Philanthropy/Charitable Giving

Total 173 Posts

Endowments and Perpetuity

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“Is perpetuity 21 years?” asked a charity colleague.  “No, it’s forever, until the end of time, or as long as we collectively exist,” I answered.  Despite my pedantic response, the question is a good one because it underscores the inherent meaninglessness of the phrase “in perpetuity” in relation to charitable endowments. My colleague’s charity was reviewing its endowment policy and having an internal debate about the term of funds.  One opinion….

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Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Uncategorized

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. 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

Estate Donations = Faster Distributions

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[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

Time Matters in Philanthropy

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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

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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

University’s Decision on Spending $4 Million Bequest from Frugal Donor is Controversial, Fully Permissible

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University of New Hampshire library cataloger and alumnus Robert Morin died in 2015 at the age of 77. Morin, known for his thrifty lifestyle, spent little on food or clothes, and drove a 1992 Plymouth until his death. His will bequeathed a $4 million fortune to his employer, with the only instructions that $100,000 of the gift be spent at the school’s Dimond Library, where Morin worked. However, controversy later….

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Estate Litigation, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving
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