Board Member Spotlight

Kody Cannon

Tell us about yourself and your family. How long have you lived in southwest Louisiana? What made you choose the area?

I am married to Toni Cannon and we have two daughters, Charlotte (7) and Eliza (3). Though I grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, I was born in Lake Charles and both of my parents were born and raised in Lake Charles (and both are graduates of McNeese).

Before my siblings were born and while I was quite young, my parents and I moved to Bay St. Louis, MS so that my father could start his new career. Coincidentally, I moved back to Lake Charles twenty-five or so years later to start my new career.

In my last semester of law school I was introduced to my mentor (and now law partner), David Sigler, who was practicing the type of law that I was interested in.

A year later after obtaining a Master of Laws in Taxation from the University of Florida School of Law and sitting for the Louisiana Bar in July of 2013, Toni and I moved to Lake Charles in August of 2013. The job opportunity was our primary motivation for moving to Lake Charles, but Toni and I were both excited about Southwest Louisiana as a whole because of the exciting economic expansion, downtown development, hunting, fishing, boating, and other available outdoor activities, and we had heard that SWLA was a welcoming community.

We learned quickly that we had made the right choice and that Lake Charles and SWLA would serve as a great place to raise a family and live a fulfilling life.

How did you learn about the Community Foundation? What was the spark that made you decide to join the Foundation as an annual member?

We have been lucky enough to know Sara Judson and her husband, Mark, since 2013 when Toni and I first moved to Lake Charles, though my understanding of the Community Foundation and its impact on SWLA was not fully realized by me until a few years later.

I have long admired the professional manner in which the Community Foundation operates and have been impressed with the Community Foundation’s positive impact on SWLA. Toni and I decided to join as an annual member after seeing the Community Foundation’s recent successes, including the Mid-City Neighborhood Transformation and progress on Bayou Greenbelt, which successes we felt were impressive and particularly important to SWLA considering the recent hurricanes.

You have a unique perspective on the Foundation as a board member, member of our Professional Advisor committee, and also someone whose career is in estate planning and successions. How do you see the Community Foundation as part of a comprehensive charitable giving strategy?

The Community Foundation is well positioned to accomplish the charitable goals of most people through its donor advised funds, scholarship funds, local funds established with the Community Foundation, and by other means.

Donor advised funds, in particular, allow those who are charitably inclined to fulfill their charitable intent and receive tax benefits (perhaps allowing them to give more than they otherwise would be able), while also providing flexibility regarding the timing of distributions of the donations to the charitable entity(ies) and the designation of the entity(ies) that will receive the donation. The donor advised fund can also be used as a vehicle for passing on the spirt of charitable giving to the next generation of the family.

Additionally, I believe the Community Foundation does a great job with “connecting people that care with causes that matter” and in such a role the Community Foundation can be a great resource to donors in identifying worthy causes in Southwest Louisiana that will make a lasting positive impact.

What strategies do you recommend to your clients for maximizing the tax advantages of charitable giving, especially at year-end?

There are three main strategies for year-end giving, some of which can be utilized together:

(1) Donation Bunching. For someone who (i) supports charities on a regular/annual basis, (ii) is not otherwise receiving a tax benefit because of the currently increased standard deduction, and (iii) otherwise has sufficient assets to make a substantial gift in a single year, a person can receive a significant tax benefit by making several years worth of charitable gifts in a single year to a donor advised fund and then having the donor advised fund pay-out the gift over the following years to their designated charitable entities. The donor receives a tax benefit and the charitable entity receives a reliable stream of donations from the donor.

(2) Appreciated Stock. Donation bunching can be leveraged by a donor making a gift of appreciated stock. By giving appreciated stock that has been held for more than a year (that is, shares of stock with built in long-term capital gains), the donor can receive a charitable deduction equal to the fair market value of the stock while simultaneously avoiding recognizing the capital gains that would otherwise be required to be recognized if the donor sold the stock.

(3) Qualified Charitable Rollover. For donors that are (i) over the age of 70 and ½ and (ii) have funds in eligible IRA, the donor can direct the IRA custodian to pay funds directly from the IRA to eligible charitable organizations. While the donor will not receive a charitable deduction for this gift, the donor will avoid paying income taxes that may have otherwise been due with respect to the assets held in the IRA.

Of course, all of these options are subject to certain requirements that are not fully detailed here and each donor should discuss these options with the donor’s advisors.

What are some ways you like to be plugged into the SWLA community?

Toni and I have been quite active with local organizations which has served us well in making connections throughout the community. Toni is a sustaining member of the Junior League of Lake Charles after having served as Executive Vice President and in several other roles. I have served as a Board Member of Fusion Five, as the Policies and Procedures Chair of Leadership Southwest Louisiana, as the Vice President of the Calcasieu Community Clinic, and am currently the attorney for the Better Business Bureau of Southwest Louisiana, in addition to now serving on the Board of the Community Foundation.