dsmWealth July 16, 2020

Heather Carlson volunteers to deliver food for the nonprofit organization Al Exito.

Charitable Giving for Social Services Rising

BY STEVE DINNEN

When Des Moines tumbled into social and economic uncertainty as the pandemic enveloped it and the nation, the community responded with a robust outpouring of financial support—and continues to do so.

At the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines, there has been a 40% increase this year over last in grants from donor-advised funds that are handled by the organization. That’s $12.35 million that has been directed toward charitable causes, and Lynn Yontz and Angie Dethlefs-Trettin, officers at the foundation, note that social services are now the leading category for donations, supplanting education.

The foundation also reports that there has been a whopping 173% rise in usage of its GIVEdsm platform, www.givedsm.org, which showcases dozens of charities and alerts readers to their financial needs (and allows donations at the touch of a button).

Started with a $200,000 kitty from the foundation and United Way of Central Iowa, a separate Disaster Recovery Fund has collected more than $1 million from businesses and individuals that supports charitable organizations working on the front lines with people affected by the pandemic. Money has gone, for instance, to the Des Moines Area Religious Council, Iowa Legal Aid and the Food Bank of Iowa.

A good example of how charitable dollars are being put to new uses is found at Al Exito, a nonprofit group that works statewide to build leadership potential among young Latinos. Due in large part to its connections to the immigrant community, Al Exito has pivoted from that traditional role and now is providing financial support for rent, utilities and food to people left out of COVID-19 relief programs.

“We serve undocumented families,” said Dawn Oropeza, executive director at Al Exito. “Most had no income coming in. No access to aid.” When someone without documents loses a job, there is no state or federal jobless pay to support them. There is no federal stimulus pay, either, even if they have paid income taxes.

This has been an all-hands-on-deck situation for charitable organizations, both for fundraising and disbursement. Money for Al Exito’s work, for instance, has come from the Recovery Fund. Other support for Al Exito has come from the First Unitarian Church and the Mid Iowa Health Foundation. And its outreach efforts have been joined by the American Friends Service Committee and Proteus Inc. Together they have formed an Immigrant Emergency Fund. And most of the financial support for all of these groups has come from the people of Des Moines who are battling the financial challenge posed by the coronavirus.

Giving Back: Trudy Holman Hurd

BY STEVE DINNEN

David Hurd and Trudy Holman Hurd spent decades supporting nonprofit organizations in Des Moines, from arts and culture to social service agencies.

David, a retired CEO of Principal Financial Group Inc., died in 2016, leaving Trudy to carry that gifting banner on her own. She has held it high, now more than ever as she sees a clear need to support organizations that are striving to help people affected by the pandemic and its economic whiplash.

“The needs are just endless,” she said, as she ticked off just a few of the nonprofit groups that have caught her attention: the Des Moines Area Religious Community, Eat Greater Des Moines, Urban Dreams and Creative Visions. She called out Family Promise of Greater Des Moines, which provides short-term housing for families and uses the time with them to develop skills with parents that hopefully will lead them to stable employment.

It’s a big job, supporting all these charities. But Hurd doesn’t shirk from it. And she applauded what she views as generous citizens of Des Moines, who see needs to be met and respond positively. “Anyone who is able, has the responsibility,” she said.

Tech Analyst: Tesla Is 'Miles Ahead of Competitors'
BY BRIAN SOZZI FOR YAHOO FINANCE

With all due respect to the new Ford Bronco, it’s Tesla stock price that is the true wild horse right now.

And it’s a horse destined to gallop further up the mountain, says Wedbush tech analyst and Tesla bull Dan Ives.

“Tesla is miles ahead of competitors,” Ives said on Yahoo Finance's The First Trade. “It’s going to dominate 80% to 90% of the EV [electric vehicle] market share going forward and have what I believe could be 1 million deliveries by 2022. And remember, right now Tesla is a Teflon-like model.”

Ives has a neutral rating on Tesla’s stock and a base case $1,250 price target. He thinks the stock could have potential to $2,000, and continues to be among the more upbeat on Tesla’s future from around Wall Street.

For Tesla investors, to say they have been on a wild ride of late would be an understatement.
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Growth Stocks Outperform Value Approach

BY CHRIS TAYLOR FOR MONEY MAGAZINE

It’s one of the most enduring stock market debates of all time: Value versus growth.

In recent years, though, it’s been a pretty one-sided bout.

A growth-oriented investing approach has walloped value for years, and in 2020 in particular, the referee might have to step in and stop the fight.

In the year’s first half, according to research shop Morningstar, the firm’s U.S. Growth Index is beating its U.S. Value Index by more than 33 percentage points – a 14.9% gain, versus an 18.5% decline. If things stay that way, it would be growth’s biggest rout since the heady days of 1999.

“Growth has been running up the score for years now,” says Dan Lefkovitz, a strategist on Morningstar’s index team. “The duration of the outperformance, and the magnitude in 2020, is pretty jaw-dropping.”
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