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

When Private Foundations Die

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Pieter Claesz, “Vanitas Still Life” 1630. Private foundations are believed to be durable entities.  Perpetuity is often assumed at the planning stage.  Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) data shows, however, that 3,073 private foundations closed during the period 2000 to 2025. Growth in Private Foundations Private foundations have seen significant growth in Canada, with an increase in assets of over 300% in the last 20 years to over $100 billion in….

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Estate Donations, Estate Planning, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving

The US Endowment Crisis and Tudor Oligarchs

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[caption id="attachment_21567" align="alignleft" width="225"] Trinity College, Oxford[/caption] Every few hundred years charitable endowments come under attack.  The Trump administration has imposed tax on the investment income of private foundations of up to 10%, up from 1.39%, as part of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”.  A similar bill, the Endowment Tax Fairness Act, seeks to Impose 21% tax on net income of private colleges and universities, which is equivalent to….

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Philanthropy/Charitable Giving

Artist Foundations

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In the U.S. there is a generation of contemporary artists who have never been richer and they are endowing – with art and money – some significant foundations. Cy Twombly Foundation, for example, reportedly has assets of over $1.5 billion. There is even a support initiative called the Artist-Endowed Foundation Initiative, which seeks “to strengthen the charitable impact” of these entities. In Canada, the tradition of the artist foundation is….

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Estate Planning, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Uncategorized

Founders: the good, the innovative, and the toxic

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Founders are a source of innovation and energy in the social good sector. Lionized as “social entrepreneurs” they identify gaps and create organizations to fill them. But there is, sometimes, a dark side to founders. Donors, employees and stakeholders should be aware of these dynamics. Dr. Susanna Kislenko is a researcher who focuses on founders, especially those in the non-profit world.  In 2025, she established The Founder Leadership Research Lab,….

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Estate Donations, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving

Donor Advised Funds are not Trusts

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A common misconception about donor advised funds is that they are trusts, charitable purpose trusts.  At times, lawyers, especially those with expertise in trusts and estates, struggle with this distinction, as do donors.  In 2023, this issue came to the forefront when Canadian charities briefly thought they might need to report on certain funds under trust reporting rules.  Although donor advised funds have trust-like features, most are not trusts. This….

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Estate Donations, Estate Planning, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Trusts

The new charity funding crisis

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Charities do not exclusively depend on donations, despite popular perceptions to the contrary. In Canada, government funding and earned revenue contribute more to registered charities than donations.  Both these types of low-key funding are under pressure, enough so that we will soon witness some large charities shrink or even collapse. Now, it’s true that a high percentage of charities get most of their income from donations, but these organizations are….

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Estate Donations, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving
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