Get on ElectionBuddy

&
VOTE * VOTE * VOTE

To vote, visit:
Election Buddy
Or copy and paste the link into your web browser

VOTING ENDS FRIDAY APRIL 30th at 11:45 p.m.

President’s Letter

As the onset of spring brings renewed life, April’s watercolor blooms bring about a beautiful feeling of excitement, knowing we will soon get back together in a more connected world.

April is also National Volunteer Month, which we celebrate by recognizing the 86 small but mighty nonprofit organizations SOS has invested in over the last 14 years. We are grateful for the incredible impact these organizations and their committed volunteers are making in the St. Louis community.

A special thank you to our board and committee members, grant review teams and the entire SOS membership for their commitment of time and funding, especially during a year that required creative solutions and enormous flexibility. It is our continued collective commitment to investing in small, but mighty nonprofits that provides them the opportunity to extend services to our community’s most under-served, and more importantly, make one more step toward creating hope and sustainability in the lives of individuals and their communities.

Important reminder…. 

As we approach our most celebrated event of the year, The SOS Spirit Awards, please commit to casting your VOTE on the 2021 ballot. We have 20 amazing nonprofit organizations on the ballot for you to learn about and vote. Don’t delay because voting ends on April 30 at 11:45 p.m.

 Thank you for your commitment to this collective investment in our community. 

Amy Garrison 
SOS President and Proud Member

Save the Date

Welcome New Members

Barb Meyer

Susan Viedt

Jennie Goode

Cami Weber

Interested in Becoming an SOS Member?

Membership in the Spirit of St. Louis Women’s Fund is open to all women.
You can join anytime.

 Interested?

Come to an informal info session on
Thursday, May 13th from 12:00-12:30 p.m. CT 

If interested please contact Katy Dowd
katydowd@hotmail.com 

Member Resources

CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) St Louis is holding a special event on

Tuesday April 27th 11:30 a.m. -1:00 p.m.
called THE COLOR OF CHANGE discussing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

The link to the event outline and registration is here - CREW St Louis – 2021-04-27 DEI.

Here is a good resource for those who are taking care of their elderly relatives. This link provides information about the 2021 course schedule hosted by former grantee VOYCE.  https://www.voycestl.org/how-help/education/resident-and-family-education/ 

Grantee Corner

Check out the great coverage for our grantee Urban Harvest STL.

Hear the story of how Urban Harvest has found creative ways to provide fresh produce to communities in need in the St Louis region.  https://www.ksdk.com/article/features/downtown-st-louis-food-roof/63-6ef767de-b479-4e58-b402-35dbb3e8b434

How Probate relates to your
Philanthropy & Why it is Bad

What is Probate? 
Probate is the court process of passing property to heirs.

When does Probate Happen? 
Probate takes place when you don’t have a will, trust or proper asset titling to direct distribution of your assets when you die. Probate of a portion of your assets (such as bank accounts and cars) can also take place if those assets or accounts are left in single name registration. You can have a will or trust, but if they are not “funded,” i.e. if your assets are not retitled correctly as POD (Payable on Death), TOD (Transfer on Death), or in the name of your trust; or moved into an account with one of those registrations, then those assets can still fall legally under Probate.

What happens during probate? 
The state of Missouri makes decisions about who gets your property under the rules of state law.

Essentially the law says a portion goes to the surviving spouse and the balance to children. Improper titling can cause assets to fall to an unintended heir or creditor. Probate involves several state-mandated fees and costs and requires a probate attorney or personal representative to resolve.

How this effects personal philanthropy?
Don’t assume your estate is too small for a trust. Also, don’t put off seeing an attorney to advise you on what’s best for your situation. Planning and documenting your intent in advance is the best way to make sure that gifts intended to your favorite charities happens.

We have Improved our Social Media Presence

Thanks to more activity and a streamlined posting schedule, we are seeing results!

For example: 226.

That’s the number of users that were reached by our 4/5/21 Facebook post that described our grant cycle process.

Some of this count is purely current followers of our page, but some of it is attributable to the 12 people who liked, commented or shared the post on their own personal pages.

When you “Like”, “Comment” or “Share” things to your own personal page, that content reaches your friends and connections which helps spread the word about SOS.

It’s the most efficient way to reach new people and spread the word about the impact SOS has in the community.

Please help us “Like” and “Follow” us on our social media platforms: Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

And when you are scrolling through your feed and see our content, engage with us. It’s as simple as that!

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/soswomensfund
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/spirit-of-st-louis-women%27s-fund-sos-
Twitter – https://twitter.com/soswomensfund
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/soswomensfund/

Be on the lookout the second part of May for profiles on all of our 2021-22 grantee organizations. They are a dynamic bunch!