Cause Connection March April 2020

March/April 2020
Our Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
In this newsletter we update you, our donors and friends, on LVCF’s response to the impact of
COVID-19 on the region. Please also check our website for updates: www.lvcfoundation.org.
Overwhelming Community Response
This newsletter comes about four weeks after our office closure, when our region drastically
changed in a matter of days. The following weeks proved no different, as we and our neighbors
became more deeply impacted by this pandemic. We invited you to consider a donation to the
Lehigh Valley Community Foundation COVID-19 Response Fund to assist LVCF and its regional
partners with supporting frontline nonprofits providing safety net services to individuals
impacted by this crisis. This request was met with an overwhelming community response, for
which we are so very grateful. We announced a $50,000 match, and I am happy to update you
that we met this match, so the Fund currently holds over $100,000 in regional support!
Additional $25,000 Match
We now announce an additional $25,000 matching opportunity. The needs in our community
will be great, and though $100,000 is an impressive number, we’ll need additional resources.
Our goal is to help our community in the initial stages of this pandemic and beyond, in what
could be months of rebuilding. With special thanks to the Fleming Foundation, we now
have the opportunity to inspire our community’s continuing sense of generosity as our region
recovers and rebuilds.
Please visit our website www.lvcfoundation.org for more information on how to give to the
LVCF COVID-19 Response Fund. Gifts received up to a total of $25,000 will be matched by the
Fleming Foundation.
What the Response Fund Grants Support
LVCF’s COVID-19 Response Fund provides an opportunity for individuals to support a
regional response effort and also to support other emerging issues in an informed way.
The LVCF Fund will first support a regional, coordinated effort (the Greater Lehigh Valley
COVID-19 Community Response Fund, or “GLV CV19 Fund”) to rapidly deploy resources to
community-based, front line nonprofit organizations in the Lehigh Valley.
A “Strategic Response Team” will determine the grants from this regional vehicle based
on requests from nonprofits; the Team’s front-line knowledge of needs; and data from a
recently-completed survey of nonprofits. In addition to contributing to the regional response
fund, the LVCF Fund may make grants outside of the regional effort’s scope, and the LVCF
Fund may direct resources to future phases of support.
We are so grateful for your generosity, which touches so many lives.
We’re here to answer your questions and to discuss how your support
can make a difference in helping address COVID-19.
Contact Erika Riddle Petrozelli at erika@lvcoundation.org.
Greater Lehigh Valley COVID-19 Community
Response Fund (GLV CV19 Fund)
The GLV CV19 Fund aims to strengthen
safety-net services for community members
who are disproportionately impacted by
COVID-19 in Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon
counties. This includes older adults, people
who are experiencing poverty or homelessness,
families who live paycheck to paycheck,
communities of color and those who speak
English as a second language. This Fund
provides a rapid, informed and coordinated
approach to assessing community need and
getting dollars where they are needed most.
Guided by a community-led Strategic
Response Team, one-time general operating
grants will be awarded on a rolling basis. The
Team includes representatives from funding
organizations, local government, grassroots
community organizing, community health and
those who have expertise in the fund’s focus
populations.
The first phase of grants will focus on
providing rapid and direct support to
organizations that provide critical safety-net
services including:
• Services that are providing food access
• Services for unsheltered residents and
those at risk of homelessness
• Supports for those who are economically
vulnerable to mitigate the effects of
reduced hours or lost jobs
The Fund is open for requests on a rolling
basis. The first round of grants is expected to
be made within a week. The GLV CV19 Fund is
managed and administered by the United Way
of the Greater Lehigh Valley.
Lehigh Valley Community Foundation | 840 West Hamilton Street, Suite 310 | Allentown, PA 18101 | 610.351.5353 | www.lvcfoundation.org

Make an Immediate Impact Through the CARES Act
As you may know Congress has passed a series of bills to help with the effects of the COVID-19
outbreak. The CARES Act (Coronavirus aid, relief, and economic security act) has some
provisions that address the needs of the charitable sector, and we wanted you to be aware of
some of the benefits of giving to non-profit organizations during this challenging time.
New Above-the-Line Charitable Deduction
Included in the CARES Act is a $300 above-the-line charitable tax deduction for certain
qualified charitable contributions. This will allow taxpayers who do not itemize to receive
a tax benefit for up to $300.
• Taxpayers who do not itemize can claim a deduction of up to $300.
• A qualified charitable contribution must be made in cash and cannot be
made to certain charities, including donor-advised funds, supporting
organizations, and nonoperating private foundations.
• Applicable per tax return so a couple filing a joint return is limited to a
$300 deduction at this time. Applicable to calendar year 2020 only.
• Donors may give to a wide variety of charities. There is nothing in the bill
that requires these donations to be paid only to charities working directly
with coronavirus relief.
The purpose of income tax provisions in the CARES Act is to encourage an
immediate impact in the fight against COVID-19 and the economic fallout
Increased Percentage Limitations for Charitable Contributions
For taxpayers who itemize their deductions, the CARES Act temporarily suspends or increases
certain percentage limitations for cash charitable contributions made during 2020.
• The 60% limitation on adjusted gross income (AGI) for cash gifts to public charities
is suspended for qualified contributions, so up to 100% of AGI can be deducted.
• This provision excludes contributions to donor-advised funds and supporting
organizations.
Estate Planning Attorney
Nicholas Nanovic Joins LVCF’s
Board of Governors
LVCF recently named
R. Nicholas Nanovic,
partner at Gross
McGinley, LLP, to its
Board of Governors.
Nanovic will serve
on the Community
Foundation’s
Community Relations Committee.
Nanovic leads Gross McGinley’s
Wills, Trusts & Estates Group. He
is an Accredited Estate Planner®
by the National Association of
Estate Planners & Councils and
has extensive background in
estate planning, trusts, estate
administration, taxation,
and business. Learn more...
Consider a $300 donation to LVCF’s COVID-19 Response Fund to take
advantage of a calendar year 2020 above the line charitable tax deduction
LVCF is here to help you to make an impact with
your philanthropic choices, so please contact
us to learn more about current needs in our
community and how LVCF charitable funds can
support your goals.
By Carrie Krug Nedick
Donor Services and Program Associate
carrie@lvcfoundation.org
Visit www.lehighvalleyfoundation.org/
about/annual-report and see all the
names and numbers in the
2018-19 LVCF Annual Report.
Cause Connection March/April 2020