are overcome with the generosity of Spring Lake Village residents,” writes Director Rebecca Rogoway. “Thank you all, each and every one of you.”

The post Spring Lake Village Residents Support Community Food Relief with $28,500 appeared first on Front Porch.

Market Day, a Covia Community Services program designed to offer pop-up produce markets in accessible locations such as senior communities, senior centers, and churches, made the difficult decision to temporarily close its events starting in mid-March in light of the risk they might present to seniors and volunteers alike. But the team is working behind the scenes to provide new, creative ways to get fresh produce to seniors without exposing them to risk of infection. 

“Covia knows that our clients, residents, and neighbors are all dealing with a lot of challenges during this pandemic,” Market Day posted on its Facebook page. As a result, “During the month of April, Covia offered produce delivery for free to older adults and community members.”

In April, Covia employees and volunteers wearing masks delivered bags of produce to 1,593 seniors living in twelve locations that normally host Market Day, ranging in location from Santa Rosa in Sonoma County to Pomona in Southern California. Each delivery contained a variety of fresh produce, from blueberries to broccoli, pears to zucchini, along with a pound of rice.

“The gesture alone helped my spirits,” said a resident of Presidio Gate Apartments, a Covia Affordable Community in San Francisco. “The bananas and berries were most appreciated and the sweet potatoes were good mashed.”

“I can’t tell you how much the groceries will be appreciated by my residents,” said a staff person at Cottonwood Place in Fremont. “I’ve seen the need for food increasing. This is so generous of Covia and it is definitely needed…We will get through this all together.”

As for the Market Day team, “We can’t wait to celebrate all our volunteers when our Markets open again soon!”

Market Day is a program of Covia Community Services. Find more information about Market Day or make a donation to support this vital program here.

The post Market Day Delivers appeared first on Front Porch.

To fulfill this commitment, we raise more than $2 million annually through the Covia Foundation and pledge 2% of Covia Communities’ annual gross revenue towards our charitable activities. Most importantly, we strive to live out our values in everything we do. We couldn’t be more proud of the work our staff, our residents, our donors, and our organization do all year round.

Our Calendars are Always Full

We have a multitude of programs and services dedicated to supporting our residents, our communities, and seniors who live in and around the areas we serve. This year’s Social Accountability Report looks at a year in the life, so you can see a sampling of the ways we help seniors every day. The report highlights the impact our work is having in the communities we serve.

Click here to download a copy of Covia’s 2018 Social Accountability Report.

The post A Year in the Life: Social Accountability Report 2018 appeared first on Front Porch.

While the primary motivation for most charitable gifts is a desire to make a difference, not simply tax breaks, good financial planning leaves more for charitable gifts. Donors are paying attention to the impact of the new tax law – and making plans to maximize the difference their gifts can make.  The Covia Foundation offered several workshops this year on maximizing your charitable contribution and offers the following strategies you can use for your own planning purposes.

The new tax law that went into effect for 2018 nearly doubles the standard deduction to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for married couples filing jointly. That means fewer Americans will itemize deductions on their tax returns – including charitable gifts.

Using tax-smart giving strategies can allow some donors to give more and enable others to grow their initial contributions tax-free until funds are disbursed to designated organizations:

APPRECIATED STOCK:

One strategy is to donate appreciated assets such as stocks or real estate directly to a charity. Donors receive the fair-market value of the asset at the time of the gift as a charitable deduction – without incurring the capital gains tax they would face if selling an appreciated asset outright. The charity then liquidates the asset and puts the funds to work to make a difference.

IRA CHARITABLE ROLLOVER:

Taxpayers over the age of 70 ½ can plan a Qualified Charitable Distribution from their Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA). Diverting some or all of the required minimum distribution from an IRA can provide financial benefits. While the distribution doesn’t count as a charitable deduction, it also doesn’t add to the donor’s adjusted gross income – which can reduce income taxes (and possibly Medicare premiums). Up to $100,000 annually may be requested as a Qualified Charitable Distribution.

DONOR ADVISED FUNDS:

Donors can make several years’ worth of charitable gifts in cash or appreciated assets to a donor-advised fund. This strategy can provide an immediate tax deduction on the amount contributed and allows the donor to direct gifts from the fund each year to the charities he or she supports.

Charities are able to continue their work in good part because of the support of people who care about making a difference. Planning ahead gives you the opportunity to make an even bigger impact with your charitable dollars. Generosity combined with knowledge can make all the difference in the world.

If you would like to attend a future charitable giving forum, please contact Michelle Haines, Covia Foundation Development Associate, at mhaines@covia.org. And to join our effort to provide life-changing support for seniors, please visit our secure online donation page.

The post Making the most of your charitable giving appeared first on Front Porch.

It is money grubbing time again. Buy, buy, buy, and then buy more. For those of us who stress about what to buy, discombobulation can smash our frames of mind. Mettle is challenged. Yet it need not be that way. Here are some ways of giving that are guaranteed to please and leave your purse or wallet untouched. Rank and randy commercialism be damned! Embrace the wonders of giving simply. Curiously they are worth more than money could ever buy. They are fun for you too.

First. Make two phone calls per day to friends or family that you have not spoken with for a long time. This is personal and profound. It is not a mass-produced card. The personal touch is rarely practiced in this era of electronic babble. You too will be enveloped in the warmth and surprise of the call. If you don’t know the person’s phone number, it is easy to find and free. Ask me and I’ll teach you how to do it.

Second. Write three short hand-written notes daily for 30 days. The message need not be long. Just one sentence or phrase – just like on the $2 cards. Example: “I appreciate hearing your cheerful voice when I call. Thanks.” It’s the personal touch that does the trick. Such touches are scarce these days. A written note takes a minute or so to write. By the end of 30 days you will have brought some warmth into the lives of nearly 100 people! That’s a quiet antidote to the current climate where insults, blame saying, arrogance, and egotism seem to flourish unchallenged.

Third. Here’s some gifts for close friends and family. Write a simple story about an earlier experience, perhaps shared or perhaps not. Each of our apartments is full of things with stories. I’ve given some in my family treasured seasonal decorations along with stories about what our family was like when we used the decoration. I described some of the traditions and the circumstances of that earlier time. Scooter wrote a story about her family and the world during the year before each of her kids was born. Whew! What a treasure.

Think simple giving. That may just be our way to put the human spirit back into the holidays and to penetrate those thick bastions of religious traditions and beliefs.

This is a season when many faiths celebrate the good in us all. A leader of the Hasidic Jews observed: “Everyday life is hallowed, and each of us is responsible for the bit of existence that has been entrusted to our care.” Let’s keep the traditions of giving centered on people.

The post Holiday Giving – The Magic of Simple appeared first on Front Porch.

All of us want to share our deepest gratitude to all of our supporters. Your support will help seniors living in Covia’s Affordable Housing communities as well as those living in their own homes throughout the Bay Area. The funds from the Celtic Cup provide vital services such as nutrition, emergency assistance and a community of support for thousands of low-income and isolated seniors.

Fore! Golfers Out In Force

It was a beautiful day on the picturesque Orinda Country Club course. More than 120 golfers brought their best game on a picture perfect day. Congratulations to this year’s tournament winners!

1st place: Dennis Colvin, Al Climent, Jeff Hyer, Michael Ofstedahl.
2nd Place: David Chin, Terry Gilmore, John Fradelizion, Ken Keeney.
3rd Place: Matt Baldwin, Wally Baldwin, Bill Gilmartin, Steve Spina.

Kudos to the course contest winners!

• Closest to the Pin – Men: Dave Ring
• Closest to the Pin – Women: Ginni Henri
• Most Accurate Drive – Men: Dave Costello
• Most Accurate Drive – Women: Dee Ann Campbell

Celtic Cup Presented to Long-time Supporters

Special thanks to the recipients of the 2018 Celtic Cup, Bill and Connie Ring. The Celtic Cup honors those who have provided dedicated support to the Covia Foundation in its service to seniors. Bill and his wife Connie helped kick off the inaugural Celtic Cup in 2012 and Bill has served as emcee of the evening gala and live auction for seven years running. President and CEO Kevin Gerber presented the Rings with the Celtic Cup to conclude the gala dinner. Congratulations, Bill & Connie!

Click here to find more photos from this year’s Golf Tournament and Gala Dinner.

Thank you, Sponsors, Staff, and Friends

Many thanks to our 2018 Gold Sponsors:

And to our generous Silver Sponsors:
City Building, Inc.
Morrison Community Living
Nelson T. Lewis Construction Co., Inc.
PharMerica
T.C. Castle Construction, Inc.
Ziegler

Join Us Next Year!

We hope you’ll join us for the 8th Annual Celtic Cup in 2019. If you have any questions about this year’s event, please contact Michelle Haines at 925.956.7448 or visit our website at celticcup.org. Find out more about the Covia Foundation, what we support, and how to give here.

The post 7th Annual Celtic Cup a success! appeared first on Front Porch.