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SRQ DAILY Jun 6, 2016

Monday Business Edition

Monday Business Edition

"The advantage is that when you have an IRA, the money is tax-deferred but when you take it out, Uncle Sam is taking a portion of the income."

- Evan Guido, Baird Financial Advisors
 

[Tourism]  Florida Travelers Lifestage Segmentation
Diana Morales

Florida tracks visitor volume, spending and other patterns by lifestage segmentation. The chart, provided by Visit Sarasota, shows the lifestyle segments of US travelers in comparison to Florida travelers. Florida captures a greater share from four lifestages: maturing and free, affluent family, moderate mature and affluent mature. This shows that more visitors for Florida fall within the affluent and maturing lifestages. 

[Philanthropy]  Change in Gifting Law Permanent
Jacob Ogles, jacob.ogles@srqme.com

An extension of a law protecting certain philanthropic gifts from taxation has been permanently extended by Congress, and development directors for charities along the Gulf Coast are busy reminding people of the change.

The IRA Charitable Rollover Law for this year and beyond allows people who are more than six months past age 70 to donate up to $100,000 from an Individual Retirement Account without having to pay any income tax on the donation. Evan Guido, director of the Evan Guido Group at Baird Financial Advisors, said the change should benefit both charities and donors. “The advantage is that when you have an IRA, the money is tax-deferred but when you take it out, Uncle Sam is taking a portion of the income,” he said. With the rollover law, the money being given never gets taxed in that fashion.

And nonprofits in the region want donors taking advantage of this exemption. The Sarasota Ballet on its website calls it “a nice, simple and effective way of making a charitable gift.” The Ringling suggested it as “an excellent way to provide support for your favorite projects” in a fundraising email. The YMCA Foundation posted a frequently asked questions guide on the matter and directed Sarasota donors to call a staff person in this area for more details.

Guido said donors ought to keep certain restrictions in mind. While the gifts can be used for pledges, "you may not receive anything (other than an intangible religious benefit) from the charity as a quid pro quo for your contribution,” he noted. “The charity must provide you an acknowledgement stating the amount of the charitable distribution and that no goods, services or benefits of any kind were or will be provided to you in consideration for the distribution from the IRA. Also, the contribution cannot go to a donor-advised fund, supporting organization or private foundation.” And you cannot make the distribution from a Simplified Employee Plan or a Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees if an employer contribution is made for the same year. 

[Entertainment]  WEDU PBS Partners with Ringling, Semkhor
Philip Lederer, Phil.Lederer@srqme.com

With construction of the soundstage and post-production complex at Ringling College of Art and Design still underway and on course to be fully operational by 2017, WEDU PBS last week signed a letter of intent to partner with Semkhor Networks and the college to develop a wide range of future content utilizing the incoming facility. “There’s probably not a market outside of Tampa and St. Pete that’s more important to us than Sarasota,” says Susan Howarth, president and CEO of WEDU. “Having a home base in Sarasota makes perfect sense.”

With the first stage set to open in late 2016, the Ringling complex will eventually offer five stages and a host of post-production facilities such as editing bays and mixing booths, all available to commercial partnership with organizations open to working with Ringling students.

For WEDU, covering stories in Sarasota usually means sending a single camera or production truck to the city for a day and then leaving. “But that’s not a very efficient way to do the programming we want to do,” says Howarth, “and we’ve always been interested in doing more in Sarasota.” The last few times WEDU sent production teams to Sarasota, they ended up working at Ringling anyhow, she adds. With this more official partnership and the arrival of new resources, Howarth already plans to expand current programming such as Florida This Week, Suncoast Business Forum and Up Close to Sarasota and produce local content with the college.

Beyond that, Howarth says WEDU would be open to creating original Sarasota-specific programming and fielding ideas from student collaborators for TV or web content. “I know they’re very talented,” she said, “and will bring a lot to our productions.” And with the PBS affiliation, she adds, the opportunity exists in the future to distribute Sarasota content elsewhere.

“[WEDU is] a perfect fit and you couldn’t ask for a better first response,” said David Shapiro, founder and owner of Semkhor Networks, which has worked in partnership with Ringling College to bring commercial projects and Hollywood stars in to work with students and now with the new facility. “We’re very excited by the expertise and programming that they’re bringing.” 

[Hires]  Kisser and Watkins Join Habitat Sarasota

Habitat for Humanity Sarasota added Lynn Kisser and Carl Watkins to their Board of Directors. Kisser is the vice president of the Retail Outlet Stores at Westpoint Home and Watkins is the financial planner at Allegiant Private Advisors. The new members will each be serving a two-year term. 

Habitat for Humanity Sarasota

[Recognition]  RE/MAX Alliance Climbs In Rankings

With locations throughout Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties, RE/MAX Alliance Group has climbed in rankings from No. 8 to No. 7 in the country and No. 19 to No. 15 in the world based on transactions. As the Florida Multi-Office Brokerage of the Year, RE/MAX has been acknowledged for conducting business with pride and integrity and continues to lead Florida as the No. 1 office in the state for both transactions and sales volume. 

RE/MAX Alliance Group

[Recognition]  Fowler-Hermes Earns Board Certification

Jennifer Fowler-Hermes, a Williams Parker attorney, has achieved the board certification in Labor and Employment Law. She represents private, public, for-profit and not-for-profit employers of all sizes in litigation matters. Fowler-Hermes has experience in representing clients before state and federal courts and administrative agencies in a variety of employment matters. 

Williams Parker

SRQ Media Group

SRQ DAILY is produced by SRQ | The Magazine. Note: The views and opinions expressed in the Saturday Perspectives Edition and in the Letters department of SRQ DAILY are those of the author(s) and do not imply endorsement by SRQ Media. Senior Editor Jacob Ogles edits the Saturday Perspective Edition, Letters and Guest Contributor columns.In the CocoTele department, SRQ DAILY is providing excerpts from news releases as a public service. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by SRQ DAILY. The views expressed by individuals are their own and their appearance in this section does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. For rates on SRQ DAILY banner advertising and sponsored content opportunities, please contact Ashley Ryan Cannon at 941-365-7702 x211 or via email

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