Estate Donation

Does Donor Recognition Create Obligations?

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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. There are legal, practical, and human issues to consider. Legal Limitations Donations must be freely given and are not contractually binding,….

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Estate Planning, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving

Charity or Parallel Foundation?

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[caption id="attachment_20034" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Detail of painting The End of Comedy by P. Alvarez, 2017[/caption] Recently, I received a note from a colleague who sits on the board of a social service charity as a volunteer.  This charity has an older, long-time donor who has named the charity in her will.  The problem is the charity prefers to have the estate donation to go to its parallel foundation, as it….

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Philanthropy/Charitable Giving

Testamentary Charitable Trusts

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[caption id="attachment_20431" align="aligncenter" width="517"] Morris Minor 1000, 1963  (Source: Wikipedia commons)[/caption] From the 19th century to about 1990, the testamentary charitable trust was an important estate planning structure.  These trusts are part of the will and are funded after death from estate assets.  At one time, testamentary trusts were the primary way for an individual to support one or more charities or charitable purposes after death.  But they have been….

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

An Estate Donation of a Company  

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[caption id="attachment_19850" align="aligncenter" width="471"] Donor Miriam Bergen’s photo is held by her niece, Doris Geitz. (CBC)[/caption] On Giving Tuesday last month, The Winnipeg Foundation announced a $500 million estate donation from a local donor, Miriam Bergen.  The donation is of two companies.  Appleton Holdings Ltd., which owns Edison Properties, which in turn holds 27 rental apartment and commercial buildings in Winnipeg. The donor’s wished that her 200 employees “retain their….

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Estate Donations, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Uncategorized

Canadian Donation Incentives

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I published a version of this blog three years ago to address the many questions on Canadian tax incentives for donations that I receive.  Since the questions keep coming here is a revised and updated version. Generous but Complex and Opaque Canada has the most generous tax incentives for charitable giving in the world, but few Canadian donors understand what they save and how the system works. Why the paradox? ….

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Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Uncategorized

One in Ten: Why Bequest Donors Don’t Inform Charities

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One in ten.  That, according to charitable sector studies, is how many estate donors inform the charities in their will of their intentions.  While this ratio varies by charity it underscores a fascinating paradox.  Bequest donors trust charities enough to make them beneficiaries of their estate, but they don’t trust them enough to tell them in advance. The Paradox This paradox is frustrating for charities.  Charities spend a lot of….

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