Friday, November 20, 2009 - North Shore News - A29
charitable giving & estate planning
Hockey association helps out . . . . . . . . . . 30 North Van High lives on . . . . . . . 31 Leaving a legacy . . . . .
32
A special section of the
PHOTO DREAMSTIME.COM
Charity hurts in recession People are still giving but a struggling economy means a slowdown in donations Joanna Habdank jhabdank@nsnews.com
WHEN it comes to estate planning and charitable giving, it seems people are still generous during tough times, but organizations have been struggling. Peter Bonny, a lawyer with North Vancouver-based Ratcliff & Company specializing in wills, trusts and estates, says that over the past year he hasn’t noticed a dip in the amount people leave to charities in their wills. “I haven’t particularly noticed a change in habits of people,” he says. “I’m still getting a lot of charitable gifts in estate plans,” says Bonny. He explains that while its difficult for him to gauge whether the gifts are smaller than they otherwise would have been he hasn’t had anyone come back and say that they would like to change
their portfolio because their finances have been hit. What has changed is that many people’s investments have taken a tumble. “In regards to people’s portfolio’s a
“It certainly has been very challenging over the past year.”
lot of people have suffered,” says Bonny. Which in turn means that the amount of money charitable organizations receive has also been impacted. “I know a lot of charities have been really hurting when it comes to their day to day, I know that they are finding it hard to get their money in,” says Bonny, who also specializes in charity law. That’s true for at least one organization
on the North Shore. “It certainly has been very challenging over the past year,” says West Vancouver Community Foundation’s executive director Delaina Bell. She says that the fall of 2008 was the first time in its 30-year history that the foundation wasn’t able to give grants. In part it was because the return on investments was too low. The other factor was a decrease in donations. In fact, according to figures released by Statistics Canada on Nov. 16, Canadians donated $8.19 billion to charities in 2008 — a 5.3-per-cent drop from the previous year. The good news is that the number of people donating increased to 1.4 per cent to 5.8 million. Among census metropolitan areas, donors in Abbotsford had by far the highest median donation at $620. Toronto donors were next with a median of $360, slightly ahead of Vancouver with $340. It was the fourth year in a row that Abbotsford and Toronto reported the highest median donations. See Charities page 32
Leaving a little can create lasting change MANY people give their time and money to charities on a daily basis but when it comes to estate planning, those same organizations are sometimes overlooked. Here are a few reasons why they shouldn’t be, and the difference that donations can make. ■ Enrich people’s lives Every day, people are helped and lives are enriched by the work of registered charities and foundations, and other not-for-profit organizations in our communities. Meals for isolated seniors, summer jobs for disadvantaged high school students, funding for mental health or cancer research or a live performance by a local arts organization are just some of the ways not-for-profit organizations improve our lives. ■ Provide support Financial assistance is essential to support and sustain charitable work. It would be great if more funding were available for medical research, for domestic abuse shelters, or a treasured arts or music program. Charitable organizations need financial assistance from people like you to continue their work. By making bequests and other “planned gifts,” you can continue to help organizations that are making an important difference in your community. See Gifts page 31