Author Archives: Joseph Finneran

Let’s Talk Turkey

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We hope you had a happy Thanksgiving. It’s always a special holiday. Rooted in connection, harmony, and unity during adversity. And isn’t this all what we’re going through in 2020? After a difficult first year, the remaining Plymouth colonists in 1621 were just glad to be alive. 

There are many stories of that first Thanksgiving celebration in 1621. The European colonists and the Indigenous Wampanoag tribe gathered in Plymouth, Massachusetts, to share a meal and thank God for a bountiful season of good crops. But historians argue that the first Thanksgiving actually occurred 60 years earlier!

Near the Matanzas River in St. Augustine, Florida, Spanish soldiers, sailors and settlers broke bread with the indigenous Timucuans following a Mass of Thanksgiving in June of 1564.

Had it not become the American tradition to celebrate the Plymouth meal, we’d be gathering with friends and family for Thanksgiving in the Summer. There’d be no Black Friday (which was pretty much true this year anyway) and Americans would lack that all-important calendar reminder to start the mad rush toward Christmas with all its gift buying, decorating, cookie making, elf pleasing, card sending, trip planning, do-gooding, and merry making!

We like the autumn Thanksgiving because it’s a reminder for our clients to schedule a year-end review. Celebrating holidays, and having regular financial reviews with your advisor, are both important for our mental and physical well-being. So do both.

Have you had your financial plan review this year? If not, give us a call now before the year runs out. Call (614) 800-7985 or email us.

How the Pandemic Changed Charitable Giving

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An elderly gentleman friend of mine is a faithful churchgoer. I happened to run into him recently (not literally of course, we were both out walking and wearing our face masks). He mentioned that he was feeling a bit guilty because he was not placing an offering in the basket at church each week. In fact, he hadn’t attended church since before Easter due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

I mentioned that his church may have an online platform to receive donations. He replied that he not only didn’t know whether it did — he didn’t even know whether his church had a website! “Let’s see,” I said, taking my cellphone from my pocket. His church did have a website, and did take donations online. 

“Oh my,” he continued. “I’ll have to have my grandson come over and help me make my usual donation. I might not be going to church, but the work of the church continues even with this virus. In fact, they may need my stewardship now more than ever!” 

We parted ways, but it left me thinking. What about our church families who may have lost their jobs, or have had extra medical expenses? Who is helping them? How many individuals and families quit giving because they quit going? Who is making the excuse that giving online is too difficult or not safe? 

What I found was heartening. It says a lot about Americans that, according to a study by Fidelity Charitable, most donors are maintaining — or even increasing — charitable giving during Covid.

According to the survey:

  • Volunteer hours decreased as people were urged to to stay home.
  • Most donors are worried about nonprofits’ ability to operate during these times.
  • Donors are likely to continue giving, especially to the same organizations.

The same study mentions that Donor-Advised Fund donors are taking COVID-19 into account in their giving, and most are staying the course and trusting their fund managers to make good choices during this pandemic period.

We find that people long for ways to connect with others during the pandemic. It’s a human motivation that is serving our national interests while making us feel better about ourselves. God “is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow” [Heb 13:8] and His work is never-ending. And it seems that both donors and DAF managers are walking in His footsteps.

Labor Day Then and Now

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In the midst of today’s devastating worldwide pandemic, if it was reported that the majority of Americans in the United States worked 12-hour days, 7-days a week, would you believe it? Of course not! But during the smallpox pandemic from 1877 to 1977, when 500 million lost their lives and the mortality death rate was as high as 35%, that’s exactly what happened. It was not until 1980 that the World Health Organization declared smallpox to be eradicated. 
Source: Google COVID-19 Alert

As of this writing, there are 6.13 million cases and 186,000 deaths due to COVID-19 in the U.S. with a mortality death rate of 3%. As of June, 30 million lost their jobs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and related shutdowns, and some think the real numbers are as high as 40 million.
Source: Wall Street Journal

What is startling about these numbers is the resolve of the working class in the last century. Labor Day was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century and became a federal holiday in 1894 to celebrate workers and their achievements. American workers dedicated 12 hours a day, seven days a week to their jobs just to make a living. Even children as young as 5 or 6 worked in mills and factories to help make ends meet. 

Labor Day Parade, New York City, 5 September 1882

Like the protests of today, workers protested, sometimes with violence. On September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers made their way to New York City to march from City Hall to Union Square — the first American Labor Day Parade. Eventually labor unions were formed to protect workers from unsafe conditions and their influence caused employers to raise pay and reduce working hours.

Today we still celebrate the American worker on the first Monday in September, thanks to the workers who stood up for fair pay for a decent day’s work, and President Grover Cleveland who signed into law Labor Day as a legal holiday.

As you celebrate this weekend with backyard BBQ’s and picnics, face masks and social distancing, think of the men, women and children whose labor inspired this holiday.