Alexandria’s Place at 7329 Broadway is having a Spring Open House on March 19th and 20th.  Browse and select from the unique offerings of the shop, including items for your home, baby, bath, and unique gifts.  Alexandria’s Place offers both locally-made treasures and specialty items from around the world.  Stop in on the 19th between 10am-6pm, or on the 20th between 10 am-5pm.  You’ll find something special for your friends and family, and maybe a treat for yourself!

Adorable Robin’s Egg soap	Snuggly gifts for babies

Lady Fairy Moment Tea for Two

Laura McKnight understands, and is a strong believer in, the benefits of planned philanthropy.  She says the GKCCF “offers people a better way to give.” She sees a huge increase in people who want to organize their gifts. The foundation assists donors with the creation of a fund, administration and planning of gifts to accomplish the donors goals while achieving maximum tax advantages.  The foundation’s services allow donors to satisfy their philanthropic goals in an organized and highly-effective manner.  The result underscores the vision of the foundation:  Community dreams fulfilled through the power of philanthropy.

The values of the foundation are solid:  Integrity, respect, passion and innovation.  The foundation conducts their work with transparency and honesty, values each person as individuals and respects diversity.  It also possesses passion for its mission, and seeks new ideas, working with flexibility, urgency, enthusiasm, and an entrepreneurial spirit.

The foundation, which oversees nearly one billion dollars in assets, houses 3,000 charitable funds and has provided more than $1.5 billion in grants since its inception.  Through regional affiliates, the foundation works with all parts of the city and for a variety of causes.  The foundation also administers Greater Horizons, which connects donors with charitable interests across the country.  With a local, regional and national presence, the GKCCF does offer a multitude of choices for philanthropists of all sizes.  As Laura says, “We have something to offer everyone.”

The new chairman of the board of the GKCCF is Anne St. Peter, founder of Global Prairie, an integrated marketing firm based in Kansas City.  Anne is approaching her two-year term with unmatched enthusiasm, and is confident that the foundation has “our fingers on the pulse of philanthropic community.”  Anne puts the innovation value into place every day at her company.  At Global Praire, each employee has a fund at the GKCCF in their name that they direct.  Three times a year, on employees’ birthdays, hire anniversaries and holidays, Global Prairie makes a contribution to each of these funds, and at the end of each year, makes an additional 10 percent contribution to every fund.  Laura McKnight helped design this program, which Anne says has been a “phenomenal recruitment tool.”  The giving plan helps “attract the type of people who are interested in giving back,” said Anne.  In addition to the employees’ funds, Global Prairie encourages employees to be active in charitable organizations and to achieve leadership roles in the groups that are important to them.  Anne wants to reinforce the message of community engagement, and Global Prairie makes an extra effort to support the organizations where a member of the Global Prairie team has taken an active role.

Anne’s enthusiasm for philanthropy is evident not only in the unique funds she has the GKCCF create for her team members, but also in her role as board chairman.  Her goals for her tenure include increasing charitable giving in Kansas City, connecting donors to the community needs they care about, and playing a leadership role in critical community issues.

The Greater Kansas City Community Foundation is well-placed, both locally and nationally, to assist seasoned donors as well as attract new ones.  Educating youngsters about the importance of philanthropy is another goal of the foundation, and their Camp Charity is a way to show youth the ways they can make a difference with charitable gifts of time, talent and treasure.  Every Camp Charity participant receives a $25 Giving Card to redeem on a charity of their choice.  The next Camp Charity is scheduled for June 12th, and the GKCCF can provide you with registration details.

The Greater Kansas City Community Foundation is truly a remarkable institution, highly respected as experts in their field.  Whether you are a business owner wanting to mirror the giving methods of Global Prairie, a family or individual who wishes to organize their charitable gifts or an adult who desires to direct a youngster on a philanthropic path, the GKCCF has everything in place to assist in making charitable gifts as organized, effective, meaningful and successful.

Laura McKnight	Anne St. Peter