The holiday season often includes messages of reflection. Minnesotans who want loved ones to know more about their values and life lessons, are encouraged to put their thoughts on paper or in a video.

"Legacy letters" are not considered a will or legal document, but often provide greater focus on a person's vision for giving back to society.

Jeremy Wells, senior vice president of philanthropic services for the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, said it is also a chance to pass along wisdom to younger generations of the family.

"What were my values? What were the most important things? What lessons do I hope others from my life, my experiences?" Wells outlined.

The Foundation includes legacy letter suggestions in its toolkits for donors, but Wells pointed out they can be prepared by anyone. While the idea might be more appealing to older Minnesotans making end-of-life preparations, these letters can also be shared before a person's death. They can prompt important discussions that can bring families closer.

Wells added it is not just the approaching New Year which might inspire some people to be more reflective. While the pandemic crisis has produced challenges for many, he said it also offers a chance to reassess priorities.

"What are some of those core values that, you know -- through thick and thin, through better and worse -- have really held up?" Wells asked.

Other experts in crafting the letters noted you do not have to be a great writer to get your wishes on paper or script out a video. Conveying your honest feelings in your own words will resonate more with the recipients. They added it might be better to wait until the recipients are old enough to recognize a legacy letter's value before sharing it with them.

There is still time to give to charity and claim a deduction on your taxes, whether you itemize or not, but the temporary pandemic-era deduction expires Friday, the last day of 2021.

The charitable deduction allows a single person to claim a $300 donation, $600 per couple, without the hassle of itemizing.

Liz Moore, executive director of the Montana Nonprofit Association, said now is the time to give.

"$300 goes a long way for little community nonprofits in allowing them to serve and have less reliance on government," Moore pointed out.

Montana is home to about 7,200 charitable nonprofits helping the community in a multitude of ways: addressing issues such as homelessness or hunger, by supporting things like after-school programs, affordable health care, the environment, the arts and more.

Overall, charitable giving is up over the past few years, mainly due to the generosity of mega-donors, but small donations are down.

A study from Indiana University released in July found fewer than half of Americans donated to charity in 2018, down from two-thirds in 2000.

Moore noted it fell after tax reform in 2017 doubled the standard deduction, which may have helped consumers but hurt nonprofits relying on small donations.

"So 90% of all filers can use the standard deduction," Moore stated. "That means they're going to give less, because they don't need it to get that deduction."

Donors are advised to make sure you keep the receipt, so you have proof of the gift when you file taxes this spring.

HOUSTON - When the unexpected winter storm hit Texas in February, foundations, corporations and individual donors stepped up to help communities recover. And with climate change expected to increase the frequency of natural disasters, these contributions are more important than ever.

The nonprofit Americares has responded to disasters for more than 40 years - including the extreme cold spell in Texas and Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

Tara Waters, director of business development for Americares, said her organization focuses on emergency aid to lower-income families who lack the resources to respond to a disaster.

"They're evacuating their homes on a moment's notice," said Waters. "They're spending days, weeks, even months sometimes, living in shelters, having left their personal items behind."

Waters said low-income neighborhoods often are more vulnerable in climate emergencies, because these are areas in many cities where basic infrastructure needs have gone unmet.

During the winter storm, the Siebert Williams Shank Foundation was one of several that donated to recovery funds established in major Texas cities.

Senior Manager for the Texas region Keith Richard said the goal was to help the most vulnerable residents - seniors, families and people of color - get back to normal.

"We talk about whether it's climate events or other critical infrastructure needs, these investments are important," said Richard. "When we all succeed, it's better for everybody."

In addition to the pandemic, the U.S. continues to rack up record-breaking years for wildfires and hurricanes. Waters said the combination has made recovery for families very complex.

"In the case of Harvey, we did long-term mental-health programming for health-care workers, who were themselves survivors of the disaster," said Waters. "It actually lasted for years."

A University of Houston survey found almost 70% of Texans agree that due to climate change, the state is more likely to be adversely affected by severe weather now than it was 30 years ago.

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The world of philanthropy isn't immune from the need to improve workplace culture as society demands greater equity. One Minnesota organization is among those enacting changes in light of the pandemic and racial reckoning.

Improving communities and helping to foster social justice are common missions for nonprofits, and some groups have said that in order to stay true to their work, their internal operations also must reflect their values.

Nadege Souvenir, senior vice president for operations and learning at the Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundation, said an example includes their information-technology department asking outside vendors to update language routinely seen on staff computer screens that could be deemed offensive.

"Some of the language used in spam vendors - 'black-listing,' 'white listing' - is unnecessarily racist language," she said.

The foundation also has changed its recruiting practices, including no longer having a college-degree requirement for all job postings. Philanthropic groups also have faced criticism from smaller nonprofits over onerous grant applications that restrict spending. Souvenir noted that the foundation has responded in the last year by opening up more funding for operating expenses.

Demetric Duckett, managing director of Living Cities, a collaboration of 19 of the world's largest foundations and financial institutions, acknowledged that staff diversity still is a challenge in this sector that must be addressed.

"If you're going to be able to create solutions," he said, "you have to ask how can you figure out problems in situations that aren't familiar to you?"

He suggested that having a more diverse staff with different perspectives can help foundations address community-level issues without being out of touch. Living Cities has prioritized anti-racism training for its board members, allowing them to share the findings with the groups they oversee.