May Meeting: Member Engagement, Guests Welcome to Join!

Finola Annibella

From Bob Dodge, Chair of our Member Engagement Committee:

Many of us enjoyed seeing one another in April and we look forward to seeing more DABBERs in person in May.  As we learned, via the survey, we clearly value relationships with one another, and it is to that end that we will use the bulk of our time in May doing just that.  We will sit at assigned tables with people who are not in our PAG, not on our committee and a mix of new and old members.  Rather than focus on what we do, we’ll share who we are.  Be thinking about this and come prepared to share who you are among your clients, peers, co-workers, and relatives.  Also come prepared to learn things about DAB members that you don’t currently know.

For in-person attendance, RSVP here.

Yes, Zoomers will get the same opportunity via assigned breakout rooms as fellow in-person members/guests.  If you plan to Zoom, please let Finola know.  Thank you!

April Monthly Meeting – Mental Health

Finola Annibella

Mental health and resiliency have become more important since the start of the COVID pandemic.  According to the Colorado School of Public health 23% of Coloradans met the criteria for major depressive disorder during the lockdown.  Pre-pandemic about 7% did.  While hope is on the horizon with the release of the vaccine it may be months before things feel more like normal.  Learning to deal with stress, loneliness, isolation, and feeling down can help us at work and at home with loved ones. 

Our April Speaker, Amy Morrison, will help us understand how we become stressed and depressed and how to deal with it in a constructive way.  Amy Morrison is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Wellness Consultant who specializes in educating others about the nervous system.  She is a co-founder of True Core Health and has worked with The Savory Institute, lululemon Athletica, Havenly, Cherry Creek Mortgage Company, and The Denver Design District.

If you need the Zoom details to join this meeting, please email finola.annibella@yahoo.com.

February Monthly Meeting

Finola Annibella

SBA Loan, PPP Loan and Taxes

Taxes – nobody likes paying them but we all have to deal with them.  Whether you’re a business owner or employee, the rules keep changing and the DAB is here to help.  Three of our very own members walked us through recent changes in the PPP guidance for businesses as well as some tax planning tips for business owners and individuals.

Our panelists included:  Cindy Grove, Cindy Gomerdinger & Dan Giordano. Our moderator was Eric Walters.

Cindy Grove, Senior V.P. Relationship Manager 

PPP ROUND 2 QUICK OVERVIEW

The first round of the SBA and PPP Loans was a source of much confusion but the second round has a lot more clarity.   Those who missed getting $$ in Round One they are likely to get loans in round Two. 

The $284 Billion funding of Round 2 PPP has the following requirements:

  • You have no more the 300 employees
  • You can demonstrate a 25% loss in gross receipts in a quarter of 2020 over to the same quarter
  • You have used the full amount of your PPP loan in round 1 in 2019.

How round 2 is calculated, you can just re-apply for Round 1 calculations or re-calculate the 2.5x average monthly payroll costs.  Businesses with a NAICS code (north American industry classification system you can find on your tax return) Starting with 7’s includes arts, entertainment recreation accommodations and food services may use 3.5x.    There is a 5 year repay @1% rate. 

The EIDL Grant funds are now “not excluded” from forgiveness and reconciliations / refunds being processed.   Round 2 has expanded categories the funds can be used for the following:

Cindy Gomerdinger, Owner

Is the PPP forgiveness taxable?  No, from the beginning the intention was that the forgiveness of debt from the PPP would not be taxable.  However, the IRS later pointed out that expenses associated with tax exempt income are not deductible.  Therefore, the impact on the taxable income would have been the same as if the debt forgiveness was taxable.  On 12/27 they fixed this in the 2nd stimulus package and now the original PPP loans and the 2nd Draw PPP loans will not be considered income AND the expenses associated with the forgiveness are deductible.

Is the EIDL Advance taxable?  No, it is not taxable and it will be fully forgiven.  They fixed this in the 2nd stimulus package as well.  For those that applied for forgiveness last year, the $10K advance was excluded from the forgiveness and you either continued to owe it back through a loan or you repaid it.  Due to the 2nd stimulus package fixing this error, any amounts repaid on the advance will be paid by the SBA to the bank and the bank will send you a reimbursement.

What happens if you received a stimulus payment (individually), but your 2020 income is too high to qualify for it?  You will not have to return the excess stimulus via the filing of your 2020 return.  It is “yours” even if your income was too high in 2020.  If you did NOT get a stimulus payment and your 2020 tax return reflects income lower than the thresholds of $150K for joint filers and $75K for single, you will be able to get the stimulus through a “credit” on your 2020 tax return.

Are W2 wages taxable if paid for through the PPP funds?  Yes, they are taxable to the employee regardless as to whether the payroll was funded with PPP $’s.

Dan Giordano, Founding Partner and Principal

Some employers might qualify for Employee Retention Credits (ERC).  The opportunity to qualify for these credits is simplified now when compared to when they were first legislated in March of 2020.  Previously, employers who selected Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans weren’t eligible for ERCs, but now, the same employer might qualify for both.  One important consideration is wages used for PPP forgiveness cannot be considered and part of calculations for ERCs.  Said different, wages cannot be duplicated for these purposes.  Therefore careful consideration should be given to wages utilized in PPP loan forgiveness applications and wages utilized for ERC calculations.  Consultation with a businesses’ payroll service provider is relevant because ERCs affect current payroll tax filing forms and there is potentially an opportunity to go back to 2020 to recognize ERCs which might be refundable to the business.  IRS guidance continues to be issued with respect to these benefits.

Aside from PPP loans and ERC’s, opportunity may exist for certain employers and self-employed individuals to gain benefit from Paid Sick Leave and Family Leave credits.  Again, consulting with your team of professionals to optimize your opportunities is prudent.  As it concerns the question about breakeven for employer tax credits for these benefits, in GENERAL terms (specifics must be analyzed on a case by case basis), benefits might be assessed in the following order or priority, versus a breakeven analysis:

  1. PPP loans; then determine best utilization of wages and expenses when going through the forgiveness process.
  2. ERCs; remainder of wages after the PPP forgiveness process.
  3. Leave credits.

Items 2 and 3 above depend on employer size (number of employees) and payroll service provider’s ability to get everything computed.  IRS forms and instructions are just emerging (leave credits form and instructions were just issued 01.28.21).

A big thank you to Cynthia Wellbrock who is the author of this article.

January Monthly Meeting

Finola Annibella
January Monthly Meeting

Colorado is in the midst of a global pandemic that immediately impacted every facet of the state.  At the same time Colorado is in the midst of a   “demographic transition”.  Colorado is maturing economically and demographically and many of its characteristics are becoming closer to US averages.  Due to desirable living/working conditions, the Front Range has landed at the top of many lists for net migrants within the US.  However, population growth (decline) patterns across the state continue to be driven by both demographic and economic factors.  Most people migrate to Colorado for jobs.  Due to the aging of Colorado and its labor force, will Colorado continue to be able to attract and retain its workers with escalating home prices?  This presentation will cover where we were, where we thought we were going and how COVID could impact the population and economy in Colorado and the US.

Elizabeth is the State Demographer with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, an agency focused on strengthening the capacity of Colorado’s communities. She leads the State Demography Office, which produces population and economic estimates and forecasts for the state’s program planning.  Elizabeth has over 25 years of experience researching and discussing Colorado’s population trends and their impacts. Her current areas of research include aging in Colorado, characteristics of migration, and everything Census 2020. Elizabeth is an economist and received her B.A. in Business at the University of San Diego and her masters in Agricultural and Resource Economics at Colorado State University.  Elizabeth was born and raised in Colorado, something only 43% of the state’s population can claim.

If you need the Zoom details to join this meeting, please email finola.annibella@yahoo.com.

December Monthly Meeting

Finola Annibella
December Monthly Meeting

In “Conducting Business: Lessons from the Podium,” conductor Brett Mitchell—Music Director of the Colorado Symphony—shares his journey in music and the lessons in leadership he’s learned along the way. We will hear about his fascinating journey from growing up in Seattle in the ’90s—where the primary musical topic of conversation were “grunge” groups like Nirvana and Pearl Jam—to his appointment as Music Director of a major symphony orchestra at the age of 37. Brett’s approachable, informative, and entertaining presentation is one you do not want to miss.

Hailed for presenting engaging, in-depth explorations of thoughtfully curated programs, Brett Mitchell has served as Music Director of the Colorado Symphony since July 2017. Prior to this appointment, he served as the orchestra’s Music Director Designate during the 2016-17 season. Throughout his tenure, he has led the orchestra in the majority of its classical subscription programs each season, as well as a wide variety of special programs featuring such guest artists as Renée Fleming, Yo-Yo Ma, and Itzhak Perlman.

Mr. Mitchell is also in consistent demand as a guest conductor. His 2020-21 season will feature return engagements with The Cleveland Orchestra and debuts with the North Carolina, Fort Worth, and Pasadena symphonies. Other recent guest engagements include the Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, National, Oregon, San Antonio, San Francisco, and Vancouver symphonies; the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl; the Minnesota Orchestra; the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra; the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; the Grant Park Festival Orchestra; and a two-week tour with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Mitchell also regularly collaborates with the world’s leading soloists, including Yo-Yo Ma, Renée Fleming, Itzhak Perlman, Rudolf Buchbinder, Kirill Gerstein, James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich, Leila Josefowicz, and Alisa Weilerstein.

From 2013 to 2017, Mr. Mitchell served on the conducting staff of The Cleveland Orchestra. He joined the orchestra as Assistant Conductor in 2013, and was promoted to Associate Conductor in 2015, becoming the first person to hold that title in over three decades and only the fifth in the orchestra’s hundred-year history. In these roles, he led the orchestra in several dozen concerts each season at Severance Hall, Blossom Music Center, and on tour.

From 2007 to 2011, Mr. Mitchell led over one hundred performances as Assistant Conductor of the Houston Symphony. He also held Assistant Conductor posts with the Orchestre National de France, where he worked under Kurt Masur from 2006 to 2009, and the Castleton Festival, where he worked under Lorin Maazel in 2009 and 2010. In 2015, Mr. Mitchell completed a highly successful five-year appointment as Music Director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, where an increased focus on locally relevant programming and community collaborations resulted in record attendance throughout his tenure.

As an opera conductor, Mr. Mitchell has served as music director of nearly a dozen productions, principally at his former post as Music Director of the Moores Opera Center in Houston, where he led eight productions from 2010 to 2013. His repertoire spans the core works of Mozart (The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute), Verdi (Rigoletto and Falstaff), and Stravinsky (The Rake’s Progress) to contemporary works by Mark Adamo (Little Women), Robert Aldridge (Elmer Gantry), Daniel Catán (Il Postino and Salsipuedes), and Daron Hagen (Amelia).

As a ballet conductor, Mr. Mitchell most recently led a production of The Nutcracker with the Pennsylvania Ballet in collaboration with The Cleveland Orchestra during the 2016-17 season. In addition to his work with professional orchestras, Mr. Mitchell is also well known for his affinity for working with and mentoring young musicians aspiring to be professional orchestral layers. His tenure as Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra from 2013 to 2017 was highly praised, and included a four-city tour of China in June 2015, marking the orchestra’s second international tour and its first to Asia. Mr. Mitchell is regularly invited to work with the highly talented musicians at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the orchestras at this country’s high-level training programs, such as the National Repertory Orchestra, Texas Music Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, and Interlochen Center for the Arts.

Born in Seattle in 1979, Mr. Mitchell holds degrees in conducting from the University of Texas at Austin and composition from Western Washington University, which selected him in as its Young Alumnus of the Year in 2014. He also studied at the National Conducting Institute, and was selected by Kurt Masur as a recipient of the inaugural American Friends of the Mendelssohn Foundation Scholarship. Mr. Mitchell was also one of five recipients of the League of American Orchestras’ American Conducting Fellowship from 2007 to 2010.

For more information, please visit brettmitchellconductor.com.

If you need the Zoom details to join this meeting, please email finola.annibella@yahoo.com.

November Members Only Meeting

Finola Annibella

Plan on attending our November meeting virtually!  Thanks to our very own Dean Isaacs and his committee, we have another great Member Engagement program planned!!

For many of us, 2020 has tested our resiliency and challenged many areas of our life.  During our November Member Engagement Program we will learn more about resiliency, discuss lessons learned and explore how we can move forward with more confidence in 2021.

If you need the Zoom link, please let Finola know: finola.annibella@yahoo.com.

September Meeting

Finola Annibella
September Meeting

Lisa Steven has more than 25 years of experience working with teen moms.  In 2003, she co-founded Hope House of Colorado and has served as the Executive Director ever since.  Under Lisa’s leadership,  Hope House has reached new levels and growth that, with a budget of over $1.6 million, puts the organization in the top 10 percent of nonprofits in the United States. Under her leadership,  Hope House also received the Governor’s Service Award for Outstanding Nonprofit Organization in Colorado in 2015 and was named the Arvada Nonprofit Organization of the Year in 2018.  Lisa is also a co-founder of the Colorado Teen Parent Collaborative and is active with the Denver Women’s Leadership Forum.  In 2013, Lisa was named the Arvada Woman of the Year for her contributions to the community.  Lisa co-authored the Teen MOPS Handbook and worked with MOPS International on their strategic plan for expanding the ministry of Teen MOPS.  A former teen mom, Lisa is committed to empowering teen moms in her community and across the world.

Hope House is metro-Denver’s only resource providing free self-sufficiency programs to parenting teen moms, including Residential, High School & GED and College & Career Programs. Additional supportive services include parenting and healthy relationships classes, an Early Learning Program, health and wellness, financial literacy and personal growth classes as well as certified counseling, all designed to prepare them for long-term independence. Hope House relies on numerous volunteers and local business partnerships to accomplish its mission.

October Meeting

Finola Annibella
October Meeting

Jamie Giellis, 2019 Denver mayoral candidate and career urban planner, talks about the decision to jump into local politics, how the experience changed her (for the better), her work in cities, and the critical importance of being able to pivot in how we help our communities.

Jamie Giellis is the founder and president of Centro, a consulting firm that works to bridge differences between the public sector and community, developing partnerships and policies that uniquely address localized needs and issues. Until launching her mayoral campaign in 2019, Jamie also served as the president of the RiNo Art District, Denver’s mold-breaking River North neighborhood. As president, Jamie oversaw district vision, advocacy policy, programs, and projects. In particular, she led on projects to advance affordability and mobility, green infrastructure, support for the homeless community, support for the creative community and much more. Her work with RiNo, Centro—and her contribution to professional outlets and platforms—pushes the boundaries of how neighborhoods, districts, and communities operate to serve their residents and the cities of which they are a part.