Planned Giving

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

Insurance Policy donations -  MORE than just paperwork…

My very first official engagement with CAGP was at this year’s 25th National Conference on Strategy Philanthropy in Winnipeg. In a nutshell – I was both impressed, and relieved. Let me unpack that statement a little. 

I have never been to a CAGP conference. In fact, until 2 years ago I had not idea what the acronym CAGP stood for. With just one CAGP conference, I have become a groupie and a donor. Let me tell you why: 

While my experience was different than most, I clearly recall my first CAGP Conference. Of course, it doesn’t date back 10-15+ years as with many who may be reading this; just five years, but what was unique for my experience was that my history with CAGP was just 8 days long, and I was now the leader of this organization. This was going to be my foreseeable future. 

Let’s break the rules!

No new Gift Planning projects from me this summer…instead, I’m going to urge you to make a new best friend at summer school.

Your Annual Giving Colleague (AGC). 

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.

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.