20 Paul Nazareth, The Generosity Guy I ‘Is this normal Mr. Nazareth? A bequest from a donor who has never given us a dollar before?’ The board chair sounded panicked. I’m used to this after living three different lifetimes/decades with The Canadian Donor’s Guide – an advertiser as a charitable fundraiser, a sponsor and estate advisor in a trust company and, for the past several years, as a national curriculum educator in donation tax, financial and estate planning. These days I’m spending time with researchers and educators in generosity – both in the math-fields of tax, finan- cial and estate planning and the neuro- science of philanthropy. And these audiences have been asking me better questions. So, I’m going to share some words about the FEELINGS shared with me by donors to charities I worked at, clients of the advisors I worked with, and attendees of my hun- dreds of courses on fundraising and philanthropy. I hope they may be a meditation of permission for you – insight into the possibility of generosity beyond fundraising walks, runs, rides, bake sales and raffles. For the alumni, the Church and Mosque-members, the paycheque-givers…free yourself from fundraising! Consult the other article always in the Donor’s Guide on the ACTUAL tax benefits of giving in Canada. The Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada continue to confirm that we have some of the best charitable benefits in life and estate in the western world! Use the math and these thoughts to guide your giving – and a proper advisor in tax, financial and estate planning for you, your busi- ness and loved ones. This advisor - donor - charity conversation is what the Donor’s Guide, turning 40 years old this year, celebrates and really MEANS: “Yes, I have peace of mind now that my Will is done. But I’m still so shocked our estate lawyer was able to show us how we could give thousands of dollars in our Will. We thought ‘we can’t give that much in life!’ Now, all the charities we care about are going to get a gift that is going to make things happen.” “These kids are young and we have a quick Will just so they’re taken care of but there is no ‘giving plan.’ And… who are ‘our charities’? Who knew it was easy to add our favourite charities that we found in the Donor’s Guide to our RRSP (registered retirement savings plan) and TFSA (tax-free savings account) as beneficiaries alongside our loved ones. We care about climate and justice and we don’t want to wait for estate planning to start thinking about the future.” “During the talk at the Chamber of Commerce, I went on my phone and used CanadaHelps.org to donate stocks to multiple charities. Before the end of the year, my accountant and I cleaned up my capital gains with donations of mutual funds…they’ve been doing this since 2007?! I’m on the board of a charity and we’re still asking for cash!” “I left my own Church Finance Council – tired of arguing and getting yelled at by the holy rollers and envelope-takers. My financial advisor sits in the same pew at a different service at my Church. She helped me start a giv- ing-fund (advised foundation) locally and now I give double, and no one knows it’s me. It’s all automated. I get back more on my taxes and no one yells at me about envelopes. I can just focus on why I’m there.” “Our local food bank looked at me like I had three heads when I asked if we could donate cryptocurrency. Our parents are downsizing and look- ing at all of their collections. Why wait until an estate sale to start selling and donating the proceeds to charity? There are platforms to do ALL of this now!” Pretty though provoking, don’t you think? But – the HOW is not the WHY. Use this guide for you, dear donor, to learn about which charities do what you care about, such as change, safe- guard and protect, or build a world YOU believe in. And remember who handed it to you. Advisors ensure that your wishes come true! In community and care, Paul Nazareth Paul Nazareth, MFA-P aka “The Generosity Guy.” Paul Nazareth has worked in Canada’s Reverse the Math of Giving – Shift from Fundraising to Generosity Planning CHARITABLE GIVING
