Ahhhhh, summer. A time of long days at the beach, cocktails with friends, and road trips without a destination.
Hold on. Full stop. How many of us actually spend our summer that way?
[Leah hears crickets]
What are you reading this summer? Ulysses? Fifty Shades of Grey? From the sublime to the ridiculous (but which is which?) I hope you find some down time to read something you love. I also hope you’re spending time this summer creating stories—making memories with your loved ones.
Conferences are a funny thing.
They exist in a number of dimensions at once.
For people new to a profession, a job, or to a community - they are an entry into another world. Often overwhelming and seemingly complex, but if the conference team does their job right – that person leaves with new knowledge, connections that could help achieve new goals, and comfort knowing that new heights can be conquered.
A couple of decades ago, some of the largest Canadian charities were suffering. Federal cuts to transfer payments, seen as necessary to balance the national government books, were a body blow to universities, hospitals and others.
Help for the charitable sector came in the form of a policy change in line with what donors enjoy in the U.S. After considerable lobbying, Ottawa agreed to “temporarily” reduce in 1997, then permanently eliminate in 2006, the capital gains tax on appreciated securities when donors gifted them in kind to charity.
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. All estate donations of private company shares to any registered charity would be categorized as a non-qualifying security, not just gifts to private foundations. As a result, no tax receipt could be issued until the shares are sold within a 60-month window.
True collaboration and cooperation is required to achieve success in a comprehensive campaign. No fundraising units of a charity should be perceived as being in competition with any other unit. In my opinion, this requires strong leadership and creative goal setting. Why are so many planned giving shops measured with metrics designed for major gift fund raisers? I have heard a broad range of answers to this question, none of which was particularly satisfactory and a few reasons made no sense at all.
How is professional excellence achieved? Professional excellence begins with good manners that can be learned at home, at school, at work, from experience, and by adopting an attitude that embraces growth, continuous development, and learning from mistakes.
The partnership between the Canadian Association of Gift Planners and The Knowledge Bureau is a watershed moment for CAGP and a seminal moment for charitable gift planning in Canada. HERE’S WHY... by Brad Offman
Strategic Gift Planning is more than just Planned Giving.
It’s more than donations and fundraising and philanthropy.
It’s tied to tectonic questions like, “why are we here”, and actions that change the world.
As practitioners, we get stuck in our day-to-day activities.
But who is a practitioner? We are fundraisers, lawyers, accountants, bankers, insurance professionals, estate trustees --- and we need to start talking to each other if we want to be of better service to our donors and clients.
SO. Let’s get talking.