Don’t Miss the SBCO Fall Meeting and Golden Goose Fashion Show on October 21
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
On Monday, Oct. 21, at 3 p.m. in the MountainView ballroom, you can attend the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) Fall Kick-off general meeting, which includes the popular Golden Goose Fashion Show. This is your opportunity to learn about SBCO’s many programs to provide local youngsters with opportunities to succeed. Since 1997, SBCO has been able to:
• Feed: Raised $1,052,026 and 269,536 pounds of food donations for the Tri-Community Food Bank
• Clothe: Provided 52,162 wardrobes for kids
• Enrich: Granted $887,704 to public schools and communities for enrichment programs
• Educate: Awarded 678 two- and four-year college and vocational scholarships in addition to graduate school scholarships to local students
Find out what SBCO has accomplished during 2023-24 and what we have planned for the year ahead. And be sure to stay for the fashion show, which proves that those who shop at the Golden Goose Thrift Shop can dress well for very little money.
The Golden Goose Thrift Shop evenly divides its proceeds between SBCO and IMPACT of Southern Arizona. Whenever you donate items to the shop, buy treasures from its inventory, or work as a “gosling” volunteer, you are helping to support the work of two great local charities. Since its founding, the Golden Goose has contributed more than $20 million to these two nonprofits, changing the lives of thousands of local residents.
At the annual SBCO Walk for Kids, walkers can choose between the approximately one-mile “short walk” route and the longer 3.2-mile Ridgeview Boulevard loop.
Last Call for SBCO Walk for Kids Registrations!
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
The annual SBCO Walk for Kids will begin with a warm-up session at 8:40 a.m. followed by the walk at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26. This signature SBCO event helps support our food, clothing, enrichment, and education programs benefiting youngsters along a 100+-mile corridor from Catalina to the San Carlos Indian Reservation and the Miami school system. SBCO now also offers scholarships to students in Globe. Annually, SBCO touches the lives of approximately 4,000 students through new clothes, backpacks filled with school supplies, college scholarships, contributions to Tri-Community Food Bank, and financial support for a wide range of educational enrichment activities.
Online registration for the 2024 Walk for Kids is available at community-outreach.org. The registration fee of $35 per adult and $15 per child (ages 6 through 18) covers the cost of a T-shirt, snacks, and drinks.
Although the Sept. 26 cut-off date for guaranteeing a T-shirt in your desired size has passed, online registration using a credit or debit card is still available at community-outreach.org. In-person registration using cash or check is available every Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the SBCO office in Suite L in the SaddleBrooke business complex. Registrations will also be accepted the day of the event.
T-shirts will be available for pick-up at the SBCO office between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 21, through Friday, Oct. 25.
Gifts are wrapped, bagged, and stored until SaddleBrooke volunteers deliver them to Copper Corridor communities and the San Carlos Reservation.
Adopt-a-Family and Adopt-a Child Programs are now SBCO Holiday Adopt Program!
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
Since 2007, the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach Adopt-a-Family and Adopt-a-Child programs have provided hand-picked and carefully wrapped Christmas gifts for families in Oracle, San Manuel, Mammoth, and Apache children on the San Carlos Reservation. This year’s program is called the SBCO Holiday Adopt Program. In recent years, the program has grown to annually assist about 150 families and 230 Apache children. SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch residents provide the money and volunteer services required to make this program such a great success.
The SBCO Holiday Adopt Program is proud to support families whose children are enrolled in school districts in nearby Copper Corridor communities. Several units within SaddleBrooke have been a part of these programs for many years. We hope to have additional units join in this sharing opportunity in 2024. If you, your group, or your unit wishes to adopt a family or families in nearby Copper Corridor communities, please contact Kim Seales at [email protected]. Volunteers are also needed to help shop and wrap gifts for delivery. Likewise, contact Maggie DeBlock at [email protected] if you prefer to adopt an Apache child or children. In addition, volunteers are needed for loading and unloading the wrapped gifts.
As always, SaddleBrooke residents are encouraged to donate to the program. Since SBCO is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization (tax ID #86-0843458), all contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Please contribute between Oct. 25 and Nov. 22.
There are three ways to contribute:
1. By credit card online at SBCO (community-outreach.org) by clicking the SBCO Holiday Adopt button on the lower center of the Home page, then clicking “Click Here to Donate Online” and filling in the information on the Donation page (including your unit number).
2. Send or take a check payable to SBCO (with “SBCO Holiday Adopt” and your unit noted on the check) directly to the SBCO office at 63675 E. SaddleBrooke Blvd., Suite L, Tucson, AZ 85739 (in the SaddleBrooke Business Complex).
3. If you have a representative who is coordinating the SBCO Holiday Adopt Program for your unit, you may give the check to them.
Clean Out Your Paper Files—It’s Time to Shred!
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
Are outdated paper files taking up valuable space in your home? Gather those no-longer-needed materials into boxes or bags and bring them to the Shredding and Recycling Event on Saturday, Nov. 9, from 9 a.m. to noon (or until the truck is full). The event, hosted by Long Realty-Golder Ranch, SaddleBrooke Community Outreach, and the Beacon Foundation, will be held in the SaddleBrooke One parking lot next to the bocce ball courts.
To protect your privacy, all documents are put into containers at the drop-off site. The containers are locked and transported to the Beacon facility for shredding. In addition to documents, only computer hard drives, which may still be inside computers or laptops, will be accepted for donation/recycling.
For each bag or box of items delivered for shredding or recycling, please bring $5 or five cans of food. All donations of cash or food will benefit the Tri-Community Food Bank and the Beacon Group.
For more information, please contact Long Realty at 15250 N. Oracle Road, #110 (in the Bashas’ complex) or call 520-665-4200.
SaddleBrooke Ranch residents Tom and Kathie Marshall have used their Donor Advised Fund to support the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach Scholarship Endowment Fund and other charities.
Donor Advised Funds: A Tax-Efficient Way to Support Your Favorite Causes
Tom and Kathie Marshall
Are you Interested in charitable giving and making a difference in your new retirement community and state? You may want to consider setting up a donor advised fund as a tax-free and convenient way to consolidate your charitable giving. A donor advised fund (DAF) is a charitable investment account that can be a flexible and tax-advantaged way to support your favorite charities. DAFs can offer several benefits, including:
• Tax Deduction: You can usually take an immediate tax deduction when you contribute cash, securities, or other assets to a DAF.
• Tax-free Growth: Once invested, the funds in a DAF can grow tax-free. You can choose how your fund is invested, and some DAFs may allow you to donate complex assets like real estate, cryptocurrency, or art. You can also set aside funds for upcoming donations while investing in liquid securities or investing in other assets for longer term growth.
• Strategic Giving: You can use a DAF to support charities over time and on your own timetable. You can also maintain family involvement in charitable decisions and create a legacy.
• Simplified Giving: You can manage all your charitable giving from one account.
When my wife of 28 years passed away in 2004, I decided to set up a donor advised fund with her IRA. This is a way to directly transfer funds tax-free from an IRA to the fund. You do give up direct control of the assets, but then are able to make recommendations to the fund manager to make grants of your choosing. The DAF manager makes it all stress-free. The fund manager determines if the charity qualifies under IRS rules for the grant (usually being a 501(C)(3) charity). They take care of investing your money, delivery of the check and letter to the charity, and any additional paperwork.
In addition, the DAF website makes it easy and convenient to make grant requests, check your balance, review previous grants, set up repeating grants, and a host of other account management features.
This was a legacy as a memorial to my late wife, but eventually when I remarried, I added my wife Kathie as an authorized grantor and changed the fund name to include reference to both of our late spouses. It is now a combined family fund. Since my late wife was an educator, one portion of our charitable giving portfolio includes annual donations to the Mesa Public Schools Foundation (in Mesa, Ariz.) and the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach Endowment Fund for higher education scholarships for students in the Copper Corridor schools.
Our fund was started 20 years ago, and we have distributed about 5% each year. We are pleased to know that the fund has about 30% more than when we started!
Establishing a DAF is easy. You can talk to your financial or estate planner to learn more about it, or you can set it up with a Tucson administrator from the Arizona Community Foundation of Southern Arizona (CFSA) by going to Donor Advised Fund Form at cfsaz.org and clicking on the link or by contacting their Philanthropy Team at [email protected] or 520-770-0800.