Another cohort of the Snow-Redfern Foundation Root2Rise program has concluded, and four brilliant young ladies successfully completed the workshop series and earned a $2,000 scholarship that will be used to promote their future career goals established during the program.

The participants of this fall cohort included Kaylee Henthorn of Alliance, Grace Dean of Bridgeport, Regan Anderson of Lakeside, and Mandie Ylander of Alliance.  They attended 6 virtual workshops and completed their own growth map, outlining plans for their future, which aligned with scholarship funds each received.

Snow-Redfern Foundation’s founder, Arvilla, was a strong, independent, female leader who believed that there is great worth in every young person; and as such, each one is a community asset with vast potential for self-defined success.  We celebrate her through this program.

This program is a priority experience for young women interested in growing their leadership potential through exposure to important topics affecting women in leadership roles today. The virtual six-workshop series creates space
for 16-19 year old female-presenting participants to engage in valuable group discussions with other professional women.

The workshop is facilitated by Dr. Maya Chilese, an organizational anthropologist and the founding principal of Blue Agate Collaborative, LLC. Dr. Chiles.  She has over 20 years’ experience in health and human service systems of care at the local, regional, state and national level and uses her gifts and talents to guide the R2R participants through a unique experience, with learning opportunities provided by various guest speakers, all of whom are strong women leaders in their fields of practice.

December 2023, Alliance, NE –The Snow-Redfern Foundation nominated three new board members

 The Snow-Redfern Foundation (SRF), which provides funding support to youth-serving system of care partners across Nebraska, has announced its 2024 board of Directors.  The SRF Board of Directors provides leadership and strategic direction to guide the foundation’s mission to empower youth, inspire change makers, and energize partnerships for impact.

Nominated to the SRF Board of Directors to serve their first term include Jordan Diedrich with Twin Cities Development in Scottsbluff/Gering, Stephanie Vadnais with Nebraska Children and Families Foundation in Lincoln, and Brett Omar with Seasons of Hope Counseling in Alliance.

“Our board members play a vital role in elevating the voices of the communities in which they live, work, and raise families, while supporting the vision to ensure Nebraska youth thrive within inclusive communities and participatory systems of care.  By adding innovative board members from across the state, we have created an environment of shared learning and growth that contributes to the diversity of our work for and with youth”, said SRF Executive Director, Sara Wilcox.  “I would also like to extend gratitude to our departing board members, Brooke Shelmadine with Box Butte General Hospital and Shelmadine Print Shop in Alliance, Nathan Jaggers, a practicing attorney in Alliance, and Jenny Lanik with Alliance Public School in Alliance”.

The SRF Executive Committee nominated for 2024 includes:

  • President: Mara Andersen, Fox Creek Fundraising
  • Vice President/Past President: Denis Harris, Parker Hannifin
  • Secretary: Sean Ridgeway, First National Bank of Omaha
  • Treasurer: Dustin Chester, Nebraska Bank

Returning board members include:  Leslie Shaver, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Tom Elliot, Elliott & Son, Inc., Alliance; Teresa Sanders, Diamond T Livestock Services, Alliance; Andrew Hunzeker, EducationQuest, Scottsbluff; Rob Eirich, UNL Extension, Scottsbluff; Karla Bennetts, Families CARE, Kearney; Rosey Higgs, Nonprofit Association of the Midlands, Omaha; and Megan Walter, Omaha Public Power, Omaha.

ESTATE AND INHERITANCE TAXES

by Patricia Jones, Alliance Community Task Force: Creating Opportunity

When a person dies, their assets could be subject to estate tax at the federal level and inheritance tax in Nebraska. Both of these were designed to limit the transfer of wealth to people who were not involved in earning it, and they are controversial.

Federal estate taxes were created in 1916, taxing estates valued at over $5 million. This amount changed to $50 million in 1932. In 1940 it dropped to $10 million, then $5, then $3. In 2002-2007 estates worth more than $2 million paid the tax. The exemption amount has increased annually since then.

In 2023, the federal estate tax applies only to estates worth more than $12.92 million. For a married couple, that is a combined exemption of $25.84 million. Only the amount over that threshold is taxed, and the rates are progressive. The first $1 million (over the $12.92 million) is taxed at lower rates – from 18% to 39%. Everything above that is taxed at 40%. This tax applies to about one tenth of one percent of Americans.

One of the reasons people argue that federal estate tax should be eliminated is the fact that there are ways to avoid paying anything at all. Every year, married couples can give away a certain amount in tax-free gifts to other people, including family members.  The annual gift tax limit is currently $16,000 per person. So, a husband and wife could each give away $16,000 every year for a combined $32,000 in annual tax-free gifts. Through annual gifts, married couples can reduce the value of their taxable estate while benefiting their intended beneficiaries.

Estate taxes can often be avoided by setting up a trust. Most trusts give the surviving spouse rights to the assets, with no estate tax on the assets put into this trust. For example, the surviving spouse can draw income from the trust, live in the house, etc. When the surviving spouse dies the trust assets are distributed to the intended beneficiaries.

A charitable trust names a charitable organization as the beneficiary of the trust assets. Assets in the charitable trust can include cash, stocks, real estate, and other property. There is a reason why the super-wealthy have foundations in their names.

A family limited partnership (FLP) is beneficial because it allows family members to pool their assets and then shift them to other members in the family, and it is common in agriculture. The assets you put into an FLP and transfer to others are taken out of your estate, with significant estate tax savings. FLPs offer a strategy for family farms to transition the farm on to the next generation. The older generation manages the operation at first, and the younger generation can, over time, take over the operation.

Nebraska is one of six states that collects an inheritance tax, and counties collect and use this tax. Inheritance tax is not calculated on the total of the estate; it is collected on the amount paid to each person who receives something from the estate.

The tax is levied on Nebraska property inherited from parents, siblings, extended family, and non-relatives. Spouses are exempt and inherit tax-free. Other beneficiaries inherit a certain amount tax-free, but then pay based on their relationship to the deceased. When property is inherited from immediate family members, the value worth more than $100,000 is taxed at 1%. Property inherited from near relatives is taxed at 11% for the part that is worth more than $40,000, and property inherited from distant relatives and non-relatives worth more than $25,000 is taxed at 15%.

The Revenue Committee of the Nebraska Legislature is considering advancing a constitutional amendment, LR23CA, to end inheritance tax. If approved, this would be on the ballot in the next general election for voters to decide.

If these two “death taxes” are ended, we must remember that the dollars collected from them must be made up with other taxes. This would be one more example of transferring tax obligations from the wealthy to those with no assets, again raising taxes on low-income households.

As you consider the benefits of leaving your legacy for the next generation, consider non-profit organizations, such as Snow-Redfern Foundation.  We build partnerships with communities and utilize data to determine how your gifts can best meet the needs of children.  For more information, please contact us or learn more at: https://www.snowredfern.org/give-today

CARE in Central Nebraska

On any given day in Central Nebraska, you can find one of the dedicated employees of Families CARE supporting and advocating for parents, youth, and children.  With funding support from Snow-Redfern Foundation and other vital sources, this non-profit family organization provides services to parents who have children with emotional, behavioral, or mental health challenges.

Parent Voice

Among the many services and supports they provide, teaching parents that they (as parents) are the most important voice in their children’s lives is the most important. Advocacy and support are provided by peers; parents who have lived experience to share with other parents, and includes helping them identify their strengths, needs, and goals, developing strategies to meet their goals, sharing resources and service referrals, supporting them at school meetings, team meetings, or court, providing support groups for parents and youth/children, offering special events, and providing the partially Snow-Redfern Foundation funded Wellness Café.

Wellness Café Support groups are offered to youth in two age groups:  Middle School (5th-8th grade) and Young Adult (9th grade – college).  Meetings consist of time to connect and eat together, activity and hands on learning, sharing and success stories for growth.

Opportunity for Connection

Executive Director, Karla Bennetts, said “this model provides youth an opportunity to build connection and add informal supports through their peers”.

All activities provide youth with a new skill or tool they can utilize in their journey to live a life of wellness.  The discussions provide youth an opportunity to learn, connect and share.  Youth learn from one another and gain support as they share their stories of challenges and successes.

Youth Voice

“Youth voice is prioritized with youth establishing comfort rules for their groups and what they wanted to learn about, discuss and do at future meetings”, said Karla.

To learn more about Families CARE and the work they do to support parents, youth, and children, check them out at: What We Do – FamiliesCare.org Parent AssistanceFamiliesCare.org Parent Assistance

                  

There’s Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, even Children’s Day in some countries around the world. But what about a Family Day — a day where we can celebrate and appreciate all members of the family in one wonderful day?

Well, there is a day for that, too, and it’s called International Day of Families. It’s held May 15th every year, and is a great way to celebrate our own families and families around the world. Happy International Day of Families.

What Is International Day Of Families?

International Day of Families, or International Family Day, is a global observance that’s celebrated each year on May 15th. While it’s not a public holiday, the day celebrates the importance of families, people, society, and cultures around the world. Its aim is to raise awareness of issues relating to families across the globe, while giving attention to the fact that families are the basic unit of a society.

On this day, we must recognize that some families are facing hardships, while also being grateful for our own families. This day can be what you make of it. It’s a day to celebrate your family and acknowledge what your family means to you.

Some things we can see on or leading up to International Day of Families each year are awareness-raising events, broadcasts, media reports, and national family days.

For example, many families play a role in their children’s education, even as they get older.  Snow-Redfern Foundation is here to celebrate you and your family as you work towards your degree and a rewarding career.

Why International Day Of Families Is Important

International Day of Families is important for several reasons. Not only does it raise awareness about issues impacting families globally, it reminds us how crucial family is to society. Without family, many of us would not be where we are today.

Family raises us in our formative years until we become adults. While not every family is perfect and there are certainly people who do not have good relationships with their families, you can use this day to celebrate whomever it is in your life that you consider “family” — even if they may not be blood relatives.

 

A Tribute to Arvilla Snow-Redfern

The Young Women’s Leadership Program is being developed as a tribute to our fearless founder, Arvilla Snow-Redfern.  For decades she dedicated her life to growing great kids that came to her ranch in need of structure, skills, nurturing, discipline, and purpose.  She created an endowment for the express purpose of ensuring perpetual support of kids that needed what she so openly provided in her lifetime.

We think that implementing a program that is specifically aimed at creating opportunities for young ladies to gain experiences, skills, and self-awareness of their innate leadership potential is a project worthy of Arvilla’s respect and approval.  Afterall, who better to emulate a program than our fearless female leader who was developing structured programming long before it was considered “proper” for a woman to be doing.

“The first year of the Young Women’s Leadership Program is underway and has been structured as a pilot project.  This allows us to test various aspects of the framework so we can strengthen the overall program design and content for future cohorts.  It also provides opportunity to elicit input from a cohort of young women as we develop the program parameters, including curricula design and logistics”, said Teresa Sanders, Snow-Redfern Foundation board member and Young Women’s Leadership Committee Chairperson.

Kick-Off

The program kicked off on February 20 with a focus group facilitated by ToP facilitator and Executive Director of Panhandle Partnership, Faith Mills.  Six high school girls from Gering, Scottsbluff, Morrill and Hemingford shared their voices in this robust conversation in a beautiful venue that was donated by another strong female leader in our community.

Lisa Weborg, owner of Hotel 21 and Weborg 21 Center, created a space for the girls to convene.  After completion of the two-hour facilitated discussion, the girls were thrilled to take a tour of the lavish hotel’s main floor.

Among the multitude of insights shared by the girls was their feedback about descriptors of female leaders, which included: nurturing, hard-working, organized, responsible, persistent, assertive, self-aware, able to do things for themselves.  They also expressed that female leaders often have to work harder than males in order to get what they want/need.

The Program

The short-term cohort-based workshop series is designed to enhance the leadership skills, college/trade preparedness, and/or career development of young women in Nebraska. The program prepares 16- to 19-year-old female presenting participants for the workforce, post-secondary education, and leadership in their communities.

There will be a four-workshop series for this first cohort, which will include content ideas expressed by the girls as important to them as they develop their leadership skills.  The curriculum is currently being designed by Allyson Berggren, Service Excellence Director at Regional West and previous elementary school teacher and principal.  The workshops will be facilitated by Dr. Maya Chilese, seasoned ToP facilitator, administrator with Public Health, and owner of Blueprint Consulting LLC.  Dr. Chilese has also been instrumental in the development of the Youth In Power program for which Snow-Redfern Foundation awards funding to Panhandle Partnership and CAPWN to implement.

“The workshop series will be presented virtually”, said the facilitator, Dr. Maya Chilese, “creating a more intentionally inclusive cohort design that allows participant diversity and the ability for young women to join from anywhere in Nebraska.  The design lends itself to a more robust model that integrates technologies, skill introduction, and relationship building with broader impact that can be scaled and repeated for future cohorts.”

 

As we grow this program, we are seeking support from those interested in sponsoring the development of curriculum or sponsoring a future participant.  Please contact Sara Nicholson at [email protected] or at 308-763-6370 if you are interested in investing in this program as it expands state-wide next year.

As this exciting project unfolds, we will be sure to share updates!  Keep an eye out for these incredible young women!

For the past six years, the Cirrus House youth services has co-hosted a mental health awareness arts exhibition along with the West Nebraska Arts Center, with Snow-Redfern Foundation as a funding partner.

Cirrus House has worked with dozens of local artists of all ages to share stories and images of trials and healing every year.

“In 2021 we decided to try something new and after completing our typical two-month stint the Bronson Gallery in Scottsbluff, we have taken this year’s show “Re-Bound: New Beginnings” on the road”, shared Matt Reese with Cirrus House.

Traveling Exhibit

This traveling, pop-up version of the exhibit has been in Chadron, Oshkosh, Kimball, Bridgeport, and is currently on campus at WNCC in Alliance, where it will stay until January 31st, before moving on to the next stop.

The show has been very well received at the different venues, and Cirrus House has received excellent feedback. In addition, they have been invited to return next year, and plans are already underway for their 2022/2023 mental health awareness exhibit.

Planning for Next Year

Next year’s theme will be “The Hero Inside: Comics and Mental Health,” which will run in the Bronson gallery from September through October 2022 before making the rounds across the Panhandle.

These art shows are but one small part of what Cirrus House does. From their Day Program, to their counseling program and Community Support programs, they are dedicated to providing the people of the Panhandle with mental health services, from the most urban to the most rural environments.

Without partners like the Cirrus House, many kids would not be able to access quality mental health support in the Panhandle.

After tragically losing her beloved 13-year-old son in 1935, Arvilla Snow-Redfern sought healing from her loss by fostering fourteen orphaned youth on 20,000 acres of family ranch outside of Alliance, Nebraska. It was during this time that she began to visualize a more holistic picture of how she might help youth in need, long after she would be gone from this earth.

In the forties and fifty’s, Arvilla surrounded herself with a plethora of bright individuals that allowed organic development of her vision, which was first described in the original articles of incorporation in 1951. Her intent to “create and maintain a home and facilities for the rearing and training of orphaned, homeless, neglected or underprivileged boys that they may be raised and educated in a healthy and morally wholesome environment and trained in the theory and practice of farming, ranching, stock raising and other useful arts and vocations, and develop into industrious and respectable citizens”, was eventually realized after many roadblocks and setbacks.

Between 1964 and 2009, over eight hundred young men walked through the doors of the ranch, which effectively provided home, skills, and encouragement. Ultimately, Arvilla’s dream became a reality. Though the board of directors opted to close the Ranch doors in 2009, after state reform requirements would have changed the working ranch into a treatment facility, the foundation has continued serving many more youth through grants to nonprofit organizations.

Now in our 70th year of operation, the Snow-Redfern Foundation has served over 114,000 kids across Nebraska, which is likely many more young people than Arvilla could have ever imagined. In perpetuity we will continue to honor Arvilla’s legacy through the work we do-investing in the good life for kids.

Because of Answers & Alternatives Pregnancy Resource Center, a 17-year-old first time mom completed parenting classes. After finding herself unexpectedly pregnant, she was trying to decide what to do.

By faithfully attending parenting classes, she was able learn how to care for herself and her baby, finish high school, and pursue a career as an insurance agent.

“We believe the support, empowerment, and financial resources helped her make wise choices and put her on track to be a great mom with a successful career”, said Executive Director, Mary Hall.

Through the Snow-Redfern grant funding support, young parents were provided additional support with essential items necessary to care for their baby, including car, diapers, and cribs.

If you see the value in providing support to organizations such as this, consider sharing a gift with us so we can continue to provide grants to worthy nonprofits at: https://www.snowredfern.org/give-today/.

Ellen Lierk, current Development Committee Chair, has served on the Snow-Redfern Foundation Board as President, Secretary, and as Chair and member of various committees, for nearly twelve years and four terms, dating back as far as the Nebraska Boys Ranch days.

Leaving the World Better

As a child, Ellen’s mother encouraged her to leave the world better than she found it and so she has applied her mom’s sage advice to her careers, community involvement, relationships, and as an inclusive leader, visionary, and spiritual steward. Ellen and her husband, Charles, embedded these values with their three adult children and five grandchildren to permeate the future with hope, courage, and love.

Ellen’s professional life began as a social studies teacher and guidance counselor, with a bachelor degree in history and masters in guidance & counseling and in pastoral studies.  She also worked as a gift buyer for the family business Thiele Pharmacy & Gifts, as Box Butte County Economic Development Director, and as Pastoral Minister at Holy Rosary Catholic Church.

Her many years of service to the Snow-Redfern Foundation Board is informed by two strong beliefs.

First, “Each person is made in the image of God and each life is sacred. ”The second, “Each of us is blessed to be a blessing.” 

These beliefs echo in Snow-Redfern’s efforts to encourage young people to strive, succeed, and find light in darkness, despite challenging circumstances.  The young poet, Amanda Gorman, reminds us that “there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it.  If only we’re brave enough to be it.” 

As one who shares her light with others, Ellen believes that the Snow Redfern Foundation, those we support, and our benefactors who make the work possible, are lights. The light that is shared helps young people embrace their own light, ensuring that we all will have a brighter future.

Each Person is a Leader

Ellen has been impacted by Martin Luther King Jr.’s words that each person can be a leader, because each one can serve.  Throughout her life, Ellen has exemplified how servant leadership can be a light for others.  Ellen shares her light by listening carefully to others; persuading through reason; and healing divisions while building a compassionate community.

As Ellen prepares to finalize her 4th term on the board this year, she has dedicated the past year to mentoring and coaching young leaders to take her place as a giver of their own light.

Fortunately, everyone has a light that they can share with others.  If you would like to learn more about how you can share your light with children, reach out to us at [email protected] or by sharing a gift at https://www.snowredfern.org/give-today/