Malcolm Burrows

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Malcolm is a philanthropic advisor with over 30 years of experience. He is head, philanthropic advisory services at Scotia Wealth Management and founder of Aqueduct Foundation. Views are his own. malcolm.burrows@scotiawealth.com

Does Donor Recognition Create Obligations?

Is a donor obliged to provide ongoing support to a charity after a building or facility is named in their honour?  The legal answer is “no”.  Naming, however, may stir up complex feelings of ownership and hope, which often lead to misunderstandings — even after the donor is dead. Ownership Donors and their descendants understandably feel ownership for a facility in the family name.  The place, for example, may define….

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Estate Administration, Estate Donations, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Uncategorized

Approving Donor Recognition

Charities like to name things after donors.  Simply, big gifts mean more prominent “naming opportunities”.  Ontario’s Minister of Health recently issued a directive to hospitals stipulating that they can’t rename existing hospitals in recognition of donations.  Is “naming” a risk for major donors?  What are the estate planning implications? Ontario’s New Rules First, let’s look at Minister Eric Hoskin’s directive.   It says the new hospital name “must not include the….

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Uncategorized

Estate Donations = Faster Distributions

[caption id="attachment_4590" align="alignright" width="761"] Faster Distributions of Estate Donations[/caption] Matt Johnston, my tax colleague at Scotiatrust, says the 12-month tax filing deadline is upon us. The initial round of major distributions to charities will occur in January 2017 under the “estate donation” rules introduced in 2016. As mentioned in my previous blog, executors and their advisors are discovering that new rules create new procedures. And the new procedures may lead….

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Estate Administration, Estate Donations, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving

The Estate Donation Loop

It is one year after the new estate donation rules were introduced and the practical implementations are beginning to emerge. With the post-2016 rules, a twist arises when the residue of the estate is split between charity and individual beneficiaries. This scenario creates a gift that keeps giving. A gift by will, which is a type of estate donation, is now a gift of the estate. Legally the gift occurs….

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Estate Administration, Estate Donations, Estate Planning

Time Matters in Philanthropy

SickKids Foundation’s year-end giving campaign has generated a lot of attention for its gripping “Vs” spots. Skillfully edited, the ad borrows fight, hip-hop and adventure movie imagery to dramatize the plight of the hospital’s young patients.  This campaign is highly effective and a great example of visceral, urgent annual fundraising.  Raw emotion has a place in charitable giving, but it doesn’t serve large “exceptional” donations at tax year-end and in….

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Estate Donations, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving

Estate Donations & Non-Qualifying Securities

Since the announcement of the “estate donation” rules in the 2014 Federal Budget, there have been a number of amendments that have addressed sector concerns and drafting errors.   One unintended consequence in the original estate donation provisions relates to gifts of private company shares. At the June 2015 STEP conference in Toronto, Canada Revenue Agency confirmed that all estate donations of private company shares to any registered charity would be….

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Estate Planning, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving
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