May is national LEAVE A LEGACY™ month across Canada. LEAVE A LEGACY™ is a national public awareness program designed to encourage Canadians to leave a gift, primarily through their will, to a charity or nonprofit of their choice.
The program is a donor-oriented education campaign to raise awareness of the importance of including a charitable gift in the estate-planning process. The main goal of estate planning is usually to have the greatest amount of one’s estate pass to the owner’s intended beneficiaries (children, family, charity). This often includes paying the least amount of taxes. A legacy gift can benefit your favourite cause or community nonprofit significantly.
We are living in a time when an unprecedented amount of wealth is being transferred from one generation to the next. According to the Canadian Association of Gift Planners, in the next two decades 3.5 million Canadians are expected to die, leaving an estimated $1.5 trillion to their families and community.
Recent data on estate planning
A recent Scotiabank study found that half (50 per cent) of Canadians have a will and just over half of Canadians (54 per cent) said they have spoken to their family about their intentions for their will. The study also found that only one third (33 per cent) of Canadians have a power of attorney for property, while 59 per cent do not have one and 8 per cent say they don’t know what it is. The Ministry of the Attorney General describes a power of attorney as a legal document that gives someone else the right to act on your behalf.
The disturbing part is that 50 per cent of Canadians currently don’t have a will. According to the LEAVE A LEGACY™ program, if this trend continues, about two million Canadians will end life without a will to protect their assets in the next two decades. Without a will, people lose the ability to control distribution of their estate to their chosen beneficiaries.
A common myth is people think you have to be wealthy to make a legacy gift—this is simply not true. Anyone can arrange to leave a charitable gift from their estate, regardless of its size. It means a great deal to a charity and provides for the future by carrying on the organization’s mission.
Where can you get help?
That is all well and good, but where do you get assistance? Your financial planner, lawyer, accountant, or insurance agent can help you leave a gift. These allied professionals can tell you about the best gift vehicle and tax benefits for legacy gifts. You can also call the charity or the nonprofit and ask for the staff who manage the legacy or planned-giving program. They can help too.
How can you help? The LEAVE A LEGACY™ program lists 10 things you can do today to make a difference:
1. Prepare a will.
2. Leave a gift in your will for the nonprofit that makes a difference in your life.
3. Leave a specific dollar amount or a percentage of your assets to a nonprofit.
4. Consider using assets for your legacy gift.
5. Name a nonprofit as a beneficiary of your RRSP, RRIF or pension plan.
6. Name your favourite nonprofit as the beneficiary of an existing life insurance policy.
7. Purchase a new life insurance policy naming your favourite nonprofit as the beneficiary.
8. Remember loved ones with memorial gifts.
9. Encourage family and friends to leave gifts to nonprofits in their wills.
10. Ask your financial or estate-planning advisor to include charitable giving as part of your financial plan and to incorporate their counsel to other clients.
People give for many different reasons; to ensure their memory lives on, to ensure that their favorite charity is able to continue its important work, to minimize the tax liability that comes with the transfer of one’s estate to surviving family members.
I have left a gift in my will to my favourite charity because I value the organization for its mission and good work. My reason for giving a legacy gift is to help the organization continue the work they are doing and ensure sustainability of core programs for the future.
By leaving a gift to a charity or nonprofit in your will or estate plan, you ensure your assets continue to help others into the future.
Join me and create a brighter future for our community.
For more information on the program, please visit http://www.leavealegacy.ca/
Roger D. Ali, President (Volunteer), Association of Fundraising Professionals, Golden Horseshoe Chapter & Vice President, Development, Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation.
