IRA Charitable Rollover Extended & Youth Services Guide Use Growing

Do you care about homeless youth in Washoe County?  The Community Foundation cares and is committed to improving the situation for these most vulnerable young people.  You probably know about RenoYouthNetwork.com, the on-line resource for homeless and struggling youth ages 12 to 24. It was created by the Foundation so everyone: youth in need, social workers, case managers, and you and I, can easily find and connect to local youth services. The website analytics for RenoYouthNetwork.com track visits to the site.  As of December 10, RenoYouthNetwork.com has been used for 927 successful searches (a 95% success rate). The top three types of services being searched are: 1.education 2.housing 3.health services Additionally, we began more detailed tracking of the website beginning in November through Blue Host’s AW Stats program. During November, there were 156 unique visitors to Reno Youth Network, and a total of 241 site visits. In comparison, October showed 46 unique visitors and 75 site visits. The Foundation Initiatives Director, Nick Tsheekar, is making presentations and demonstrating RenoYouthNetwork.com to potential user groups such as Washoe County Social Services and Court Appointed Special Advocates. Site visits increase directly after organizations have witnessed the usefulness of the website. Now that the website has been live for several months and more service providers and schools are becoming aware of RenoYouthNetwork.com, I believe we will continue to see an increase in searches which means more young people will be connected to important services If you want to download the icon/link for this resource to your smart phone, just pull out your phone and click on this video link for more information and instructions. BIG NEWS. Last Tuesday the Senate passed HR 5771, extending the IRA charitable rollover.  Donors age 70 ½ and older may transfer up to $100,000 from their IRA to a qualified public charity.  The transfer will be made free of federal income tax and the gift qualifies for the donor’s 2014 required minimum distribution (RMD). You can find  a good description of the IRA charitable rollover  here.  If you would like to learn more or talk with me about this opportunity please call right away! Best wishes to you and yours!  The Community Foundation office will be open until 5pm on December 31. If you have any last minute giving for 2014, please give me a call. We connect people who care with causes that matter. Chris Askin, President & CEO 775-333-5499