Financial Management

ACE Cash Express Raises $43,720 for the Humane Society

Launched in August 2020 by ACE Cash Express (ACE), a Populus Financial Group brand, the "Chip in for Charity" program allows customers to support an ACE charity partner of their choice simply by using their co-branded charity ACE Flare Account by MetaBank debit card wherever they shop.  When the card is swiped, ACE donates an amount equal to a portion of every purchase made to the associated charity, up to preset limits.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is a valued ACE charity partner and an important part of our "Chip in for Charity" initiative. Since launching the Humane Society of the United States ACE Flare Account by MetaBank and Porte Door to Change charitable giving program, customers raised $40,861 in the first year.

Also, HSUS was selected as the charity of choice by ACE employees for its annual in-store fundraising event, the Give A Little Campaign, which raised an additional $2,859 for HSUS. By supporting the Humane Society of the United States, ACE helps protect all animals who are suffering in puppy mills, factory farms, testing labs or other inhumane situations.

"The Humane Society of the United States is grateful to be one of the chosen charities benefiting from the 'Chip in for Charity' program. Our work to protect all animals is made possible thanks to generous supporters like ACE. I'm excited to see the impact this partnership has on the animals we fight to protect," said Kristie Tanner, Director of Business Partnerships for the Humane Society of the United States.

The Humane Society of the United States fights the big fights to end suffering for all animals. Through their rescue, response, and sanctuary work, as well as other hands-on animal care services, they help thousands of animals every year. HSUS fights all forms of animal cruelty to achieve the vision behind their name: a humane society.

We are proud to support the Humane Society in their fight to end animal cruelty. Thanks to the support of our customers and employees, animals around the country have an opportunity to live without suffering."

Eric Norrington, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs for Populus Financial Group

Nationally, the Give A Little Campaign, supported charities across the country including AdoptAClassroom.org, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, Autism Speaks, Back on My Feet, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Feeding America's Local Food Banks, Homes For Our Troops, National Breast Cancer Foundation, Save the Children, Triumph Over Kid Cancer, and the Humane Society of the United States. This annual fundraiser is part of the ACE Community Fund, ACE's charitable-giving program, which has donated more than $15 million since its inception in 2004 to organizations in communities where ACE operates.

The ACE Flare Account by MetaBank is issued by MetaBank, N.A. whose mission is financial inclusion for all.

About Populus Financial Group
Populus Financial Group provides financial services through its family of brands including ACE Cash Express, ACE Elite Visa Prepaid Debit Card, ACE Flare Account by MetaBank and Porte. Populus Financial Group delivers a broad range of financial products and services including short-term consumer loans, card services, check cashing, money transfers, bill payments and money orders. Visit PopulusFinancial.com for more information.

About the Humane Society of the United States
We fight the big fights to end suffering for all animals. Together with millions of supporters, we take on puppy mills, factory farms, the fur trade, trophy hunting, animal cosmetics testing and other cruel industries. We rescue and care for thousands of animals every year through our Animal Rescue Team's work and other hands-on animal care services. We fight all forms of animal cruelty to achieve the vision behind our name.

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Financial Management, Philanthropy

TIFIN Give expands its reach as a leading technology powered philanthropy platform for wealth enterprises

PR Newswire | February 01, 2024

TIFIN, a leading AI and innovation platform, today announced its philanthropy platform TIFIN Give has acquired Giving Place, the tech solution for family office giving programs and private foundations. The newly combined company now has increased scale and resources to service families through advisors, the workplace, and family offices. The firm now helps oversee $670 million in philanthropy assets and helped facilitate $40 million in charitable donations in 2023. The donor-advised fund (DAF) space has seen rapid growth in recent years. DAF assets nearly doubled between 2018 and 2022 and stand today at ~$230 billion; total DAF assets are estimated to grow to $1 trillion by 2030. Private foundation assets reached $1.25 trillion last year. The ability of TIFIN Give to serve these charitable structures, among others, continues to unlock substantial opportunities and value for wealth enterprises and their clients. TIFIN Give's next-generation DAF platform provides a multi-custodial platform, SOC-2 security compliance, and expanded investment options including custom model portfolios. It is now deployed at leading wealth enterprises and employers through their recent partnership to power an employee DAF solution with Morgan Stanley at Work. Through the Giving Place acquisition, TIFIN Give can now address the philanthropic needs of all asset classes in the wealth enterprise space," said Cor Hoekstra, Head of Wealth Enterprise Partnerships at TIFIN. "We are excited to now reach all types of donors. The new company will be led by Giving Place's co-founder and CEO, Paul Lussow. Co-founder Alex Paul, will remain involved and serve on the TIFIN Give board. "Our focus on supporting and growing the philanthropic capabilities of wealth enterprises will accelerate through this combined company," said Lussow. "The key to solving many pain points for donors and their advisors will be powered by the integration of TIFIN Give's digital-first DAF platform with Giving Place's philanthropy software solution for family offices and private foundations," said Giving Place co-founder and TIFIN Give board member Alex Paul.

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Fundraising, Nonprofit Management

American Camp Association Receives $45.5 Million Grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to Strengthen Character Development Programs for Young People

PR Newswire | February 02, 2024

The American Camp Association® (ACA) is honored to announce that Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded ACA a $45,535,623 grant to support the creation of a new, multiyear initiative to grow, improve, and celebrate character development at camps across the United States. Character at Camp is an innovative initiative anchored in the belief that summer and year-round camp programs provide an unparalleled opportunity to promote the character development of young people. While camps vary greatly in their mission, size, activities, programming, and location, many are run with an intrinsic focus on youth development and character-building skills and traits. ACA's recent National Camp Impact Study demonstrated that camp experiences support social connectedness among youth and the development of skills and traits such as perseverance, responsibility, and the willingness to try new things. This study also found that these skills and traits last over time. Individuals who attended camp as children demonstrate these skills and traits throughout academic environments and well into their early careers. For more than a century, character development has been foundational to the camp experience, as each camp distinctively offers a variety of opportunities to develop important character skills and traits. Camps provide young people with experiences in less-distracting settings, often surrounded by nature, that can help support character development through social interactions with peers and counselors, time for reflection and other activities. For example, campers learn responsibility as they help set tables in the dining hall, engage in leadership when guiding groups during hikes, and practice empathy when they support fellow campers who are missing home. In today's world, the benefits of building character skills and traits such as gratitude, kindness, creativity, curiosity, perseverance, resiliency, empathy, courage, and teamwork could not be more important. The Character at Camp initiative will be conducted during the next six years. ACA will make available in-person and virtual training opportunities, educational tools, and other resources to camps to strengthen, expand, or establish character development programs at the more than 15,000 year-round and summer camps across the US. As a direct result of this new initiative, ACA will invite camp leaders to participate in educational and peer-learning opportunities, networking, training, other experiences to learn how to help develop character skills and traits at camp. ACA will work with camp professionals, youth-development experts, and others to create new educational resources, training, and assessment tools to provide camps with opportunities to engage in this important initiative. Starting in 2025, all eligible nonprofit camps will have the opportunity to apply for competitive one-, two-, or three-year grants to support their character development programs. Eligible organizations will be able to apply for funding in amounts ranging from $50,000 to up to $300,000 based on the length of the grant period. Funds may be used for staffing, training, curricula, assessment, communications, and/or outreach and partnership efforts to support camps' specific goals related to character development. The initiative will support a broad range of camps serving young people from varied backgrounds and experiences, including under-resourced and underrepresented youth, as well as provide funding for developing character-based programming that is culturally relevant and values the diverse perspectives of youth and families. "We are deeply grateful for Lilly Endowment's support of ACA and our shared commitment to support camps across the country with the funding, tools, resources, and education to expand and prioritize character development programs," said Tom Rosenberg, ACA president/CEO. "This Character at Camp initiative recognizes the diverse needs of children and youth. We know camp experiences build a world of belonging and growth, and we're excited to engage camps as they work to strengthen their character development programs." "Lilly Endowment's founders firmly believed that developing the character of young people was vital to the future of communities and our country, and they supported many efforts to understand how character is formed," said N. Clay Robbins, Lilly Endowment's chairman and CEO. "For decades, well run camps have had a positive impact on the character development of thousands of campers. We believe, with the commitment, leadership, and expertise of ACA, its Character at Camp initiative can meaningfully enhance and expand character development from a variety of perspectives and in a diverse array of young people throughout the nation."

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