FOUNDATION The Business & Spirit of Philanthropy in Canada January/February 2020 | Vol. 1 | No. 2
David Asper:
A Giving
Life
One Of Canada’s Most Spirited & Influential Donors
• Telling Stories • Charting Paths • Building Legacies • Impact Investing …and more
Courtesy Ian McCausland Photography
The Donor Report
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True Facts from Our World North Vancouver writer and researcher Vivian Krause released her documentary, Over a Barrel, not too long ago on Vimeo, after showings in Calgary and Edmonton. She explains how hundreds of millions of dollars were provided by American foundations to groups in Canada to oppose the export of Canadian oil and gas by tankers. She points out that the B.C. coast is targeted, but not Alaska, Oregon, or California, where you can see offshore drilling rigs from the beach. If you don’t know about Krause’s work and methodology, and the controversies it creates, you should. Look her up. Originally launched in 2016, this year marks the beginning of the fourth chapter of the VS brand platform. To-date the SickKids VS Limits campaign has reached almost 75 percent of it’s $1.3 billion goal – the largest fundraiser in Canadian health care history. While fires ravage Australia, the world has inundated the country’s fire services and other non-profit organizations with tens of millions of dollars in donations. It’s a challenge for a country more accustomed to being a donor than a recipient. The nation is trying to efficiently distribute huge sums of money and to decipher donors’ sometimes vague intentions. “We don’t normally get phone calls from people who want to give $1 million and beyond” - Belinda Dimovski, the director of engagement at the Australian Red Cross (NY Times). The Pecking Order 2020 report from the World Animal Protection organization ranks how fast food restaurants are performing on chicken welfare globally, revealing some alarming findings. This means consumers are unwittingly buying meat from chickens that are subject to unnecessary suffering and cruelty. Before ending up on your plate, most of the birds were raised in cramped, barren environments with no sunlight. Many suffered from lameness and skin lesions as a result of intensive breeding for fast growth and large size. This also places huge pressure on their heart, lungs and legs. The companies assessed are Burger King, Domino’s Pizza Group, Domino’s Inc, KFC, McDonald’s, Nando’s, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and Subway. One chain received a score of ‘0’, indicating they have no interest in improving chicken welfare. www.worldanimalprotection.ca to see the report. The Wall Street Journal on January 8, 2020 in an opinion piece entitled “The War on Philanthropy: Private giving achieves what government can’t - which is why authoritarians hate it” basically provides an unabashed defence of philanthropy and response to those who criticize philanthropy for advancing more the interests of billionaires than the public interest. Canadian charity lawyer Mark Bloomberg counters. “In my view, there is no ‘war’ on philanthropy. There have been many commentators over the last few years raising concerns about growing inequality of wealth and also how charities and foundations operate with large tax incentives for those who donate and in some cases very little transparency and accountability.”
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January/February 2020
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Contents
January/February 2020 | Vol. 1 | No. 2
www.foundationmag.ca
Twitter: @foundationmaga1 PRESIDENT / Editor-in-chief Steve Lloyd - steve.lloyd@lloydmedia.ca EDITOR Brendan Read - brendan.read@lloydmedia.ca DESIGN / PRODUCTION Jennifer O’Neill - jennifer@dmn.ca CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Adam Aptowitzer Justin de Viries David Asper Matthew Dubins Malcolm Burrows Simon Fairbairn Penny Connors Jess Fehr Elyse Crowston Kim Fuller Allen Davidov Tanya Giovacchini
Jamie Golombek Tracy Howard Andrea McManus Gail Picco Kathleen Provost Brendan Read
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302-137 Main Street North Markham ON L3P 1Y2 Phone: 905.201.6600 Fax: 905.201.6601 Toll-free: 800.668.1838 EDITORIAL CONTACT: Foundation Magazine is published bi-monthly by Lloydmedia Inc. Foundation Magazine may be obtained through paid subscription. Rates: Canada 1 year (6 issues $48) 2 years (12 issues $70) U.S. 1 year (6 issues $60) 2 years (12 issues $100) Foundation Magazine is an independently-produced publication not affiliated in any way with any association or organized group nor with any publication produced either in Canada or the United States. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome. However unused manuscripts will not be returned unless accompanied by sufficient postage. Occasionally Foundation Magazine provides its subscriber mailing list to other companies whose product or service may be of value to readers. If you do not want to receive information this way simply send your subscriber mailing label with this notice to: Lloydmedia Inc. 302-137 Main Street North Markham ON L3P 1Y2 Canada. POSTMASTER: Please send all address changes and return all undeliverable copies to: Lloydmedia Inc. 302-137 Main Street North Markham ON L3P 1Y2 Canada
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Cover Story
January/February 2020
A Giving Life David Asper reflects on the Grey Cup, his varied professional and philanthropic careers, and passing the torch to the next generation
4 The lead in 6 Seen, Heard & Noted Columnist
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Do We Have Too Many Charities? Wealth Management - Malcolm Burrows
Are All Fundraisers Asked To Be Financial Virtuosos? Leadership - Kathleen Provost
Inside analytics - Brady Hambleton will return next issue
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Contents
50 The Space Between First And Second Families
Feature
28 Connecting The Dots On Sexual Misconduct In The Philanthropic Sector Part Two: The Response
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Fundraising
34 In The Mail
St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation
Legal Foundations
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50
Courtesy Ian McCausland Photography
Donor Report
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36 Some Deserve A Reserve PAYMENTS REPORT
42 Twelve Payment Predictions Which Might Change Your FinTech Strategy
The Mathematics Of Charitable Giving Buckle Up For A Rough Ride Another Year Of Turbulence And Change In The Charitable Sector
24 Telling Their Stories
Charities’ Magazines Connect With Communities And Donors
Chapters REPORT
48 AFP Greater Toronto’s New Director
Building On An Impressive Legacy
49 AFP - Southern Alberta Chapter
A Thriving Chapter Enters Its Ninth Year With Big Results And Big Plans
32 Is Impact Investing The End Of Philanthropy? 49 Historic Plaques Which Honour 38 Gift Prospect Modeling And Prospect Research Philanthropy How To Dispense With The Hype And Find Power In Donor Data
40 Care Canada Takes Note
Top 5 Innovations For Social Good In 2019
41 Top Five Trends In Philanthropy For 2020 44 How To Chart The Best Path For Your New Supporter
45 Setting Strategy, Donors and Technology
Inside The Evolving Role Of The Non-Profit CMO
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Élisabeth Bruyère Hospital
Next Issue… Coming in March 2020. ... The next issue of Foundation Magazine looks at The Good Society, including special reports on impact investing, gift planning, legacy donation trends, community investment, and insights from corporate philanthropy’s leaders and influencers who are reshaping the way business supports society’s evolution. We also have a special report on the new world of analytics, prospecting, data security and social media power. Plus reports from Atlantic Canada’s chapters of AFP and CAGP. Visit our website daily for breaking news. www.foundationmag.ca January/February 2020
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SEEN, HEARD & NOTED
New initiative sets sail to study climate change.
National Research Institute Launches to Bring Clarity to Canada’s Climate Dozens of academics and policy experts launched the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices, a new independent national research body. The Institute aims to bring clarity to the transformative challenges, opportunities and choices ahead for Canada as governments at all levels work to address climate change. The Institute will undertake rigorous, evidence-based and integrated research, analysis and engagement to help decision-makers and Canadians understand and evaluate the policy choices that could put Canada on a path to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and build a clean, prosperous and resilient future that benefits all Canadians. Strategy includes providing an integrated, evidencebased and practical perspective to inform climate policy development and decision-making by governments at all levels by bringing together experts from a broad range of disciplines, including 6
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economics, climate change adaptation and mitigation, Indigenous knowledge, natural and social sciences, public policy, energy systems and engineering. Institute staff will also engage extensively with business leaders, policy makers, Indigenous governments, communities, thought leaders and a broad spectrum of Canadians to convene constructive discussions about policy choices, and showcase effective solutions and best practices from leading Canadian cities, regions and industries. The Institute’s initial report, Charting our Course, takes stock of the current climate policy landscape in Canada and makes the case for how better integration among areas of expertise and conventional policy silos can contribute to a more resilient and prosperous future. The report concludes with four recommendations for policy makers and governments seeking to design and implement more effective policy. Find out more at https://climatechoices. ca/reports/charting-ourcourse/ •••••••••••••••••••
January/February 2020
Canadians Value Personal Advice Over a Search — Really, They Do Despite technology making it easier than ever to access information, a new CIBC poll shows that when it comes to major life events, such as getting married, buying a home, or finding a job, many respondents (63 percent) prefer to ask their friends and family for advice. This is most prevalent amongst younger Canadians, with 78 percent of those aged 18-34 leaning on people close to them when making important decisions. When it comes to financial advice, 46 percent of Canadians prefer to ask an advisor through their financial institution and 36 percent turn to family and friends. Only 20 percent of respondents prefer to go online. Canadians are most likely to seek financial advice for the following events: when planning for retirement (40 percent); general investment planning (30 percent); wills or estate planning (27 percent); and planning for a home purchase (26 percent). Our guess is that this is even higher when donors are considering financial advice for their philanthropy. “The internet may be a portal to vast amounts of information, but big decisions are personal. When there are choices… whether they are career moves or retirement planning, Canadians value the word of a person they trust,” said Kathleen Woodard, senior vice president, CIBC Personal and Small Business Banking. “Similar to a family member or a close friend, a financial advisor takes on a
role where they understand your needs, treat your goals as their own and provide advice to make your ambitions a reality.” Those who rely on a financial advisor seem to have greater confidence and knowledge about their money matters. Top reasons include feeling an advisor delivers the best financial advice (50 percent), more comfort making financial decisions with the help of an expert (49 percent) and a better understanding of how investments fit into overall financial health (35 percent). The survey also found that most Canadians don’t turn to the web for money management or financial information. More than three-quarters say they have never used an online service that manages investments (robo-advisor), with 20 percent unaware of these services altogether. Many (65 percent) claim they do not use online search engines for questions about common financial products or matters. ••••••••••••••••••• CNIB Foundation Wants Your Smartphone Every year thousands of Canadians receive new smartphones for the holidays. Their used devices end up collecting dust for months or years to come – even though they may still be very new. So clean out your drawers, scour your shelves and unpack your closets. CNIB Foundation is asking Canadians to rescue devices from their fate in the clutter drawer and donate them to people with sight loss. The organization’s foundationmag.ca
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Barbara Grantham
CARE Canada and VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation Get New Leaders Barbara Grantham will join the CARE Canada as president and chief executive officer. Grantham, who was in the same roles at the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation, is an executive with more than 30 years of leadership in the non-profit and philanthropic sectors across Canada. Angela Chapman is the new president & CEO of VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation, a promotion from her role as director of philanthropy. CARE Canada Board Chair Ken Sunquist expressed great excitement at the appointment. “With her exceptional track record of philanthropic leadership and resource development, as well as, her deep commitment for truly engaging Canadians in the issues that matter most foundationmag.ca
to them, Barbara is ideally positioned to lead CARE Canada. She is a focused, team-oriented leader with a passion for driving and measuring results. We know that she and the CARE Canada team are a great fit.” “I am thrilled to be joining CARE Canada as CEO and look forward to getting to know the CARE team, its partners, donors, volunteers and the program participants who are essential for its success,” said Grantham. Barbara has held executive positions with some of Canada’s foremost non-profit organizations, including the Vancouver Foundation, BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Canadian Mental Health Association and the StreetoHome Foundation. She also established and ran her own highly successful consulting practice. In 2016, she was named one of Women’s Executive Network’s annual Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada. Most recently, she received the 2019 AFP Lifetime Achievement in Fundraising Award in recognition of her decades of philanthropic leadership. ••••••••••••••••••• Foundation Assists Acquisition of a Masterpiece A unique 1912 Emily Carr painting, entitled Street, Alert Bay, has been acquired by the Audain Art Museum (AAM) courtesy of the Audain Foundation. The masterpiece, with its brilliant colours and expressive details, is the newest addition to the AAM’s Permanent Collection of British Columbia art. One
Director & Chief Curator, Dr. Curtis Collins and Kiriko Watanabe, Gail & Stephen A. Jarislowsky Curator.
Courtesy CNW Group/Audain Art Museum
Phone It Forward program takes modern, gently used smartphones; refurbishes them and outfits them with accessible apps; and puts them directly into the hands of Canadians who are blind. They also provide training on how to use the refurbished phones with confidence. We love it. Smartphones themselves… that’s another conversation.
Courtesy CNW Group/Audain Art Museum
SEEN, HEARD & NOTED
Street, Alert Bay, Emily Carr
of Carr’s most historicallyimportant oil on canvas productions, Street, Alert Bay, of 1912 depicts a compelling Kwakwaka’wakw community scene and is based on a 1909 watercolour by Carr entitled Alert Bay, Street Scene with Mother in Foreground. This major acquisition underlines a radical shift in Emily Carr’s practice following her trip to France from 1910 to 1911, while conveying January/February 2020
the Victoria-born artist’s newfound understanding of the European avant-garde. As such, the 1912 oil on canvas reveals an expression of aesthetic purpose beyond pictorial accuracy, and this same dynamism is fully explored in the Audain Art Museum’s exhibition Emily Carr: Fresh Seeing – French Modernism and the West Coast. Check the museum for dates and times.
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Columnist
Wealth Management Malcolm Burrows
Do We Have Too Many Charities?
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By Malcolm Burrows
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January/February 2020
Gary Tannyan
oes Canada have too many registered charities chasing too few dollars? This is a complaint that is often heard. There is simply too much competition and not enough entities with scale that are effective. Or so goes the narrative. I think it’s the wrong question to ask. Those asking are big funders, efficiency experts, fiercely competitive fundraisers, and policy wonks. It reflects a profound misunderstanding about charities and their role in society. In January 2020, Canada had 85,756 registered charities. That one big number tells us very little. We need to understand how charities are organized, why they are important, and how the numbers are trending. Trends The trend line is clear. The number of registered charities had been climbing since Federal registration was introduced in 1967. It peaked at just under 87,000 in 2017, and for the last two years has been declining. foundationmag.ca
Columnist The charitable sector researcher Don McRae has been tracking the ins and outs for a number of years. In his 2019 report, McRae noted there were 2,146 revocations, with only 12 due to audits. Some of the trends he observes are the decline in the number of Christian churches, reorganizations to meet funding and logistical challenges, and the difficulty in finding volunteers. Poverty and education were over represented as categories.
revenue under $100,000 per annum and no staff people. They are small! Look at Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia. The Cape Breton community of 14,135 people has 11 charities, including 6 churches, 3 social service organizations, a scholarship trust and a heritage organization. All are privately funded, none are flush with money, and all address local needs. Down the road in Sydney, population 29,904, there are some new charities addressing new needs, such as a palliative
this in the past decade. These national organizations inherited a grassroots network of local chapters, which served another time. Another group of charities in the system that dates from another time is testamentary (established by will) charitable trusts that have been registered as standalone private foundations. There are, for example, 71 registered charities with “estate of” in the name. This structure has largely been replaced by legacy donor advised funds within public foundations.
At a macro level, it’s essential to remember that most charities are volunteer organizations serving a specific community. Revocation for failure to file a T3010 is also a major category that often indicates underlying organizational exhaustion. Failure to file charities totaled 958 in 2019. A few organizations will reapply with Canada Revenue Agency to regain their status. In 2019, Canada also welcomed 1,558 new registered charities. One upward trend is the increase in private foundations, one of the three categories of registered charities. On January 22, 2020 there was 5,974 private foundations. These charities are typically set up, funded and controlled by an individual or family. In contrast there are 4,963 public foundations. A decade ago public foundations outnumbered private. Is Canada losing its traditional social backbone of religious organizations, seeing a shrinking pool of volunteers (who were often involved with religious organizations) and an increase in private philanthropy? Are we in a world of more funders and fewer doers? The answer to these questions is “yes”. So, too many charities? The big trending numbers don’t, however, answer the “too many” question. At a macro level, it’s essential to remember that most charities are volunteer organizations serving a specific community. Two-thirds of charities have foundationmag.ca
care, sexual health, the spiritual needs of the Muslim population and autism. At the other end of the registered charity “hockey stick” distribution curve are large educational institutions and hospitals. They receive the majority of their funding from government. They also have service fees and often significant donations — either directly or through a parallel fundraising foundation. Annual budgets can range from $50 million to $2 billion or more. Yes, that’s billion, but these entities are rare. The middle, which is actually the sector’s top end, has charities with revenue of $1 to $10 million. This group has more fundraising needs and often greater geographic service reach. There are about 6,000 charities in this revenue band.
There is no question that some charities could benefit from mergers. Mergers There is no question that some charities could benefit from mergers. A number of major national health charities, such as Heart and Stroke Foundation, have done
Expectations Criticizing charities for being too numerous reflects mistaken expectations. Charities are imperfect, human organizations. Some are highly effective and have huge ambitions. Others are grassroots, volunteer-run, and have modest goals and resources — and are important community organizations. Both ends of the spectrum are essential to Canada. This is also true in the business world where similar inequities exist among entities. But no one says there should be fewer small businesses. New businesses emerge to address new opportunities and, frankly, most don’t thrive. Charities are a structure for caring individuals to come together to address community needs. This process has been formalized in charity law and the Income Tax Act, but at the most basic level it’s a grassroots process to organize collectively to produce public benefit. There is no cap on public needs to address. And there is no requirement for charities to be big, efficient and impactful. If such a requirement existed local organizations addressing local needs would be stymied. We need a diverse and open charitable sector, and that’s what we have in Canada.
Malcolm Burrows is Head, Philanthropic Advisory Services for Scotia Wealth Management of Scotiatrust. He writes this column exclusively for each issue of Foundation Magazine.
January/February 2020
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Columnist
Leadership Kathleen Provost
Are All Fundraisers Asked To Be Financial Virtuosos?
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By Kathleen Provost
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January/February 2020
Courtesy Kathleen Provost
s a professional fundraiser I always thought I was expected to have some knowledge about the psychology of giving, the motivation of donors, as well as having the skill to write strong cases for support. Did you ever think a fundraiser would need to be an expert auditor, a financial manager or an accountant? Fundraising is about finding philanthropic dollars in the pursuit of a goal or mission. So why is it necessary to understand all the fiscal aspects of a philanthropic transaction? Well, as a professional fundraiser, my goal is to determine the best scenario to secure funds from a donor, in support of a charitable organization. However, it is imperative I consider all aspects of the financial transaction for both the charitable organization receiving the funds, as well as the party giving the funds. Let me explain‌ Learning the language - accounting terms Accounting terms should not be foreign to fundraisers. We need to master some accounting terms because we may be talking to a potential donor who is a business owner, entrepreneur, or professional accountant. We also need to comprehend accounting terms in our foundationmag.ca
Columnist own charitable organization; so, we can understand why we are raising funds and how this may impact our operational budget. Whatever the situation is, our understanding of debits and credits, income statements, assets, liabilities and equity is essential for us to better manage our relationship with donors, and our own organizations. To ensure we have a respectful conversation with our potential donor or investor, we need to understand where funds come from. For example, is the philanthropic transaction successful for the business owner because it can be expensed? Or do these funds come out of a family’s equity fund? Each philanthropic transaction we conduct to raise funds is as unique as a person’s DNA. A better understanding of accounting also helps fundraisers ensure the financial arrangements with donors are ethical and legal. To this end, a Code of Ethical Principles was adopted by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) in 1964. This Code was amended in 2014 and exists to promote high ethical behaviour in the fundraising profession. Members of AFP recognize their responsibility to ensure the intent of the donor is honestly fulfilled. The following are some of the Code’s Principles. AFP Members: ❯❯ Practice their profession with integrity, honesty, truthfulness and adherence to the absolute obligation to safeguard the public trust; ❯❯ Put philanthropic mission above personal gain; ❯❯ Value the privacy, freedom of choice and interests of all those affected by their actions; ❯❯ Adhere to the spirit as well as the letter of all applicable laws and regulations; ❯❯ Advocate within their organization’s adherence to all applicable laws and regulations.
(Source: AFP Code of Ethical Principles and Standards. See: afpglobal.org)
Setting the fundraising budget – a team approach Being literate in accounting and financial foundationmag.ca
processes is helpful for fundraisers when building budgets. However, the budgeting process of a charitable organization to generate revenues is not only the responsibility of the fundraiser. Formulating the fundraising component of an organization’s budget, also involves the Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director, Development department, Finance department and even program staff. Everyone needs to understand the fundraising budget to determine how much can be spent to attain a desired fundraising goal. The fundraising budget will be made up of direct and indirect costs. Furthermore, when developing our budgets, we must consider the real cost of each specific fundraising activity. For example, the acquisition of new donors cost more than donor stewardship. Yet, donor acquisitions are necessary to build our pipeline of future donors. It is also necessary to consider all of the direct and indirect cost when planning a special event. These financial considerations will give an accurate representation of how much must be invested to raise money. The successful formula will include how much money to spend, for the expected funds to be raised. Then, we must measure specific key financial indicators such as; our fundraising results, our retention rates and the evaluation of multi-year trends for each of our fundraising activities. Keep in mind, each fundraising strategy being implemented will be influenced by a combination of financial indicators. Owning the process – the financial picture Numerous fundraising experts and practitioners have developed, measured and offered recommendations on the cost of specific fundraising activities. For example, the average cost to raise major gifts can be between $0.10 to $0.25 for each dollar invested. Similarly, special events are said to yield approximately $0.50 cents for each dollar invested. So why do fundraisers need to be financial virtuosos, if all this information is available?
Let’s take the case of a special event. When holding an event, we spend $0.50 on every dollar in direct costs. However, holding an event may also increase our brand awareness. To increase brand awareness on its own, we would normally need pay for advertisements or media relations. Now, through this event, we have benefitted from increased brand awareness without a direct cost. This increased “value” is difficult to monetize. Consequently, what is the real return on our investment now that we have identified extra value? So, as fundraisers, we need to be financial virtuosos to better understand the return on investment (ROI) of each fundraising strategies we put in place. A colleague of mine highlighted the importance of understanding ROI very eloquently in a recent publication. Peter Fardy, a long-time fundraiser and current Vice-President, Advancement for Dalhousie University, published a paper on how to fuel growth in the field of fundraising entitled: Funding Advancement Growth: Taking Control of Your Own Destiny. Fardy’s concluding remarks stated: “Unless we believe we are opportunity constrained or competency constrained, we must hold ourselves to higher account and demonstrate both sustainable and predictable ROI and be willing to be accountable for delivering results.” Simply put, as a fundraiser, if we don’t know the “financial language”, it will be difficult to play the “financial game” successfully. If you are not sure you have a good understanding of this “financial language” there are many resources available to strengthen your abilities in this area. Go ahead — be curious, seek out resources, and you too can be a Financial Virtuoso. Kathleen A. Provost, CFRE is currently the Campaign Director at St. Francis Xavier University. She brings over 25 years of fundraising experience within the charitable sector. She has been a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) since 2007, and a long-time member and volunteer for the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). She writes this column exclusively for each issue of Foundation Magazine.
January/February 2020
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Donor Report
The Mathematics of Charitable Giving
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By Jamie Golombek, CPA, CA, CFP, CLU, TEP
anadians do not give to charity for the tax benefits. After all, no matter how tax effective we can structure a charitable gift, a donor will always have more money left at the end of the day if she had kept the funds donated for herself and not made a gift. But for individuals who are philanthropically inclined, having a good understanding of the math behind a charitable gift may encourage some donors to consider giving more when they realize the real net after-tax cost of their gift. Let’s take a look at three scenarios: the value of the donation receipt, the donation of a gift of appreciated marketable securities and making that gift of appreciated securities via a private corporation.
their top provincial donation credit rate. What’s interesting, however, is that for all but the highest income Canadians, donors who give more than $200 in total in a calendar year receive an effective combined federal/provincial donation tax credit rate that is higher than their marginal tax rate. This leads to some interesting results. Let’s take a look at an example.
The donation credit Charitable donations to registered charities or foundations attract both federal and provincial non-refundable tax credits. On the federal side, donors get a credit of 15 percent for the first $200 of annual charitable donations. For total donations exceeding $200, the federal credit rate jumps to 29 percent and, for high income earners, the rate is 33 percent to the extent that their taxable income exceeds that top federal rate (income over $214,368 for 2020). Parallel provincial credits work similarly, although not all provinces have adopted their top tax rate as
Let’s say that Carol lives in B.C., has $75,000 of income and contributes $1,000 in total to a variety of charities in 2020. The first $200 of donations attracts a federal tax credit of 15 percent or $30 and a B.C. tax credit of 5.06 percent or $10.12. The next $800 of donations will attract the higher federal credit rate of 29 percent or $232 and the higher provincial B.C. credit at a rate of 16.8 percent or $134.40. Thus the total donation tax credit Carol will get from her 2020 donations is worth $406.52 (i.e. $30 + $10.12 + $232 + $134.40). Since Carol’s 2020 income is $75,000, that would put her in
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A good understanding of the math behind a charitable gift may encourage some donors.
foundationmag.ca
DONOR REPORT a marginal tax bracket in B.C. of 28.2 percent. This means that for each dollar Carol gives to charity above the first $200, she is getting a donation credit at 45.8 percent (29 percent federal + 16.8 percent in B.C.) but only paying tax on that dollar of income at 28.2 percent! In practical terms, this means that for $800 of the donation she has excess credits of 17.6 percent (i.e. 45.8 percent less 28.2 percent) that can be used to shelter tax on the income not being donated to charity.
a deduction against corporate income for the amount of the donation, no tax on the capital gain, and a credit to the corporation’s capital dividend account, allowing Mike, at some future time, to receive a tax-free capital dividend from the corporation equal to the tax-free gain on the donated securities.
Since the value of the corporate tax deduction varies based on the type of income the CCPC earns, we’ve left this math to the CCPC’s accountants to figure out! Jamie Golombek, CPA, CA, CFP, CLU, TEP is the Managing Director, Tax & Estate Planning with CIBC Financial Planning & Advice Group in Toronto.
Donations in-kind Donations of publicly traded shares, mutual funds or segregated funds to a registered charity not only provide the donor with a tax receipt equal to the fair market value of the securities or funds being donated, but also allow the donor to avoid paying tax on any capital gains on the shares or funds donated. Let’s say Mike lives in Ontario and has units of ABC Fund, a mutual fund trust that he purchased for $600 and that is now worth $1,000. Mike’s 2020 income is $75,000 and he wants to make a $1,000 donation to charity. If Mike sells the shares and realizes a $400 capital gain, he will pay combined federal and Ontario capital gains tax of about $60 on the gain. Assuming he already gave $200 in 2020, he would get a charitable donation receipt for $1,000, which is worth about $402 in tax savings. As a result, Mike’s cost of his $1,000 gift would be $658 ($1,000 gift + capital gains tax of $60 – $402 benefit of the donation receipt). Now, if Mike had donated the Fund units directly to the charity instead of selling them first, the capital gains tax of $60 would be eliminated and the total cost of the $1,000 gift would drop to $598 (i.e. $1,000 gift less the $402 benefit of the donation receipt and no capital gains tax.) Donations in-kind via CCPC Finally, let’s assume that Mike held those appreciated securities within a Canadian controlled private corporation or CCPC. If his CCPC made a donation in-kind to charity, it would get a triple benefit: foundationmag.ca
416-505-5415 Ask for Allison. January/February 2020
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Courtesy Elijah O’Donnell
DONOR REPORT
2020
Buckle Up For A Rough Ride Another Year Of Turbulence And Change In The Charitable Sector
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By Andrea McManus
s we bid au revoir to 2019 and enter a new decade, global disruption is still omnipresent. We have a justimpeached president south of the border and here in Canada, where I reside, a country struggling mightily with national unity. And that’s just in North America. Some degree of turmoil, unrest and chaos, unfortunately, seems to be the current state of being in most countries on the planet. All of which continues to impact our work. However, I’m an eternal optimist. In spite of the ubiquitous problems we all hear about every day, I take the view that there are always opportunities we can carve out to the benefit of our work and our sector. Below are a number of the trends we’ve been hearing about at ViTreo; some are the result of global disruption and political events while others are occurring because of shifting demographic patterns. One of the most significant events to impact our sector, and which must be considered in the work we do, is the fact that millennials are now the largest adult generation in both Canada and the U.S. according to studies by organizations such as Pew Research Centre and the Royal Bank of Canada, RBC Economics Research. They are not our only audience by any means, but as fundraisers and non-profit organizations, we must take note of how our audience’s needs and behaviours are shifting, or suffer the consequences. Every successful business looks at the big picture and places its focus on how it can benefit from what’s occurring around it. There’s nothing to be gained by focusing on what’s going wrong, but much to be gained from accepting this is what’s occurring and how can we best manage it, and ultimately, succeed. The over-arching message here is that the charitable sector must continue to evolve. foundationmag.ca
Donor communication trends Online Society is living much of their lives online; if your organization is not online (social media, video, podcasts), you are not engaging with your supporters and donors. Mobile Increasingly, life is being lived via a mobile device, communications need to be designed for mobile first. Social Media Social media platforms like Facebook are the fastest growing advertising platforms; marketing and fundraising campaigns need to be designed for digital platforms first. Giving Compass had this to say about the non-profit space in 2020: “Nonprofit Networking Platforms - The development of platforms that make it increasingly easy for non-profits to connect and interact will build communities of providers and beneficiaries.” - Giving Compass, A Few Nonprofit Trends Coming In 2020. Flexible work environments Employees who feel they have some control over their work environment are happier and more productive. Non-profit organizations that pay attention to this fact will be more successful. According to Business Wire “Employees see major upside to more choice — an overwhelming majority (90 percent) believe more flexible work arrangements and schedules will increase morale. Even more compelling for employers, flexibility and employee retention go hand in hand: Two-thirds of employees (67 percent) would consider leaving their job if their work arrangements became less flexible.” This from Meghan January/February 2020
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Donor Report McCarrick and Meghan Warren, February 12, 2019. This is supported by the survey State of the Nonprofit Workplace 2019 by Bloomerang (a donor management software platform combining the knowledge of world-renowned fundraising professor Adrian Sargeant, communications best practices of author and speaker Tom Ahern and other experts). Survey respondents listed “Flexible Work Schedule” as the #1 workplace quality they sought. (Bloomerang, State Of The Nonprofit Workplace 2019, Kristen Hay, February 5, 2019) The 2016 Deloitte Millennial Survey, Winning Over The Next Generation Of Leaders, found the same results. “Good work-life balance” and “flexible work environment” made the top three when evaluating job opportunities (Deloitte, The 2016 Deloitte Millennial Survey Winning Over The Next Generation Of Leaders, 2016). Have you come across this desire for a more flexible work environment in your non-profit organization? Have you made any changes?
Workplace Qualities
Survey respondents ranked a flexible work schedule (including working from home) as the most important workplace quality. 1. Flexible work schedule 2. Paid continuing education 3. Engaged/supportive supervisor 4. Supportive board 5. Tuition reimbursement 6. Quality facilities/clean work environment 7. Open space work environment 8. On-site childcare 9. Diverse/equitable culture 10. Quality of tools/software (Described by respondents as “very important” or “important”.)
Shifts from legacy foundational giving to living donors This change has already occurred but will continue to affect the work we do. “The biggest shift in the past 20 years is that the prime movers in philanthropy are no longer legacy foundations, as was true during the second half of the 20th century… Today, the most important players in philanthropy are living donors.” - Inside Philanthropy, What’s Different About The New Philanthropists (if anything), David Callahan, April 26, 2017. Consider Bill and Melinda Gates, Warren Buffet, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, and others, and their immense charitable gifts. All of them (the last time I checked) are still with us. Will automation replace the workforce? One of the major topics we hear about is whether AI will 16
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replace jobs. Depending on who you read or listen to, the jury is still out on this. However, some good news from The Fraser Institute’s Collection of Essays 2019 - Technology, Automation and Employment Will this Time be Different? One essay in the collection begins with this: “A spectre haunts Europe and the United States, and for that matter, the entire world: the spectre of widespread, systematic, irreversible technological unemployment.” And later on states: “Any change to the status quo will make at least some people better off while making at least some people worse off. Market-driven, technology enhanced creative destruction has been the greatest positive-sum force in history, and while some people are indeed made worse off — even in the long run — by technological change, the idea that changing technology will create mass unemployment has been tried, measured, and found wanting.” A second essay states this: “In particular, many prominent business executives and management consultants have argued that widespread applications of AI will dramatically reduce employment opportunities for future generations. For example, Knoess, Harbour and Scemama (2016) estimate that robotization, digitization, digital self-services, distributed digital advice and sales, and robo-advisors, all applications that will be driven by AI, could result in a 60 to 70 percent reduction in the workforce of service providers from financial services to telecommunications. They note that while these changes will not happen overnight, the pace of change might be faster than many expect. Even more dramatic is Elon Musk’s claim that artificial intelligence will cause massive job disruption and that robots will be able to do everything better than humans (Clifford, 2017a). The controversial CEO of Tesla further argues that it’s a virtual inevitability that, as robots replace more and more jobs, the United States will have to implement a program of cash payments. One can assume that Musk’s argument for cash payments, or guaranteed incomes, applies to other countries as well.” However, at the end of the essay, the author states his belief that: “That is, the evolution and adoption of AI will primarily change the mix of skills demanded. Indeed, it is more likely to encourage a net increase in the demand for labour rather than a decrease.” While, the author of the third essay says in his introduction: “Contrary to warnings about a growing unemployment problem, this essay highlights the potential for a growing scarcity of labour in Canada. Specifically, a slowing population growth rate and a declining labour force participation rate due to retiring baby boomers and an aging population will reduce labour force growth rates over the next few decades. Furthermore, historical experience suggests that technological change primarily alters the mix of employment while promoting faster economic growth, which also creates new jobs. Hence, it seems unlikely that technological change will result in a decline in the aggregate demand for labour. Indeed, rather than facing a future unemployment crisis, Canada is more likely to face a prolonged foundationmag.ca
DONOR REPORT period of labour scarcity.” Globerman, Steven, contributing editor, 2019. Technology, Automation, and Employment: Will this Time be Different? Fraser Institute. Giving Compass also shared these other trends from the Forbes Nonprofit Council. Although the research was done in the U.S., with the exception of the American 2020 election cycle, the results would be similar in Canada. And all of which we should be taking into consideration in our efforts. AI and the desire for impact giving, sustainability and more personal experiences will all combine with other trends to affect our fundraising world. Earned Income This will be a growing trend in 2020. Non-profits who have an eye to sustainability will want to leverage this additional source of revenue to be nimble in meeting their clients’ needs. Private Sector Interaction Recently, the Business Roundtable issued a statement focused on a corporation’s role beyond shareholder value. A Greater Focus On Mission And Priorities From a historical perspective, the 2020 election cycle will likely see a record volume of competing interests (good and bad) vying for attention, mindshare and resources. Artificial Intelligence Virtual assistance and artificial intelligence will make giving easier than ever before. We will simply tell Alexa or Siri to make a contribution and it will be done. The Growing ‘Attention Economy’ Competition takes many forms, and part of the informational revolution we’re in is that we — and the content and business connections we offer — are competing against the attention spans of our audiences.
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Innovative Sustainability Non-profit organizations like hospitals and charities will need to ensure they remain innovative in competing for funding. Easier, More Personalized Giving Non-profits will need to develop easy ways for donors to give back in a very personal way. (Giving Compass, A Few Nonprofit Trends Coming In 2020, October 28 2019) If you’re interested in hearing more about what’s disrupting our world and what to expect, tune into the BrainTrust Philanthropy Podcast episode Global Disruption in Philanthropy - What to Expect in 2020 with Vincent Duckworth hosting and guests Mike Geiger, president and CEO of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP); Paula Attfield, president of Stephen Thomas; Roger Ali, president and CEO of Niagara Health Foundation; and Scott Decksheimer, president and CEO of ViTreo Group. This episode covers: Why we need to invest in leadership development - Inclusion, diversity, equity, and access (IDEA). Donors have ideas too! Fundraisers as strategists From all of this change and disruption is the critical message that we, the non-profit world and those that work within it, must evolve. And we must continue to evolve quickly. The world we live in is rapidly changing and we must change with it. Fundraising methods that worked in the past are no longer relevant and if it is relevant today, it may not be tomorrow… almost literally. We will be no longer relevant if we don’t pivot along with the rest of the world. Understanding customer needs are the hallmark of a good business model. We must understand our customers — our donors — and develop strategies and tactics that work for them. This is where our success and continued ability to do good reside. Andrea McManus is Chair, Board of Directors, Partner, ViTreo Group. Andrea is known for her passionate belief in philanthropy and the value of the non-profit sector in Canadian society.
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A Giving
Life David Asper reflects on the Grey Cup, his varied professional and philanthropic careers, and passing the torch to the next generation
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By Tracy Howard
avid Asper opens the phone interview announcing he’s watching a helicopter rescue off Camelback Mountain, which he’s seeing from the window of his Phoenix vacation home. The 61-year-old lawyer, businessperson and philanthropist reveals he had his own rescue off it several years back, after severing his quad tendon. While Asper was able to ride off the mountain inside a helicopter, today’s rescue method might faze the most diehard thrill-seeker. “They strap you to a harness, hook you up to a cable and fly you off the mountain like Bruce Willis in an action movie,” Asper explains, laughing. “I’m just watching them lower the bucket right now — some poor sod is about to go for the ride of their life.” Although safely on terra firma, Asper is also flying high. Less than a month before this conversation, his beloved Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to win the 2019 Grey Cup, ending a drought of 29 years. David, the eldest child of the late Israel “Izzy” Asper, founder of the former media conglomerate CanWest Global Communications Corp., and Ruth Miriam “Babs” Asper, has deep life-long 18
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Courtesy Ian McCausland Photography
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Donor Report ties to the team. Raised in Winnipeg, along with siblings Gail, 59, and Leonard, 55, David was born three days before the team won the Cup in 1958, and grew up going to games with his father and uncle. Asper has contributed to the not-forprofit team in a multitude of ways. He did legal work for the club from the late 1980s to the early ’90s, was chair in 2000-2001, and helped save it from bankruptcy in 2002. Perhaps the most visible contribution is IG Field, the Bombers’ stadium — opened in 2013 — which Asper played an instrumental role in getting built. He was inducted into the Blue Bombers Hall of Fame in 2017, and the training facility of the University of Manitoba Bisons, who also play at the stadium, is named after him. The latter honour recognizes a bursary program he created for the university’s football athletes. The meaning of this Grey Cup to Asper is clear when he speaks about the 2001 championship game, when the Bombers, a 14-and-4 winning team, lost to the Calgary Stampeders. “It’s maybe the most bitter thing that happened in my life,” he says. In contrast, the 2019 championship saw Asper on the field in Calgary hoisting the trophy with his wife, Ruth, and their three adult kids, Daniel, Rebecca and Max. “I wanted to almost shut out everything and preserve the memory in my brain. I just wanted to watch these young players, their coaches and all the families celebrate, as well as the staff who had been there for so long.” But Asper’s dedication to the team is just one example of how he’s given back throughout his life. “While it’s got to be calibrated according to means, you get to a level of the social contract where if you’ve benefitted from all the good things society provides you, you have an obligation to give back,” says Asper. “That’s a fairly basic concept that’s pretty rooted in our family.” He remembers both his grandmothers volunteering regularly, and that his mother would take him along when he was a kid on her shifts at the local canteen. Asper also recounts volunteering with his family Courtesy David Asper
“His philosophy of “doing your thing and moving on,” is also a common thread in Asper’s robust philanthropic career away from the foundation.”
The Asper Family. (Standing) Rebecca, Max, Daniel and (seated) Ruth and David.
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during winter carnivals for a neighbourhood community centre. Although when asked what he recalls about that now, he jokes “free hot chocolate,” it’s clear the experiences left their mark. Izzy, his father, also preached the importance of community commitment and walked the talk — volunteering while practising law, serving as the leader of Manitoba’s Liberal party in the early 1970s, and then donating generously as a businessperson. Looking to modernize In 1983, Izzy and Babs created the Asper Foundation, which is focused on contributing to major initiatives supporting Jewish causes, as well as arts, education, community development and human rights in Winnipeg, nationally and internationally. In 2018 alone, in both charitable programs and gifts, the foundation contributed more than six million dollars. Its crown jewel is the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. A passion project for Izzy, it opened in 2014, 11 years after his death at age 71. The national museum is unique in that it’s the only one solely devoted to human rights. Gail Asper, a lawyer and the president of the foundation, spearheaded the project after Izzy’s death. But David, as foundation chair since 2012, helped stickhandle some of the issues in its development, which included controversy over its focus and cost. “There was a lot happening on a political level behind the scenes that I played a role with.” As for the foundation’s current work, Asper shares that they’re still focused on honouring their parents’ legacy while also modernizing and reflecting the current generations’ interests, as well as looking to the future. “It’s a bit fluid at the moment because we’re in a generational kind of transfer” he explains. Although still a trustee, this past April Asper retired as chair, passing the reigns over to his brother, Leonard, a lawyer and the former CEO of CanWest. “When my mother passed away quite suddenly in 2011, we went through a period where we needed to be stable and recalibrate some things. I did my term of service and foundationmag.ca
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Asper turned to CanWest This past May, he saw Milgaard again at the annual conference of the Canadian Association of Journalists, held at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. He describes the emotion of sitting onstage with some of the journalists who covered the case, seeing Milgaard now in a good place. “Watching this good-looking, articulate man talking about the plight of the wrongfully convicted in real time, at the same time as I’m seeing him in prison greens, flashing back to 1986. I almost broke down.” Although ultimately fulfilling, the Milgaard case was all-consuming for Asper, and it left him feeling both emotionally and professionally spent. Due to the resources he had devoted to the case, he says he had essentially lost the rest of his practice and, now with a family to support, wasn’t interested in rebuilding it from scratch. He talked with his father about the future of CanWest, and, a couple of months removed from his law practice, found himself on a plane to Australia to participate in the due diligence around the purchase of the Network 10 TV network. He was then deployed to Regina and oversaw two TV stations in Saskatchewan and later helped CanWest obtain radio and foundationmag.ca
television licences in the UK, which led to a new TV network in the Republic of Ireland. He spent 17 years at the company as a director, executive vice-president and chair of the National Post. “I was very consumed by that; I was on the road travelling for 17 years basically,” Asper says. Going back to school In 2006, Asper was admitted to a Masters of Laws program at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, a time he relishes. “It was almost like taking a brain to a car wash. To go back to school and have the luxury of reflecting was just an amazing intellectual experience.” After completing the degree in 2007, he provided the school with $7.5 million to establish the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights, which is devoted to constitutional rights’ advocacy, research and education. Asper sees the centre’s work as connected to human rights, a passion of
“I think it sounds corny, but I’m deeply honoured to be a lawyer. My soul is a lawyer.”
Courtesy Akman Construction
now it’s time for somebody else to do it.” His philosophy of “doing your thing and moving on,” is also a common thread in Asper’s robust philanthropic career away from the foundation. At the Winnipeg Folk Festival, for example, he started off as a member of the backstage crew, was then recruited to the board and ultimately served as president in 1991-1992. During his tenure, Asper and the rest of the board were able to implement an entirely new business approach that helped the festival get out of significant financial difficulty — today it’s one of the most successful arts organizations in Manitoba. That term as president also coincided with the last year he practised law before joining CanWest in 1992. The culmination of his criminal-law career was — as co-counsel on one of Canada’s most notorious wrongful conviction cases — walking David Milgaard out of prison in April of that year.
his father, whose parents had immigrated to Canada to flee pogroms in the Ukraine. “You can talk and think and learn about human rights, but sometimes you have to fight for them.” Going back to school confirmed for him that he wanted to teach, and after a number of factors related to the financial crisis, which saw the family selling CanWest in 2010, Asper did just that. He’s taught in various capacities at the law schools of the University of Manitoba, Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and Arizona State University in Phoenix. Although he loved teaching, Asper says with a chuckle: “I was lured back into business.” Among other ventures, in 2013, he co-founded Amenity Healthcare, a successful consolidator of pharmacies in
One of the foundation’s many projects, the Asper Jewish Community Campus is an outstanding, vibrant, comprehensive complex to serve as the centrepiece of the Jewish community of Winnipeg, rekindling the spirit and pride of earlier days. The Asper Foundation committed over $2 million to the $28 million project developing the buildings and grounds of the former Fort Osborne Barracks and Agricultural College.
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Asper made the recent self discovery that he’s an introvert. “I spent almost my entire life in a public role and I have to gird for that every single day.”
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rural Manitoba and Saskatchewan, which he sold in 2017. But when asked how he defines himself, he says above his other professional titles, he’s a lawyer. “I think it sounds corny, but I’m deeply honoured to be a lawyer. My soul is a lawyer.” So it’s no surprise, of all the honours he’s received, including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of community service, which his wife, Ruth, was also awarded, Asper advises he’s most proud of his appointment last year as a member of the Queen’s Counsel. Although he’s “trying to inch toward retirement,” there’s no rocking chair in sight. He’s chair of the Sensible Capital Corp., which manages a portfolio of privateequity investments, and is the largest private-sector investor in the Manitoba Technology Accelerator program, a not-forprofit business accelerator. Committed to charity work Despite having been both a high-profile criminal lawyer and high-flying business executive, Asper made the recent selfdiscovery that he’s an introvert. “I spent almost my entire life in a public role and I have to gird for that every single day.” He explains that while acting out the extrovert ideal gave him lots of happy experiences, going against his essential nature led to depression and anxiety. With the help of some self-development books and creating space for himself, he says he feels much better now. Asper remains committed to community work and charity. In 2017 he began a term as chair of the Winnipeg Police Board, and has since been appointed chair of the Manitoba Police Commission. He and Ruth provided the lead gifts to establish a research centre at the Pan Am Clinic Foundation as well as to create an early learning centre at the Rady Jewish Community Centre, both in Winnipeg. However, the donation Asper seems most animated discussing is a 2018 gift the couple made, along with their kids, to the Canadian Olympic Foundation supporting the next generation of Olympians — it’s the largest individual gift to date in Canadian Olympic sport. The gift is so meaningful he says because
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athletics are a passion for Ruth, who’s education background is in kinesiology, and also due to the fact that the whole family collaborated on it. Guiding his kids, aged 25 to 29, in both their career goals and individual philanthropic objectives and interests is the thing he says currently lights him up the most. “Ruth and I have really started to think about transitioning our good work and our knowledge and our philanthropic charitable capacity to the next generation. It sounds kind of mundane, but it’s maybe the most important thing we’re going to do.”
David Asper on Foundation Governance David Asper, lawyer, businessperson and philanthropist, has served on multiple boards in leadership and trustee positions, and is regularly asked to consult on governance issues. Here are some of his thoughts on the topic. Governance, strategy and accountability are key. People are often drawn to foundations because of a passion for the cause. But being on a board shouldn’t, in my opinion, be seen as a life’s work. You can have a lifetime commitment to a cause, but occupying a board seat shouldn’t necessarily be how you do it. Some guidelines I’ve found helpful: ❯❯ Have a clear strategy and communicate it to all stakeholders ❯❯ Continuously monitor progress against the strategy to be sure it’s the right strategy ❯❯ Don’t be afraid to adjust midstream — keep the desired outcome in focus! ❯❯ Adhere to current principles of good corporate governance, and don’t be afraid of changes that might be needed to get there ❯❯ Make your contribution, give it your heart and soul, do what you can, and then let others have the same opportunity
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DONOR REPORT By David Asper
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Courtesy Ian McCausland Photography
When doing the interview for the magazine, Tracy Howard asked me about managing charitable and community service time alongside career and family, and I was honest that often it isn’t in balance. That’s largely because if you’re trying to answer the question, “do I matter?” you can get a bit driven, and perhaps somewhat insane even trying to define what that means. We’ve now got three grown children and are challenged with what to say to them. They know what their grandparents wanted of the family and how Ruth and I, and my brother and sister, have lived their lives so far. I’m pretty sure they’ve got the message, and now, as I inch toward mortality, I wonder whether the answer to the question ‘did I matter’ is as much about getting the next generation to matter, as it is about anything I’ve done during my lifetime.
My Story
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he editor of this magazine invited me to offer a few words about the influence my parents had on the life I’ve had in philanthropy and community service. He also suggested that the photo to accompany this piece include the Grey Cup, which was won in 2019 by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Having not touched that Cup since we last won it in 1990, I’m very happy to hold it and never let go! As a community based, not for profit organization, the success of the Blue Bombers relies very heavily on community support and I’ve had a long volunteer association with the team. It’s a great example of how getting involved should be about long-term success rather than immediate gratification. Even though I’m retired now from formal duties with the club, I have immense pride in the success it had this past year and love the fact that my successors are enjoying a terrific celebration! This example, and others I’ve been involved with over the years, is derivative of something we were taught as a core value of our family. My parents were the son and daughter of immigrants to Canada who fled oppression. They wanted to be sure that we, as the third generation, never forgot the tremendous benefits of living in Canada, no matter what we might complain about on the issues of the day. I guess it’s a form of noblesse oblige, but I think it’s a deeper than that. My father might frame it in legal termsthat in return for all we enjoy in a free and democratic society, we have a duty to give something back. In my irreverent days I’d retort with something like “we do give back by paying taxes”. This didn’t go over very well! Giving back, with time, money or both was not just about the social contract. It was also about giving meaning to your life. My parents used to challenge themselves, and then us, with a profound question: when its over, will anyone say that you mattered? Did you do something with your life that made a difference in any way?
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Telling Their Stories Charities’ Magazines Connect With Communities And Donors
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By Brendan Read
Compelling relevant content Magazines that succeed focus on taking full advantage of the channel, which is the ability to attract and engage with readers and with eye-catching design and images that draws them to 24
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in-depth content and keeps their interest. The format, particularly print publications, enables readers to easily flip back and forth and to pick up and resume reading again after putting it aside. But above all magazines have to stay relevant. The first issue of Ducks Unlimited Canada’s Conservator took flight 40 years ago, in winter 1980. Then it was glossy, four-colour, 12-page and in a newsletter format, stapled twice down the middle, said editor Leigh Patterson. Today it runs a hefty 48 to 64 pages of colour photography, catchy headlines and graphics and inspiring stories. The story topics today are similar to those back then, she said. But the conservation approaches are different. Ducks Unlimited Canada now has science, policy and education programs to inform and enhance its habitat conservation work. “Conservator must be relevant; it has to keep pace. It must engage our current supporters and future ones,” said Patterson. “The magazine must evoke emotion in our readers. It must tell stories about people Glen Hoos, DSRF director of communications. making a difference. It must share our science and our solutions for a better tomorrow. It must give readers the tips and tools they need to empower their personal conservation decisions. And it all must be delivered in a compelling, beautifully designed package that people want to open, explore and feel good about welcoming into their homes. It needs to be an experience.”
Courtesy Down Syndrome Resource Foundation
anadian not-for-profit organizations have been looking hard at the value of print and online magazines in their communications strategies. But while several publications have folded as a result, others have continued strongly even as their sponsoring organizations have tapped new channels. And several new magazines have appeared as their value is uncovered or rediscovered. Case in point, the Down Syndrome Resource Foundation (DSRF) and the Canadian Down Syndrome Society (CDSS) rolled out the inaugural issue of 3.21: Canada’s Down Syndrome Magazine in November 2019. The name comes from Trisomy-21, the genetic disorder that causes Down syndrome. The magazine is published quarterly and is primarily distributed online, with limited print runs for fundraising and for pickup by their offices’ visitors. 3.21 replaced DSRF’s Hand in Hand e-newsletter. It also marks the first time the CDSS has distributed a magazine since organization shuttered its publication about 10 years ago. “We were finding that our newsletter audience was more interested in general Down syndrome articles as opposed to organization updates; we were posting those updates on social media and as a result we were repeating that content,” said Glen Hoos, DSRF director of communications. “We and CDSS decided to create a magazine that would be a resource to the Down syndrome community.”
Excellent (and flexible) execution To execute a magazine well requires a close alignment between the publication and its audience, with top notch writers and photographers, with planning and the ability to respond to unforeseen changes. foundationmag.ca
Finding the stories To provide compelling articles magazines have to find them. And often the key is foundationmag.ca
Courtesy Ducks unlimited Canada
Pulse magazine, founded in 2013 and published annually by the Victoria Foundation, is aimed at building public awareness of the foundation’s work. Pulse accomplishes that goal by featuring stories about grant recipients, community engagements and other activities. Pulse is mostly read in print with limited online readership. To create Pulse the Victoria Foundation contracts with Page One Publishing, which hires the writers and photographers, creates graphics and which designs and prints the publication. Page One also arranges distribution with an outside firm to pickup boxes at many locations throughout the greater Victoria, B.C. region. Issue planning begins in late January and early February, starting with a debrief of last year’s magazine, of what worked and what didn’t. The foundation presents the stories and angles it wants to see, which are incorporated in the editorial plan. The stories and photography are assigned and done and the magazine appears in late May. “Publications, like ours, lends itself to storytelling, like reading a book, explained Victoria Foundation Director of Communications, Rob Janus. “You’re investing some time to read about these organizations and people; it is not meant to be a quick snapshot. The content of the whole publication has been designed to work together.” But as per the proverb “there’s many a slip ‘twixt the cup and the lip” things do happen in the execution, admitted Janus. Sometimes interviewees change their mind about being interviewed. Or the photography may not work out. Page One and the foundation then work closely together to find solutions. “We would always have our lineup, but I can’t think of a time when we had the full essence of the story thought out in the editorial planning,” said Janus. “It always unfolds in ways that are surprising. And you hope it turns out great.”
Leigh Patterson, editor Conservator.
Courtesy Victoria Foundation
DONOR REPORT
Rob Janus, Victoria Foundation director of communications.
audience and community engagement. Outreach to a broader and perhaps surprisingly in today’s web and social media era a younger audience led the Calgary Foundation to create Spur magazine in 2013. It is published every spring and fall by RedPoint Media and Marketing Solutions and distributed to select audiences by mail and through pickup boxes around Calgary, Alta. It also has an online readership. “Foundations like ours have access to so many compelling stories about charities, donors and volunteers doing beautiful inspiring things,” explained Taylor Barrie, vice president, communications, Calgary Foundation. “And we wanted a vehicle to share them more widely.” The Calgary Foundation went with print after seeing the popularity and success of the Avenue Calgary lifestyle magazine with the younger demographic. It takes a snappy look at the city’s trends, notably restaurants and fashion, and is free. RedPoint also publishes Avenue Calgary. “We liked the energy around Avenue Calgary,” said Barrie, “We said ‘There’s something there. Let’s see if we can leverage that interest in a print publication about us’”. Spur began with short takes on stories on what’s happening in the community. The magazine has since evolved with an issue theme and two or three topics. It has also taken a deeper dive into issues such as the arts, the environment and poverty. The story ideas are often suggested by donor relations and grants staff of organizations that have received support from the Calgary Foundation and of individual donors. Barrie discusses their projects to determine the stories that best demonstrate the impact of the Calgary Foundation’s grants and to ensure the stories are ready to be told. And while some people are interested in being interviewed, others, specifically donors are not. “People are often very humble and don’t want to be profiled, “explained Barrie. “Philanthropy is deeply private and personal.”
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Courtesy Salvation Army
Donor connections Magazines typically serve to communicate with their communities, including donors, but their intent is not to fundraise per se. But, in some cases, there have been donations as a result. The Salvation Army in Canada and Bermuda publishes each month Salvationist, a news magazine covering its mission and ministry, Faith & Friends, which shows Christ at work in the lives of people and provides spiritual resources for those who are new to the Christian faith and Foi & Vie, its French -language counterpart. The publications are not directed primarily at donors, explained Geoff Moulton, editor-in-chief and literary secretary, although many donors are inspired by their content and Salvationist features news of larger donations. The Salvation Army also publishes Just for Kids, a children’s magazine. “Both Salvationist and Faith & Friends indirectly drive donor loyalty by sharing the good news of The Salvation Army at work,” said Moulton. “Be they testimonials of persons who have received help through our programs, stories of new and innovative Salvation Army programs across the country, or inspirational features on poverty reduction, social issues and ways to give back.” Ducks Unlimited Canada’s Patterson had heard of an anonymous donor who loved the photos in the magazine. She then left the publication a substantial gift in her will. “I’d like to think the magazine inspired her to join us on her journey from member to leaving a very personal and significant conservation legacy,” said Patterson.
Courtesy Calgary Foundation
But when the stories do appear, they often prompt individuals to contact the Calgary Foundation with their coverage ideas. “People are now asking to be part of Spur, like ‘I have this great project, and won’t you consider running an article on it in an upcoming issue’”, said Barrie.
Taylor Barrie, vice president, communications, Calgary Foundation.
Geoff Moulton, editor-in-chief and literary secretary, Salvation Army.
Having champions Every program in an organization needs champions to see it through, see that the resources are there and provide strategic guidance. That also goes for magazines. Pulse’s champion is the Victoria Foundation’s CEO, Sandra Richardson. “Sandy was really keen on the initial discussion for creating the magazine and has helped to ensure that it has stayed true to its mission,” said Janus. “She knows that we are not going to get our stories in the volume in we want through other means, like the media.” It looks like her faith and optimism in the magazine has paid off, with seven issues successfully published so far. “There is a growing audience of area residents who are keen to learn more about the Victoria Foundation and the good work we are doing in the community,” said Janus. But the most important champions are often the readers themselves. This is true for Salvationist: lay people (known as soldiers), clergy (officers) and adherents of the faith, who are known as salvationists. Many salvationists’ stories are reflected in the pages of the magazine and thousands of them serve as volunteers within the church. “After all the magazine is named after them”, said Moulton. Managing expenses Magazines are expensive to produce. And organizations have made changes to help balance quality and cost. Cost but also the complexity of setting up print distribution, including creating mailing lists, were the key factors behind the decision of the DSRF and the CDSS to make 3.21 online-first. “With a print magazine we would have to charge subscriptions or sell issues, which was ultimately going to limit how many people would read the magazine,” explained Hoos. “Our priority is to get information into our readers’ hands.” Ducks Unlimited Canada no longer has an external proofreader and many of its articles are written by staff rather than freelancers. Meanwhile select stories are moved online to its ducks.ca website so foundationmag.ca
DONOR REPORT
Organizations, and their publications, continue to adapt to changes in how the readers want content. they can enjoy a wider audience and get shared on social media. But when Patterson attempted to move Conservator fully online, in 2013, its supporters told her “loud and clear” that they preferred the print magazine. “We have high-calibre, authentic storytelling in a physical format that can do that in a way that other communications can’t,” said Patterson. The Salvation Army’s printer, Mi5, sources quality, affordable paper in bulk. The church’s fulfillment house, Simple Solution, packages the publications into one-drop bulk shipments to the ministry units where they are distributed to the readers. “While we do invite individual subscriptions, mailing single copies to our 10,000 Salvationist customers and our 32,000 Faith & Friends customers would be cost-prohibitive,” said Moulton. What’s next? Organizations, and their publications, continue to adapt to changes in how the readers want content and the trend appears toward greater channel integration. The DSRF is planning to launch a new podcast later this year called The Lowdown, which will reposition some of the content that appears in 3.21. The Salvation Army is seeing a gradual erosion of traditional print subscriptions. In response it is growing its web and social media platforms, with online exclusives, video content and shareable social media memes. Salvationist has more than 37,000 Facebook followers, the website receives more than 50,000 hits per month and its Twitter and Instagram followings are growing. “We see all of this as complementary to what we are doing in print — the beauty of social media is that you can study the analytics to better understand your audience — though each social platform requires repurposing and tailoring content to the medium, which takes extra time and effort,” said Moulton. “Much of what we do online informs what happens in print whereas it used to be the other way around. Thankfully, many of our faithful donors are of an age where print is still their primary preference for communication and so I do not see our magazine going out of print any time soon.” “That said, we are offering more through the digital channels that will help promote the mission and message of The Salvation Army to a wider audience than ever before.” Ducks Unlimited Canada may revisit having an online version of the magazine, “But I’m not sure if anyone has discovered the Holy Grail of online publishing, yet,” said Patterson. foundationmag.ca
“As an adaptive organization, we will continue to evolve the magazine, so it meets the needs, and the high expectations, of our supporters and other audiences well into the future.” Barrie is saddling up Spur for the 65th anniversary of the Calgary Foundation this year. There will be two special editions that will feature long term donors and several charitable organizations that received some of the first grants, which will highlight the long commitment of the foundation to serving and supporting the community. There are no plans though to change the print distribution focus for the magazine. “There are many people who like holding high quality paper,” said Barrie. “And I am one of them. There is something about a print magazine. It is tangible: you can turn the pages, which is part of experience of reading.” Brendan Read is the editor of DM Magazine.
Working with experts and partners Subject matter experts (SMEs) and partnering between organizations can provide rich and worth while content for magazines while sharing and optimizing resources. 3.21 : Canada’s Down Syndrome Magazine, which serves the Canadian Down syndrome community, relies on both SMEs and on its parent organizations, the Down Syndrome Resource Foundation (DSRF) and the Canadian Down Syndrome Society (CDSS) for articles. The magazine features SME-written content infused, where appropriate, with individual examples. They also show how readers can get involved. “There are a number of magazines with great articles sharing the accomplishments of people with Down syndrome and that is awesome,” said DSRF director of communications Glen Hoos. “What we’re trying to do here is fairly unique with the professional expertise angle.” But working with SMEs requires care and patience in that they do not have a lot of time to write articles. So Hoos created a co-writing model where he maps out the articles, interviews the SMEs and writes the pieces in their names. There is close coordination between DSRF and CDSS on article planning and magazine design, with each team bringing suggestions that are discussed. Both organizations have expert contributors and additionally they each have two pages in the back of the magazine for their own content. Either of them can also veto an article that it feels is not appropriate. But Hoos said this is for extreme situations, which he does not expect it to happen. “We have for the most part the same vision and goals,” said Hoos. “So naturally there is give and take. It’s all part of the process.” January/February 2020
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Kicker
Connecting The Dots On Sexual Misconduct In The Philanthropic Sector Part Two: The Response
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By Gail Picco
his is the second of a two-part series that AFP Global Daily has been working on about sexual misconduct. Connecting the Dots on Sexual Misconduct in the Philanthropy Sector Part One: When Women Speak Out was published on October 31st. Part two: The response In the wake of a Tough Topics track held at AFP Congress 2018 in Toronto featuring four sessions about significant issues facing women in the sector, seasoned fundraiser Liz LeClair, CFRE, decided she would go public with her experience of being sexually harassed and assaulted by a donor of the charity where she worked. Cementing her decision was a Congress plenary speech from Hadiya Roderique. Roderique was named one of Canadian Lawyers’ 25 Most Influential Lawyers in 2018 and calls herself a “diversity and inclusion advocate.” LeClair said Roderique really spoke to her when she said the onus is not on the marginalized and those who are victimized to speak up. It is on people with more privilege and power to advocate for change. LeClair sees herself as privileged. “I am white, cisgendered, and fortunate to grow up in a family where I was able to afford a good education. I live in a two-income household, and my husband works in the military. So,
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ultimately, a lot of what I’ve been talking about will not adversely affect his career.” She says that speaking publicly about her experience has been one of the most challenging things in her life. “But it’s also been one of the most rewarding in the sense that I have acquired an incredible network of men and women around Canada, in the U.S. and beyond who have shown their support,” she says. “It’s also taught me what needs to be changed in our sector.” Liz LeClair was recently named the new chair of AFP’s Women’s Impact Initiative at the recent Women’s Impact Summit, held in Phoenix, Ariz., on October 5-6. As the chair of the Initiative, she will be in a position to drive some of that change. Ignited demand for a reckoning The high profile allegations of sexual misconduct leveled against film producer, Harvey Weinstein, catapulted sexual harassment and assault into the news cycle during the fall of 2017. The initial allegations were published almost simultaneously in early October, first by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey in the New York Times and, five days later, by Ronan Farrow in The New Yorker. All three reporters won the Pulitzer Prize gold medal for public service, and the information revealed throughout the fall and winter of 2017 ignited the demand for a reckoning from what would
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Feature be labelled the “#MeToo movement.” “Tarana Burke, a social activist and community organizer, began using the phrase MeToo in 2006, on the Myspace social network in order to promote “empowerment through empathy” among women of colour who have been sexually abused,” according to its Wikipedia entry. After the Weinstein story broke, American actress Alyssa Milano used the hashtag on Twitter to encourage people to come forward with their own stories. In their new book, She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement (Penguin Press, September 9, 2019), Kantor and Twohey have followed up on their reporting by uncovering previously undisclosed sources related to the number of people who knew about Weinstein’s activities but failed to act. And Ronan Farrow, in his new book on the same subject, Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators (Little Brown, October 15, 2019), elaborates on his original reporting. AP News calls the book “utterly disheartening in its revelation of widespread abuses and cover-ups, the leverage of power and money to evade accountability, and the many lives that were devastated in the process.” Turning a blind eye One week after the Weinstein story broke in early October 2017, Canadian actress Mia Kirshner penned an op-ed for the Globe and Mail, “I could waste this precious space on Harvey Weinstein by describing my own ordeal with him. An ordeal in a hotel room where he attempted to treat me like chattel that could be purchased with the promise of work in exchange for being his disposable orifice,” Kirshner wrote. “But I’m not giving that man, a newly crowned figurehead of sexual abuse, the privilege of more ink. There are broader and more urgent issues to address. And if we don’t address them now, I fear that when the headlines about Harvey Weinstein fade, what will remain is a disease in my own industry.” She went on to describe the act of “turning a blind eye” to sexual assault and harassment by people with power within the film industry, and how the fear of speaking out had become “malignant.” In December 2017, the Globe and Mail hosted a symposium called “AfterMeToo,” where Canadian film and TV professionals examined workplace sexual violence within the entertainment industry. The symposium released a report with nine recommended actions. Most related to the entertainment industry, but three could be extrapolated into workplaces across the board. ❯❯ Increase funding to support services for survivors of sexual violence across Canada; ❯❯ Create technology to support survivors; and ❯❯ Demand leadership accountability.
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AfterMeToo is now a registered charity, which describes itself as “born within the Canadian film and television industry to activate concrete change to stop workplace sexual violence, in particular for vulnerable and precarious workers.” Not protected by provisions of Bill C-65 The Government of Canada was also moved to take action on sexual harassment and, on October 25, 2018, passed Bill C-65, a piece of legislation it says “will protect employees from harassment and violence in federal workplaces, including the federally regulated private sector, the federal public service and parliamentary workplaces.” The three main elements of Bill C-65 are “the prevention of incidents, a timely and effective response to incidents, and support for affected employees,” the government said in a statement. Broadly speaking, federally regulated industries include banking, the extractive industry (mining, oil and gas), telecommunications and broadcasting, food and agriculture, drugs and health products, cultural trade and investment, and textile regulation. Although charities are regulated and approved by the Canada Revenue Agency, they are not seen as being part of a federally regulated industry and, therefore, its workers are not protected by the provisions of Bill C-65. Leads to creation of a fund AfterMeToo continued to galvanize support through 2018. “[They] came to the Canadian Women’s Foundation initially because people were telling them we were funding genderbased violence,” said Beth Malcolm, vice president, community initiatives at the Canadian Women’s Foundation. In March 2018, the Foundation announced the creation of the AfterMeToo Fund with a goal of $7 million that would be administered by the Canadian Women’s Foundation and provide funding to organizations that support mental health, hospital and court accompaniment and long-term counselling for people affected by sexual misconduct “The fund didn’t move forward as quickly as we would have hoped,” Malcolm said. “Times Up did well in the U.S. with celebrities giving big gifts, but we could not replicate that dynamic here in Canada. The work was able to move ahead, however, with support from the federal government.” As part of supporting Bill C-65, the federal government committed $34.9 million of spending over five years, starting with $7.4 million in 2018-19, which included $3.5 million annually dedicated to grants and contributions through the Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Fund. The Canadian Women’s Foundation, in partnership with AfterMeToo and Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN), applied for funds through the Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Fund for a project involving sexual harassment training aimed at people working in the broadcast
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Feature and extractive industries (both federally regulated), and the creation of an online platform called Rosa. The announcement of a $2.8 million grant to be spent over five years was made by the Honourable Patty Hajdu, minister of employment, workforce development and labour, during a panel discussion on July 6, 2019. Mia Kirshner, co-founder of AfterMeToo and founder of Rosa; Paulette Senior, president & CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation; and Jean La Rose of Aboriginal Peoples Television Network were in attendance. “The federal funding came to the Canadian Women’s Foundation,” said Malcolm. “The AfterMeToo board is small and building. Its origins were in the arts and entertainment industry, but they are gradually growing beyond this sector. They have been fortunate to have many advisors along the way and we are helping them build their capacity.” Rosa, the online education platform, is seen as a vital part of the project. “Rosa was created as a response to systems and tools that made it far too challenging to understand laws, reporting systems and how to access justice and report,” said Kirshner. “These systems are scattered across the Internet. The goal of Rosa is to make it easier to understand the law and your rights, get help and access supports no matter where in the country you are. This is holistic work and part of that will be working with leadership to identify policies and practices that will lead to elimination of workplace sexual violence.” Rosa is expected to launch in Spring 2020. “So far, we have contractors involved in training development and synthesizing the legal content in plain language,” says Malcolm. “The director of Rosa and a project director from the foundation are two salaried positions. And we’re working with experts at Western University to develop training materials for the extractive industry. When Rosa is live, the information on it will be relevant to everyone, including those working in the charity sector.” Sarah Lyon, CFRE, who works out of Halifax, has been on the board of AFP Foundation for Philanthropy - Canada for the past two years and was a major catalyst behind the Tough Topics track at AFP Congress 2018 in Toronto, agrees with Malcolm. “We know some people working in the philanthropic sector are paid just above a living wage,” she says. “Having a tool like Rosa, a place to go for advice — legal and otherwise — is invaluable. Not only are we a vulnerable sector, we work with vulnerable sectors — new Canadians, low-wage income earners and so on. Rosa is another tool to share with them.” Much work to be done Fundraisers understand, however, there is much work to be done specifically directed at people who work in the philanthropic sector, especially in light of a survey released in April 2018 by the Chronicle of Philanthropy and AFP which found that 25 percent of female fundraisers have experienced sexual harassment in their careers.
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By facilitating opportunities like the Tough Topics session at AFP Congress in Toronto in 2018 to help individual survivors make their stories public, to conducting online surveys and developing local and regional pockets of resistance, fundraisers are becoming engaged in this issue in different ways. “There is a small community of women fundraisers called @MsRuptNow,” says Lyon. “And we have MsRuptNow shirts and pins, which indicate, you can come talk to me, and while you’re learning about major gifts, you can learn about other things.” MsRuptNow came about through a group of Canadian fundraisers who had experience with sexual misconduct on the job or supported those that did. A National Day of Conversation — #ndoc — had its first edition on November 26, 2019, which allowed as many individuals as possible to participate in a virtual conversation about sexual harassment and assault regardless of their location and availability. It’s a way for people to bring their stories forward, reach out to an engaged community and help bring forward positive action and change, says Wanda Deschamps, one of the organizers. Must support those who speak up The problem requires a cultural shift, says Liz LeClair. “Policies and procedures are great, but this is something bigger than just policies and procedures,” she says. “And while I’m prepared to hold people accountable, I don’t know if everyone else is in a position to do that. We must support those willing to speak up about this issue. AFP’s Women Impact Initiative is taking those initial steps, and we have to continue to ensure that we — and our counterparts across Canada — hold ourselves to a higher standard and say that these things are unacceptable.” “You know, the women who went to Harvey Weinstein’s hotel room, as much as they probably didn’t love it, didn’t think they would get raped,” she says. “No one goes to meetings with the expectation they will be sexually harassed or physically assaulted.” Changes remain to be seen It remains to be seen to see how much risk charity leaders are prepared to take by knowingly putting their staff in harm’s way when they do not act on reports of sexual harassment and assault by donors, staff or board members. As journalists and authors have exhaustively documented, a large part of the reason why sexual harassment and assault goes on for so long is because the people in power who knew about it did nothing. For more information about AFP’s Women’s Impact Initiative and information and resources on preventing harassment and addressing gender inequity, go to www.afpidea.org/wii. Gail Picco is a charity impact strategist, author and book blog editor.
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Donor Report
Is Impact Investing the End of Philanthropy?
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By Elyse Crowston
ive years’ ago the United Nations publicized the 17 Sustainable Development Goals to synchronize and focus global efforts to solve critical problems like climate change, gender inequality, and poverty. Ten years from now, 2030, is the target to achieve them. And, frustratingly, the estimated $5-7 trillion per year needed to achieve the goals is far from secured. Philanthropy alone cannot mobilize the necessary capital quickly enough to fund the goals by 2030. Further, the SDGs do not represent a number of disasters that require relief — they represent symptoms of systemic problems that humanity must address in order to mitigate disaster. Enter: impact investing — investing capital for social or environmental benefit alongside financial return. In essence, impact investing is a shift of incentives. Whereas the overarching goal of conventional finance is to generate profit, impact investing places (generally) equal importance on the human or ecological return of a venture, while also delivering profit to investors. Impact investment is the center of the venn diagram between economic growth through private enterprise and altruistic good of philanthropic funding. It is therefore fair to ask, ‘if solutions to the wicked problems facing humanity, distilled as the 17 SDGs, are not being wholly addressed by the third sector, should funds that are earmarked for philanthropy be diverted to the private sector?’ The business of doing good Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), a non-profit organization to measure the scale and increase the effectiveness of the impact investing sector, reported in 2019 that the global impact assets under management reached US$502 billion, up from $114 billion reported in 2017. The five-fold increase is significant, and signals that a shift is underway in financing for-profit ventures where the business model is predicated on solving a social and/or environmental problem. Impact investing, like Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), mission/social venture capital, clean money are all terms that vary subjectively, but ultimately describe the intention of using capital to generate financial returns while also generating a collective good. The B Corp movement, for example, is a growing global community of businesses that have elected to be meticulously audited for their environmental, governance, community, operations, and worker impact performance. To be certified as a B Corp is to be verified as a business as a force for good. 32
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In 2019, the B Corp community grew to 3,100 companies in 70 countries across 150 industries. Collectively, they offset 6.4 million tons of carbon, diverted 108,000 metric tons of waste, protected 8,800 hectares of land, and performed 60,000 hours of volunteer work. The GIIN report affirms the perception by impact investors is positive, with 98 percent of investors stating their investments met or exceeded their impact expectations and 91 percent stating their financial return expectations were also met or exceeded. Despite the impressive growth and performance of the impact sector, there is still a significant hill to climb to amass the trillions necessary to mitigate disaster, and time is running out.
The partnership we need It is a false dilemma whether funds should flow to philanthropy or impact investment. The reality is the world needs both, working together, diverting funds from conventional business that doesn’t take into account the effects on people and planet — placing sole importance on profit. What’s needed is a paradigm shift to correct the disconnect between how capital is accumulated and how it is directed to do good. Using my own life as an example, I began my career working for an environmental law charity working on campaigns for a clean energy transition. Meanwhile, I discovered, my personal assets were invested heavily in the fossil fuel industry through my mortgage, long term savings, and (meager) investments at a big five bank. Whereas I shifted my personal banking to a credit foundationmag.ca
DONOR REPORT union to align with my work and personal values, a reciprocal shift needs to take place en masse at both the individual and institutional levels. The philanthropic sector is ideally positioned to catalyze the change, with several foundations already leading the way. McConnell Foundation has more than doubled their impact investment holdings from 2014 to over C$50 million in 2017, and the McArthur Foundation recently announced that they will increase their impact investments by up to US$150 million. Notably, both foundations have launched initiatives parallel to their investments that deploy ‘catalytic capital’ to support impact intermediaries. Catalytic capital — investment capital that is patient, risktolerant, concessionary, and flexible — is an essential tool to bridge the two sectors, attract matching investment, and get the impact investment sector to scale. Reciprocally, impact investors are broadening product offerings to accommodate a diverse array of risk/return profiles. At Rhiza, we offer credit union guaranteed investment accounts for retail banking and endowment holders, marketrate venture capital funds, and develop place-based impact fund consortiums. The intent is to democratize impact to a level where just as many Canadians identify as impact investors as
give to charity, and every philanthropic organization has their capital aligned with their mission. Is impact investing the end of philanthropy? Unequivocally no. Philanthropy and impact investing must continue to, and increasingly, support one another to divert capital from destructive to regenerative practices, that support human and ecological resilience. Foundations are the vanguards whose capital can get impact intermediaries to scale, helping attract equal or greater private investment. In turn, intermediaries investing in businesses proliferating solutions to societies’ urgent problems amplify the impact of charitable efforts. The feedback loop or successful impact, return, and reinvestment — impact investors and philanthropists together — has the potential to generate the capital needed to achieve the worlds’ sustainability goals. Hopefully we can do it in time. Elyse Crowston is Director of (Impact) Investor Relations, Rhiza Capital. The firm invests in direct response to the challenge of financing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We build Positive Impact financial portfolios, programs, and partnerships that localize the SDGs and connect community to opportunity. Coast Venture Root 3 (CVR3) is a balanced fund targeting a market rate or better return alongside meaningful environmental and social impact. The fund will make seed, early, and follow on investments in private companies in diverse sectors, all with alignment to the SDGs.
@EASE is the focal point of all fundraising activity. It has been designed to bring together a complete collection of data and resources used by FD staff. Donors, prospects, advocates, professionals, media…everyone important to telling your story, donating or speaking on behalf of the charity become its community as defined and recorded in @EASE. Cloud or Installed Solutions
To help us find out more about your needs please contact us: 1(877) 489-9911 ease@batschgroup.com
@EASE We are Batsch Group Inc
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Fundraising
In The Mail -
St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation
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By Brendan Read
ome of the best fundraising campaigns integrate channels, often with direct mail as the anchor, supported by email, digital media, including video and campaign-specific landing pages. In those instances, the measure of success isn’t whether direct mail is growing as a single channel, but whether it is growing while being supported by other channels. A case in point is the St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation 2018 Holiday campaign. As with most charities, the Holiday campaign, running from late October to early December, is the biggest revenue generator of the calendar year for the Toronto, Ont. hospital on account of donors being more in the “giving spirit” during the holiday season (and the motivation of the tax deadline looming). The goals were to maintain the strong average gift from the previous year and to improve response. This multichannelled campaign told the story of Valerie, a grateful patient of St. Michael’s Hospital who, after experiencing almost no symptoms, was shocked to be diagnosed with bile duct cancer, which is rare and often fatal. She was even more shaken and afraid after being told that her tumour was inoperable. But Valerie’s initial fear was replaced with hope when she met her doctor at St. Michael’s Hospital. She recommended chemotherapy, and Valerie stayed hopeful and surrounded herself with friends and family. Just a after a year and a half after diagnosis, Valerie’s cancer was in remission. In line with St. Michael’s never say never attitude, the theme of campaign was “Tis the Season of Not Giving Up.” St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation selected Valerie’s story for two reasons. One, she was relatable as she represented the demographic of the donor base. And two, she had been diagnosed with cancer, which tends to connect with more people in the audience, especially when compared to less common or lesser understood illnesses. “We wanted to share Valerie’s story because it emulates our unique spirit of relentlessness, how our health care Ericka Tovey, teams stop at nothing when it comes to the toughest senior director, health challenges,” said Ericka Tovey, senior director, philanthropy, at St. Michael’s philanthropy, at St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation. Hospital “We believe the success of this campaign is a testament Foundation. 34
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Fundraising
The campaign was successful on multiple channels, with direct mail growing by 31 percent year-over-year
to the power and poignancy of Valerie’s story. Not only was it compelling and emotional, it clearly resonated with our donors. And perhaps most importantly, it was true to the spirit of relentlessness St. Michael’s Hospital is renowned for.” The regular donor mail package included the outer envelope (OE), letter/reply form, premium test (5x Holiday Cards versus Control Ornament) and business reply envelope. It was sent to the St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation’s regular/house donor file, but there were direct mail packages sent to mid-level donors ($500-$25,000) as well as to a prospect audience file (made up of long-lapsed donors and patients). For the mail portion, St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation tested creative components. It knew from past campaigns that a holiday-themed OE drives better response from the audience as it stands out in their mailboxes and catches their attention. “We had also recently launched a public awareness campaign and wanted to test its resonance with our loyal and dedicated donor audience”, said Tovey. “We tested two OEs against each other to maintain the creative elements we knew worked, while also introducing and testing our new awareness campaign.” “This was our first time launching a campaign that transcended beyond a direct mail package, integrating the creative within several channels, including email, digital media and video”. These new channels included paid and organic social media (Facebook, Instagram), advertising across the Google Display Network (GDN) as well as Google Search. The digital ads consisted of carousel ad units on Facebook, video ads on Facebook and YouTube and animated display banners on GDN. The online and offline creative assets drove donors to a campaign-themed landing page that comprised of a video and a strong call to action. foundationmag.ca
Maeve Strathy, senior strategist at Blakely (St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation’s marketing and fundraising agency partner) cited the “Rule of Seven” from advertising, i.e. people need to see a message seven times before taking action. “When you send out a mailing, that’s only one time that your Maeve Strathy, senior strategist at Blakely. audience gets to see the message,” she said. “But by emailing and advertising on digital channels, it increases the likelihood that people see the messages enough times to, in St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation’s case, make donations.” “Although mail continues to be a strong channel, it works best when integrated and used with a mix of other channels,” said Tovey. “Audiences and their behaviours have changed. They’re exposed to thousands of messages outside their mailboxes and we wanted to cut through the clutter and meet them where they already are. It’s not necessarily that people are giving through mail less, but more so that the call to action needs to be reinforced in more ways than it used to.” This campaign was a success on multiple channels. The direct mail portion grew in revenue by 31 percent year-over-year. This was driven by a combination of response and especially a higher average gift: meeting all of the key performance indicators St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation set out at the outset of the campaign. Even better, revenue from digital channels also grew: by 34 percent. “This campaign showed us that integrating our campaigns doesn’t have to mean shifting revenue from one channel to another,” said Tovey. “It can mean holistic growth across all channels.” Brendan Read is the editor of DM Magazine. January/February 2020
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LEGAL FOUNDATIONS
Some Deserve A Reserve
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By Adam Aptowitzer
bviously, one of the defining features of a not-forprofit organization is that it indeed operates without the intent to pursue profit. Unfortunately, this often results in confusion for the directors, as they seek to understand the exact application of this idea in the context of pricing their services. There is a clear tension between the ability to charge more for goods or services provided by the organization, if for no other reason to put some money in the bank for a rainy day, and this most fundamental qualification of a notfor-profit. The question then arises as to whether or not such a corporation can amass assets and if so, how much? The question is somewhat complicated by a number of factors. While it is difficult to rank the importance of these, the most practically difficult is the requirement that the directors act in a reasonable manner to safeguard the finances of the organization. Clearly then, the bias would be to amass as large as a fund as
The CRA’s rule was that it considered one year of operating reserve to be a baseline test. 36
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LEGAL FOUNDATIONS possible to protect against unanticipated downturns. Even a thorough reading of the Income Tax Act does not contradict this idea however that is not the end of the story. The CRA’s opinion is that an organization that operates so as not to earn a profit could not, in theory, amass a large reserve due to income from its operations (absent a windfall or some other reason for a large base of liquid assets). Clearly, if an organization is given a large mass of money from its members or a donor, the CRA would not have the same level of concern. However, if an organization has priced its goods or services to earn a profit, and it is a successful business, then one would expect that there would be, over time, a large reserve developing. So, the CRA views a large reserve as a sign of a forprofit business, but this is a rebuttable presumption. In the past the CRA’s rule was that it considered one year of operating reserve to be a baseline test for determining whether or not an organization was amassing too much money. That rule has been changed and the current rule takes into account that one year of operating reserve may not be the appropriate test in all cases. Now the CRA does not look at the simple mathematics, but rather at the purpose of the funds. For example, the CRA will look at the overall amount and question whether the corporation is a saving for a large capital purchase or if the amount is necessary to protect operations in circumstances that are logical to the situation. In some cases, that may mean one year of operating reserve and in some cases it may mean six months or three years. The directives still aren’t clear How then are the directors to decide what would be the appropriate amount in the circumstances that would be acceptable by the CRA? Unfortunately, there is still neither Court guidance nor further CRA opinion on this point. Clearly, if the corporation is seeking to make a large capital purchase the amount of the reserve would necessarily be the amount to make the purchase and whatever fit ups or moving expenses are required for the organization to take possession and dedicate the facility to its cause. This is likely easier for corporations to calculate than the reserves necessary for a rainy day fund. On this, it can be taken for granted that reasonable people will disagree on the appropriate level, unfortunately if it is the CRA that disagrees the corporation could be deemed to be a for-profit, and therefore taxable organization, retroactive to the change in nature of the corporation. For this reason, directors must not only make the decision to have an operating reserve but seek professional accounting advice to determine the appropriate size of the fund. And this amount should be revisited every few years as the size of the corporation’s ‘business’ grows or shrinks, and the overall financial climate changes. While the CRA may disagree as to the final number that an accountant suggests, a corporation that has pro-actively sought this opinion will have a good basis upon which to argue that no CRA punishment should be levied. foundationmag.ca
The CRA views a large reserve as a sign of a for-profit business, but this is a rebuttable presumption. Moreover, seeking professional advice regarding the amount of the operating reserve is in alignment with the director’s function to safeguard the organization. An operating reserve is not a luxury in a down time. It may be that when the organization hits that down time the directors will not have saved enough in order to keep the organization a float but this is virtually guaranteed if there is no reserve at all. Adam Aptowitzer is a tax lawyer with special expertise in the law as it pertains to charities, not-for-profit organizations, and other non-taxable entities anywhere in Canada. His practice involves tax litigation for private taxpayers and charities and he has represented clients at the Tax Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.
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www.foundationmag.ca/givingreport BRING YOUR TEAM. January/February 2020
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Donor Report
Gift Prospect Modeling and Prospect Research - Part One
How to Dispense with the Hype and Find Power in Donor Data
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By Matthew Dubins
hances are good that your non-profit is ready to use major gift prospect modeling and prospect research to help you find new major donors. You may already be crunching those numbers. But what you might not know is just how powerful these crucial practices can really be, or where the hype might outpace the reality. What’s vital is to take a new, or closer, look at how they will help your nonprofit catapult the output and efficiency of your major gift officers. Part 1a - Major gift prospect modeling These days there is more awareness of artificial intelligence and machine learning than ever before. Regrettably, with increased awareness comes a high level of hype. Companies that sell products based on these statistical techniques will give you the impression that their techniques are revolutionary and will try to convince you their products are the only ones to provide you with the benefit from such techniques. Also, marketing from such companies tends to embed an impression that lots of data is needed to make worthwhile the use of such algorithms. As a data scientist who works in the non-profit sector, I wanted to clear the air on this topic. Let’s start with a quick working definition of the subject matter. Major gift prospect modeling is the practice of using advanced statistical techniques to assign all your donors with a score (usually from 1-10, or 1-100) on the basis of how much they look like a major donor. To create the score, the statistical algorithm needs a sufficient number of past examples of high level giving so it can learn what to expect from your donors. Please don’t expect the modeling to definitively uncover $20,000+ donors if you’ve never had them. Would you believe that even smaller non-profits can benefit from modeling? I recently scored the database of a non-profit that didn’t even have 5,000 active donors! Thankfully, there were a couple of tables in their donor database where the data was reasonably clean, allowing me to create a very useful major gift prospect model. The key criterion then is whether or not the non-profit consistently records data on their donors and donor behaviour. Of course, the more you track about your 38
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donors, the better. Obviously, larger non-profits can certainly benefit from this as well. Now, let’s talk about donor data requirements. Donor data sources that can be useful for creating major gift prospect models include, but are not limited to: ❯❯ Biographical details ❯❯ Gift history ❯❯ Solicitation history ❯❯ Contact preferences ❯❯ Event participation ❯❯ Volunteerism ❯❯ Connection to the cause ❯❯ Demographics Bear in mind that not all these data sources are needed for modeling. Going back to the example of the small non-profit I mentioned, the only data sources they were able to share with me were biographical details and gift history. I was able to do a demographic append using Canadian Census data. That made three data sources altogether. After roughly three weeks, the project should be completed. The three major deliverables of such a project are: 1. The model summary and insights report The model summary and insights report is a document that summarizes the data characteristics that were used to create the major gift prospect model score. Think of these characteristics as helping to paint a picture of what constitutes a high level donor for your non-profit. My reports always start with a simple listing of those characteristics, along with how important each was in building the model. Subsequently, my clients love when I show them graphs that explain more about how these characteristics are correlated with high-level giving. For example, a graph showed my client that donors whose first gift was $100 or more were over two times as likely to give at a high level compared to other donors. Another interesting example that came out of the summary and insights report was a different non-profit I worked with who learned that donors who had given at least $2,500 through monthly giving were much more foundationmag.ca
DONOR REPORT likely to go on and subsequently give at least $10,000+ over the ensuing five year period. This insight was of major strategic value to them. They realized that their monthly giving program represented a key pipeline for them of major giving prospects. 2. A return of the actual donor data, scored and ranked (from 1-10, or 1-100), along with some measure of philanthropic capacity Of course, the end goal of this project is to figure out which donors have the highest likelihood of responding to major gift solicitation, as well as the means to make such a donation. To get those identities, a file needs to be returned where each row is a donor (represented by an ID), and the columns contain information such as model score, rank, measure of philanthropic capacity, as well as any prospect segments that were built in the process. I like to divide up my clients’ databases into 4 segments, based on whether their donors are high vs. low on the model score, and high vs. low on philanthropic capacity. 3. Instructions on how to re-score your donors on a regular basis (optional) Where a client has the internal staff expertise to do so, it’s ideal to instruct the database person on the client’s end of things on how to re-score their donors. This means passing new/updated donor data through the same model that was built by the data scientist, and getting new scores. With each passing year, new behaviours or characteristics mean your donors might have increased or decreased their likelihood of giving at a high level to your organization. Re-scoring helps reflect that reality.
information that major gift officers should try to research on their prospects before approaching them and starting the lengthy process of asking for high level donations. This includes everything from family characteristics, employment, income, personal preferences, etc. Major gift solicitation is time consuming, but at least modeling drastically cuts down on the time the organization is spending looking for the best prospects. Once your campaign is finished, you’re going to want to measure the success of using a major gift prospect model. I can think of at least two methods for doing this: 1. If using the scores on all prospects, examine the rate at which your major gift officers move prospects along the pipeline from identification qualification cultivation successful solicitation. How much higher or lower are these rates
compared to prior periods? That could be very telling of how much more or less efficient your team is thanks to the scores. 2. For larger non-profits: break up your prospect database into two portions. On one portion, use the scores to move prospects through the pipeline, whereas on the other portion you do major gift prospecting like you always have. How do the above mentioned rates compare between the two portions? I hope I’ve explained the process and value of major gift prospect modeling better than you previously understood it. The second part in this series will help you better understand how prospect research works and its benefit to organizations small and large. Matthew Dubins is the Founder of Donor Science Consulting. Watch for Part 2 of his column in next issue.
Part 1b - The really hard work begins Once the project is done and everyone’s happy with the quality of the work, you need to start the work of actually soliciting the donors highlighted by the model scores. Please note that the model scores aren’t enough to inform your major gift officers. There’s all sorts of personal foundationmag.ca
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Donor Report
Care Canada Takes Note Top 5 Innovations for Social Good in 2019
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he word “Innovation” may have become a bit of a buzzword in recent years, but when it comes to making the world a better place, Care Canada’s says it can’t be used enough. Here are some of the charity’s favourite innovations from the past year.
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WATER FILTERING STRAWS
Access to clean water that is close to home is one of the biggest issues people around the world face in terms of health and well-being. So what if there were a straw that filtered water? You get were we’re going with this. LifeStraw filter removes 99.9 percent of bacteria and 96.2 percent of viruses. It was first created for people in emergency conditions and those living in developing countries without enough fresh clean water. Now, it’s become popular for travellers as well.
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SMART FARMS
There are millions of people around the globe who don’t have access to food, and with the changing climate, those numbers ill only increase. Enter the smart farm. The founders of AeroFarms say it uses a technique for indoor farming that uses 95 percent less water than field farming. Even more innovative is that rather than grow in dirt, these crops grow in a reusable cloth made from recycled water bottles and are crops are watered with a gentle mist to use the least amount of water possible. According to co-owner Marc Oshima, AeroFarms has already produced crops like kale and arugula at scale, and has sold them to large grocery store chains and even an airline.
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ECO-FRIENDLY PADS
Feminine hygiene products are often wasteful and sustainable alternatives can be expensive, not to mention many women and girls in developing countries don’t have easy access to them. The founders of Saathi pads in India created pads made from banana fibers that are 100 percent biodegradable and also helps local farmers and employs underprivileged women to produce the pads. Saathi pads are “a hygienic, effective alternative to improve the lives of women without creating any negative environmental impact,” according to Kristin Kagetsu, one of the company’s co-founders, and estimates that more than 6,000 women in India now use Saathi pads.
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ELECTRICITY TO GO
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A VACUUM FOR THE OCEANS
We all know that our oceans are vastly polluted with plastics and other man-made materials, damaging and killing marine life. That’s where the 4Ocean Mobile Skimmer comes in. It’s essentially a vacuum cleaner for oceans that has large arms to collect garbage and requires just a few people to run it.
“Innovation is seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” - Albert Szent-GyÖrgy, Nobel Prize Winning Scientist 40
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Easy access to reliable electricity is something many of us in North America may take for granted. While power is widely available, in many parts of the world, it’s sporadic. While attending a complicated birth in Nigeria, American obstetrician-g ynecologist Dr. Laura Stachel experienced firsthand how power outages can mean life or death in certain parts of the world. So Dr. Stachel decided an easy-to-use, portable source of power was the solution, one that could run lights for a delivery room along with a fetal heart monitor. This became the first Solar Suitcase. Dr. Stachel’s organization has now shipped nearly 4,000 units to 27 developing countries.
Care Canada is a registered charity which helps women and girls in developing countries lift themselves and their families out of poverty and out of crisis. This insight feature is published here with their permission. foundationmag.ca
DONOR REPORT
Top Five Trends In Philanthropy For 2020
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By Kim Fuller
h yes, we love lists too. It’s an easy bite to chew on, a quick snapshot of eye candy, a shot of info-tequila to put a sparkle in your eye. But aside from being an easy way to see if you are in the know, lists provide checks and balances to help us keep on task, hit the milestones, and enlighten our ever solicited subconscious mind. So brace yourself for our top-of-the-top trends in philanthropy that will inspire you to percolate new ideas and take action for a new, productive year.
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Private Sector Relationships Having friends with deep pockets is important when it comes time for sponsoring events or looking for campaign contributions, but courting the private sector using these short-term hook-ups sometimes leads to disappointment as superficial arrangements often come with an expiration date. 2020 is the decade for creating meaningful relationships with the right people. It is really about self-care. If you surround your organization with committed caring businesses only good things will come out of the relationship. It is a win-win situation for both parties. It is worth your time and investment to research the appropriate private sector partners that share your values, nurture those relationships, and develop a common long-term goal that offers benefits for all. By taking the lead, the philanthropic sector will encourage the wave of generosity that traditional corporations are slowly realizing makes a significant difference in work culture and employee satisfaction. It is time to get out there and start networking in a whole new way!
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Diversifying Income Streams It is a common refrain. We can’t afford it, we don’t have the budget, we didn’t get the grant, our fundraising objectives were not met. Always, money, or the lack thereof, is at the crux of every non-profit’s existential dilemma. The new decade can offer new possibilities; can we make a sector-wide shift from simply surviving to absolutely thriving? Yes but part of that change will come from looking at other ways you can bring in money to further your mission. Take it from our client Petites Mains, a Montreal-based non-profit, earning income by selling goods and services is a healthy way to keep the organization alive and vibrant. By offering immigrant women a chance to learn a new skill needed for the job market, improve their French language skills, and get the support they need to be better members of society, this organization has accomplished a lot over its 25 foundationmag.ca
years in existence. It is thanks in part to the revenue earned through industrial sewing contracts, catering services, and business services, that it has earned a place in the forefront of innovative non-profit organizations. By including a social enterprise element into your organization, you can generate a new income stream, attain your mission in an innovative way, and garner support from unlikely allies in your new “business” venture.
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Knowing Your Donors and Offering Personalized Giving Options In the new decade, non-profits will start seeing that more and more donors want to be agents of change. The era of simply writing cheques with little to no interaction is behind us. Giving options need to be more personalized: donors want to participate in making a change in society and they want to see the tangible effects of their contribution. By getting to know your donors better you can target your messaging and offer relevant giving options that will resonate with donors and incentivize them to give to your cause. Segmenting your donor base and creating targeted messages is becoming increasingly more important. Whether through personalized emails or offering customized video rewards, one key point remains: giving needs to be easy and quick. Thoroughly auditing your website and social media channels is an easy first step in evaluating the “ease of doing business” with your organization. These are the first points of contact potential donors have with you, it is worth reviewing how easy the process is for making a donation, getting in contact with you, and how engaging your communications really are.
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Optimizing Now: Harnessing Vital Tools, From Data to Analytics Are the tools your organization uses optimized and working for you to their fullest potential? In 2020, it is essential that charities become data-driven and make use of software and other tools that will make it easier to focus on what’s truly important: developing, maintaining and managing relationships. Data is a powerful tool for charities and it should not be overlooked. Like Paul Ruben at Charity Digital News says, “it can help campaigns become more successful, it can ensure projects have more impact, and it can be used to make a strong case to funders for new services and initiatives”. Artificial intelligence and data analytics are also critical tools to help Continued on page 47 January/February 2020
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payments Report
Twelve Payment Predictions Which Might Change Your FinTech Strategy
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By Simon Fairbairn
ith almost 40 years in the industry, the collective payments expertise of the Ingenico team is unparalleled. So, as the new year begins, Simon Fairbairn, Director of Solution Development at Ingenico Banks & Acquiring, considers 12 key payment predictions for 2020. 1. Fraudsters Innovate Too In 2019, Authorised Push Payment Fraud (APP Fraud) rose by 40 percent, costing the UK £616 million. Thanks to PSD2 and Open Banking, we will continue to see more new players in FinTech. This is brilliant, but it means fraudsters will inevitably innovate their techniques, too. As a result, in 2020 we will see banks enhance their security and implement measures to protect customers, such as payment delays, SCA, 2FA and Confirmation of Payee. 2. Digital Payment Rewards Alongside enhanced security, monetary savings and ease of use, digital payment rewards will increasingly become embedded in payments as a value-added service. These types of loyalty initiatives provide opportunities to engage directly with customers and are useful to increase customer allegiance with brands. With innovative payment terminals on the rise, such as Android, that offer enhanced applications and collect more consumer data, customers will expect more personalized offers. Organisations will deliver them in 2020. 3. More Data, More Powerful AI Often thought of as just for use with fraud prevention, artificial intelligence (AI) has enormous potential to improve the payment ecosystem for banks, processors, merchants and, ultimately, consumers. Together with companies using AI to analyse certain patterns and algorithms in data to detect fraudulent activity, retail payments will also use this technology to enhance digital interactions in voice commerce and mobile banking. 4. New Smart City Payment Options For the last few years we have seen the beginnings of frictionless 42
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towns and cities across the globe. The TfL tube system and contactless buses are a prime example of an effective cashless system — since its inception over 1.7 billion frictionless journeys have been enabled. In 2020, cities will implement new smart payment options by joining forces with the right partners and platforms to counteract new challenges, including ease and speed of implementation, disruption and data security. 5. Smarter Purchase Suggestions This year, Amazon generated 35 percent of its revenue from its recommendation model, which utilises customer data to deliver smarter purchase suggestions. By using data to personalize suggestions, retailers are truly listening to customers and continuously pushing the boundaries of shopping experiences. In 2020, we’re going to see more retailers following in Amazon’s footsteps, either in store or online. 6. Generation X Demand Payment Security A lot of the fintech revolution has been driven by millennials, for millennials. As this demographic seeks and demands new ways to pay, Open Banking continues to enable new players in the payment ecosystem for millennials as well as Gen Z, a third of whom are estimated to have opened at least two new accounts with a challenger bank within the past five years. While the focus has predominantly been on these young demographics, their older counterparts, such as Gen X, are being left behind. As such, in 2020 we will likely see Gen X demanding that the basics of their financial services, such as security, are prioritized over anything else which might cause a generational divide. 7. The Rise Of Social Commerce Social commerce is indisputably going to be the breakout trend for ecommerce in 2020. The line between social media and foundationmag.ca
Payments Report eCommerce is increasingly becoming blurred, driven by the sheer amount of time spent on social media apps. The rise is down to popular platforms, like Instagram and Snapchat, enabling short form video content, which 91 percent of consumers prefer over conventional static media. What once consisted of a static online shopping experience is becoming a much more fluid ecosystem defined by multiple threads of content media. 8. Digital ID Becomes King At its core, identity verification has always underpinned financial services in order to protect users and meet compliance demands. Efforts to help streamline identity procedures, such as the creation of long passwords, cause friction for customers. Many inevitably forget the long passwords they create and $70 charges by banks to change passwords cause frustration. In 2020, Digital ID will help eradicate these bugbears while providing numerous economic benefits and more secure identification for consumers. 9. Relentless Collaboration FinTech continues to be the buzzword in financial services, relating to the rapidly evolving technology that is fast revolutionizing the industry. However, in order to keep innovating within the industry we can’t rely on technology alone; it’s a team sport. Throughout 2020, as Open Banking continues to offer more opportunities within the payments ecosystem, we must continue to collaborate with other players to keep innovating. 10. Make Payments With Cars The Internet of Things (IoT) is making devices smart. For many years we’ve heard about fridges that consumers can make payments on, but cars have been noted as the next big thing to be inter-connected. Research highlights that the automotive industry could be the most lucrative IoT platform, and by 2023 it’s estimated that 775 million cars will be connected through telematics or in-vehicle apps accounting for $63 billion in transactions that year. If these estimations are to be achieved, over 2020 we’ll start seeing IoT payments for petrol, tolls and food. 11. Banks And Card Payments Converge Due to Open Banking and PSD2, the ability to have a card or bank account payment in near-real time starts to enhance the possibilities for how a consumer may wish to pay at the point of sale in 2020. We will likely see consumers offered with the choice of paying by real time payment rather than by card; same outcome through a different route with a different charging scheme. This may extend to initiating a sequence of recurring payments, the first in real time, the remainder in a Direct Debit format. Continued on page 47 foundationmag.ca
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Donor Report
How To Chart The Best Path For Your New Supporter
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By Allen Davidov
ow that the holiday and end-of-year fundraising period has wrapped up, many not-for-profit and fundraising organizations are coming up for air. But they are also preparing to chart out cultivation and stewardship plans for their newest supporters, as many donors raised their hands and replied to a call to action during GivingTuesday, Holiday, or Yearend campaigns. These donors have taken the essential first step, and now it’s up to the fundraising organizations to take the careful next step of understanding who these supporters are, and what their journey with your organization should look like. A donor’s journey should not be predicated by organizational or program need, but by what makes the most sense for the donor concerning what is offered. Ultimately, setting out a course for the best relationship outcome and maximizing the opportunity with your newest supporter. Having been in the charitable sector for over 15 years, I have experienced the pressure to deliver programmatically and have seen some terrific plans crumble because of that. The push for immediate results can put pressure on everyone, even at the beginning of a new year, and comes at the expense of retaining and stewarding the organization’s existing donor base. Not only is this acquisition mindset taxing on charities, but it also drives up costs. So, what are some innovative options to break this cycle and make it easier for fundraising teams? Focus on the right plan Large charities have dedicated teams to help them make smart decisions to keep their donors engaged. In contrast, smaller organizations with fewer resources have had to rely on their wits and tenacity to connect with supporters. But to reach the next level, 44
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wits and determination alone will only get these smaller organizations so far. Imagine what can be accomplished if they were able to channel all of their energy on the right existing donors, considering their capacity to give, what is meaningful to them, engagement and donation history. Organizations, specifically smaller and midsized charities, need data-driven solutions that will fit their budget and provide actionable insights to address the needs of fundraisers. One of the ways to accomplish that is with systems that provide insights based on supplementing existing in-house data with new tools. There are innovative proprietary scoring systems which these kinds of charities and foundations can adopt to provide advanced data and analytics in the same way that many larger organizations have been doing for many years. Small- to mid-sized organizations, using customizable scoring systems, can utilizes third-party privacy-friendly data that offers a cost-effective way to prioritize their existing supporters and can help organizations with as little as a few hundred donors. Powerful and easy to use While data and analytics can often be complicated and intimidating, what you need to look for are tools which are simple to understand and easy to use. What you’ll get are insightful views of your new supporters and that leads to more comprehensive look at their wealth and psychographic data to allow you to guide the creation of the best plan for each individual. By getting a deeper understanding of your new supporters, you can refocus efforts on building those critical relationships and maximize opportunities before starting additional expensive acquisition programs. We all know that the best prospects for midsize and large gifts are found from within the Continued on page 47 foundationmag.ca
DONOR REPORT
Setting Strategy, Donors and Technology
Inside The Evolving Role Of The Non-Profit CMO
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By Tanya Giovacchini
he role of the non-profit chief marketing officer (CMOs) is changing to include not only what we think of as brand steward — communicating the brand and value proposition — but also that of “chief sense maker,” charged with using any (and all) tools at his or her disposal to reach out to, listen to, make sense of, and then adapt organizational strategy to the marketplace. Here, three CMOs talk about how their roles are changing and what it means to how they serve their constituents. In today’s world, fulfilling a non-profit’s mission increasingly requires organizations to implement more sophisticated and complex systems and processes that enable it to meet the needs of diverse stakeholders. Technology and data collection form the heart of the shift by providing the raw inputs and feedback that form the basis for understanding stakeholder needs and adjusting organizational strategy to meet them. Increasingly, chief marketing officers (CMO), and professionals with similar roles, have taken on the responsibility of putting the systems and processes in place and ensuring their effectiveness to their organizations. In the words of Kevin Conroy, chief product officer of GlobalGiving: “No longer is marketing just about having the biggest megaphone. It’s about developing relationships with your customers. We’re replacing, ‘Hey, you need to fundraise in GlobalGiving. Here’s our pricing!’ with ‘Hey, there are different ways you can think about crowdfunding. We’re a great resource for you’!” Translating feedback into actions DonorsChoose.org is an online charity that connects donors with public school teachers seeking funding for their projects. According to its website, the firm has raised over $345,346,000 to fund more than 609,500 projects that have helped over 15,388,000 students. You can’t boast those kinds of numbers without listening to your stakeholders. Katie Bisbee, DonorsChoose.org’s chief marketing officer, leaves no channel untapped in her constant collection of customer feedback. Live interviews, phone conversations, email surveys, website widgets, social media, and a small but highly productive customer relations team that fields as many as 1,500 inquiries a week from teachers and donors deliver what Bisbee calls “perpetual feedback about what our donors foundationmag.ca
The new CMO has to serve donors, stakeholders and also be “chief sense maker”.
care about, what their questions are, and whether our website gives them what they need.” No feedback loop is complete until it is shared with, understood by, and acted on by the company itself. Bisbee takes the same high-touch approach to internal mind sharing as she does to external stakeholders. She meets weekly with her staff as well as her managerial counterparts on the web product, customer relations, and data science teams. In an organization of only 70 employees, the chances are pretty good that Bisbee regularly meets with most of them. The process culminates in the weekly “marketplace meeting,” in which the CEO, chief technology officer (CTO), and CMO Bisbee “connect the dots” gathered from thousands of separate data points. From this they set priorities for the coming week and mine the information that can help shape the organization’s strategy long term. Finding the sweet spots The American Heart Association (AHA) comprises over 100 local offices, more than 3,000 employees, an amazing volunteer base, and has an extensive network of partners, with whom it collaborates to deliver its mission and maximize impact. January/February 2020
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Donor Report On top of this, the AHA’s overall mission of helping people “to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke,” is driven by numerous focus areas including: wellness, nutrition, multicultural, healthy living, stroke, and others. Still, much like Bisbee at DonorsChoose.org, the AHA’s top marketing strategist, Gerald E. Johnson II, is responsible for ensuring that AHA’s mindsets in this decentralized organization are pulling in the same direction. “One of my roles is to force strategic conversations... while preserving geographical, cultural, and marketplace diversity across markets,” says Johnson, who simultaneously holds the title of chief diversity officer and senior vice president, marketing. One way the AHA inspires strategic conversations is decidedly lowtech but an important part of its overall information gathering: it regularly convenes thought leaders who can help them wrestle with priorities related to its mission. “We have tremendous people on staff, but where we really get to solving population wide issues and needs is by convening the best thought leaders across industry — science, medical, consumer, community, etc. — to combine forces and accelerate the speed of solution development,” Johnson says. “We use market research insights, both qualitative and quantitative, and ethnographic research to understand attitudes and behaviors and make sense of what is going on in the population and at the local levels,” he adds. Complementing its research priorities is its focus on using social media as an integral part to AHA’s ability to uncover issues of importance. “Social is the currency of life for us right now,” says Johnson. With communities for different conditions associated with heart health and science communities, the AHA hears from heart/stroke survivors, moms, caregivers—people who want to live strong, healthy lives. Through these, he’s able to monitor conversations and determine the role AHA can play in meeting stakeholder needs. “Yes, we measure keywords and word clouds,” Johnson says, “but we also look at the geography of word clouds and ask ourselves, ‘Where is our sweet spot in all of this noise?’” For example, a conversation among parents on Twitter or Facebook about childhood obesity might include inquiries not only about simple and nutritious recipes, but also references to restaurant choices, exercise options, and limiting entertainment technology in the home. Such conversations, Johnson explains, may reveal keyword associations offering clues to how the AHA might broaden its message delivery platform around how it talks about diet. Sometimes social media locates an opportunity to help those you serve have more impact. For instance, when the DonorsChoose.org’s social media coordinator noted the poor quality of the images teachers were posting of their successfully
funded projects, he suggested better guidelines to ensure image quality. This way, teachers learned how to post better quality images, which in turn helped them better promote, and get more buzz for, funding their projects. Other times, social media reveals a new strategic opportunity — or tells you when it’s a rabbit hole. “For example, some of our stakeholders Tweeted about their interest in a DonorsChoose. org app,” recalls Bisbee. “After tweeting back and forth about what they would actually use the app for, we determined that we should focus on other products ahead of an app.” Building a learning loop GlobalGiving — the world’s first and largest crowd-funding platform for non-profits has connected more than 482,000 donors with nearly 13,000 non-profit projects. Since it started in 2013, nearly $192 million has been raised by non-profits using the GlobalGiving.org platform. Yet Chief Product Officer Kevin Conroy says it’s not all about the money, at least not entirely so. “Our hypothesis is that organizations that track learning will become more impactful,” says Conroy. “We want organizations that are becoming more impactful over time to get more funding on our platform and from others as well. It’s not just around who can raise the most money. It’s about how you’re going to be able to learn, create change, and affect the highest absolute impact. Isn’t that what all of us want to support?” To accomplish this, GlobalGiving is launching an “effectiveness framework” for their non-profit customers to track their learning and impact over time. Over the next 10 years, GlobalGiving will provide non-profits that list on GlobalGiving with the analytical tools they need to listen to their constituents, collect feedback, reflect on what has worked and what hasn’t, and outline how they’re going to change the project. “It’s really about building a better customer, a better constituent, a better beneficiary,” says Conroy. Give customers the tools that they need to make change happen and they will remember you as having a role in their success.
“About building a better customer, a better constituent, a better beneficiary.”
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Becoming more technology driven Conroy says as the role of CMOs becomes more “technology centered and focused,” so too will hiring decisions. “We’re not going to grow by hiring hundreds of more people,” Conroy flatly admits. “We’re hoping to grow by hiring 10 more people who can help us quadruple the size of our program using technology and social media and digital marketing.” GlobalGiving has already achieved extraordinary scale with its technology edge, requiring just one program officer for every 2,000 grantees rather than the industry standard of one officer per dozen or so grantees. foundationmag.ca
Continuations Bisbee, who is the process of hiring a new marketing associate, concurs. “I guess that in the future, hiring a bright, young person who thinks like a marketer and is analytical isn’t going to cut it,” she reflects. “I think we’ll need people with expertise in online community building and digital marketing and deep analytics capabilities.” In any case, Conroy’s final advice to CMOs everywhere captures an important organizational truism: if you feel like you’re butting heads with your technology team, that’s your number one problem to fix. “As soon as you can collaborate with your technology team to improve your communication, marketing, and email systems, you can hit levels of scale that you didn’t think were possible.” Tanya Giovacchini is a partner and chief engagement and marketing officer at The Bridgespan Group. The author would like to thank Bridgespan’s Lindsay O’Connell and Carole Matthews, as well as writer David Moore, for assisting in the research, editing, and writing of this article.
Top Five Trends In Philanthropy For 2020 Continued from page 41
build unique donor profiles and target them with personalized messages to make giving easier than ever before. That being said, it is difficult to harness the power of AI and data effectively and well so consider the added value an expert could bring to your organization. Start exploring, build the case for your board and get on with it!
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Beyond Benefits: Showcasing Other Advantages, an HR Challenge There is a labour shortage and the charitable sector is feeling it hard. Where most charities can’t offer huge salaries like the corporate world, they can offer other incentives that are arguably just as important to attract and retain talent. Often overlooked, an organization’s values and philosophies can be an important factor for talent attraction and foundationmag.ca
retention. People are increasingly looking to work at companies or organizations whose values align with their own. Nonprofits need to make sure that their hiring practices and marketing elevate and reflect their cause and unique social culture. Equally as important is to place an emphasis on collective well-being. Introducing a flexible working conditions or a four-day working week results in increased motivation, productivity and better work-life balance. For instance, here at Phil, our sick days are called “wellness days” placing the focus on preventive rather than reactive self-care. Well into the 21st century, it is clear that the way we work has changed. In this new decade, let’s take the lead on reflecting that change. Talk to us about planning a corporate culture workshop, reviewing your hiring practices or improving your internal communication channels. The horizon ahead Non-profit organizations will have to step up their game and rise to meet donors’ expectations. Gone are the days of passively pushing out letters and waiting for cheques to roll in during annual campaigns. The only way you can afford to implement new practices, is by letting go of old ones that no longer yields results, and drain the organization of potential. By nurturing more personal relationships and making strategic changes to practices long-held as gold standards, the future will be bright for those willing to embrace the forwardthinking ethos of the new roaring 20’s. Kim Fuller is Founder & CEO of Phil, a consulting and marketing agency for non-profits, based in Montreal and Toronto.
Twelve Payment Predictions Which Might Change Your FinTech Strategy Continued from page 42
12. Invisible Payments Invisible payments are dominating the payments industry with the likes of payments rings, Uber and Amazon Go, all of which are completely frictionless, with payment details stored inside the product. Across all sectors in 2020, businesses will need to keep up with convenience-led lifestyles, placing it at the heart of financial services product design. Simon Fairbairn is Director of Solution Development at Ingenico Banks & Acquiring.
How To Chart The Best Path For Your New Supporter Continued from page 44
existing donors. A donor who makes an annual $100 donation may have the capacity to give significantly more—you may need to reach that person with the right message and ask to unlock that potential. With the outlook for the Canadian economy projected to tighten this year, now is a great time to pause and evolve the decision-making process to ensure shorter-term goals are met and longerterm priorities do not get lost. Allen Davidov leads Environics Analytics’ Not-For-Profit Practice. He has more than 15 years of experience helping charities of all sizes use #DataForGood to achieve their fundraising goals.
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Chapters Report AFP Greater Toronto’s New Director
Building On An Impressive Legacy
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s we begin a new year and a new decade, I want to take a moment to introduce myself to all of you. My name is Penny Connors and I am excited to be taking the lead as the new Executive Director at the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Greater Toronto Chapter. I am honoured to have been selected from a group of seasoned professionals after a comprehensive recruitment process led by the team at KCI (Ketchum Canada Inc.) and am honoured to have had the opportunity to meet some of you at the Chapter’s Congress conference this past November. I look forward to working with the Chapter Board of Directors, staff team, partners and sponsors, volunteers, and members, to continue to build on the success of the Chapter and contribute to advancing new initiatives in the Chapter’s Strategic Plan. I am lucky to have had the opportunity to work with my predecessor, Cynthia Quigley, over the past few weeks in order to begin to familiarize myself with the Chapter’s programs and events and have come to understand that I have some pretty big shoes to fill! For the past 25 years, Cynthia has been a phenomenal lead for the Chapter and leaves an inspiring legacy — something that I hope to build upon. I am grateful for all of her hard work and for her transferring of knowledge, so that I can continue to work with all of our members, volunteers, sponsors and community partners to take the Chapter to new heights. I come from a background of extensive experience in the non-profit and regulatory sectors, leading teams to enhance certification standards and processes, working with not-for-profit Boards and Board committees in Finance, Governance and Human Resource oversight and leadership of member service initiatives. My education includes degrees in Psychology and Business 48
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Steve Lloyd
By Penny Connors
AFP Congress and Fundraising Day became must-attends in our sector.
Administration from York University, the Certificate in Human Resource Management (CHRM) from the Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA) of Ontario, the Canadian Risk Management (CRM) designation, the OISE Certificate in Adult Education and the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation through the Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE). I am excited to bring my knowledge and experience to help deliver on Chapter goals, and to enhance and deliver on member services and AFP’s mission to provide education, training, best practices, and resources to fundraising professionals. As a racialized woman with certification and experience delivering workplace discrimination and harassment prevention training through the Employment Equity Office of the Government of Ontario, I look forward to supporting, improving and advancing the AFP’s inclusivity, diversity, equality and access (IDEA) initiatives and celebrating
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new and diverse voices and perspectives within the sector. This includes working with our Board, staff, sponsors, partners and volunteers to ensure we are building effective and transparent processes to ensure programs are reflective of and responsive to the communities we serve. Personally, I have lived and worked in the greater Toronto area my whole life and enjoy spending quality time with family and friends. I am a proud mother of three. I hope to have the opportunity to meet you at upcoming Chapter events and in the meantime, welcome you to connect with me at pconnors@afptoronto.org. You can learn more about our 2020 programs and Chapter initiatives by visiting www.afptoronto.org, by following us at @afptoronto on Twitter and LinkedIn. I look forward to working with you & wish you all the best for 2020! Penny Connors, BA, BComm, CRM, CAE is executive director for the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Greater Toronto Chapter. foundationmag.ca
Chapters Report AFP Southern Alberta Chapter
A Thriving Chapter Enters Its Ninth Year With Big Results And Big Plans
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By Jess Fehr
ethbridge Alberta and the AFP Southern Alberta Chapter are thriving! With over 400 non-profits in Lethbridge and surrounding area, now more than ever our board of directors has a duty to provide exciting and relevant educational opportunities and networking events to our membership. As we head into our 9th year as a chapter, we are stepping up our game. We celebrated our 5th Annual National Philanthropy Day, Inspiring Philanthropy awards where we honored philanthropists in six categories; indigenous, individual/ family, group, corporate, small business and youth. We also introduced a new scholarship which will be awarded to a grade 12 or first year post-secondary student who best exemplifies positive civic and community support through their interest in, commitment to, and active involvement in volunteer and philanthropic causes. This scholarship now resides alongside FOUR bursaries
that will be distributed to fundraising professionals who plan to attend professional development in 2020. AFP Southern Alberta has just under 40 active members. These members attend monthly lunch and learns and semi-annual networking events. Our upcoming lunch and learn features the incredible Guy Mallabone of Global Philanthropic. He will bring knowledge, expertise and charisma as he helps us discover new pathways towards a robust fund development plan. We know this sort of high level educational opportunity will bring in new members and engage current members. Another exciting venture that our chapter will continue to expand on in 2020 is our library. We provide our membership access to a growing library with literature on all different areas of fund development. One of the pillars we stand by and encourage is life long learning and this is a very exiting benefit we have for our members. If you have
any good recommendations for books we should consider adding to our library, please send them a long. Finally, as we look to the year ahead, our chapter is focused on celebrating all the incredible work that is being done in our region and sharing that good news with our community. We have a great relationship with our local newspaper, the Lethbridge Herald, and are partnering with them to create a half page column each month with AFP Southern Alberta updates and stories. We will promote our events and membership incentives and most importantly, we will shout from the rooftops the amazing work our local non-profits are doing. This will be a great way to share some news stories in our community. 2020 is looking bright in Southern Alberta. Jess Fehr is president of the AFP Southern Alberta Chapter and Faculty Development Officer for the University of Lethbridge.
Historic Plaques Which Honour Philanthropy
Courtesy Alan L Brown
Élisabeth Bruyère Hospital 1840s 43 Bruyère Street, Ottawa ON
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In the 1840s, Bytown (Ottawa) was growing timber-trade village with a substantial French-Canadian population but no Catholic schools and few social services. In February of 1845 the Sisters of Charity of Montreal (Grey Nuns) sent four nuns here. Led by Élisabeth Bruyère, a devout, welleducated young woman, the sisters quickly established a bilingual school for girls, a hospital, and an orphanage. They helped the poor, the elderly and the sick, including hundreds of immigrants stricken by the typhus epidemics of 1847-48. By the time of Élisabeth Bruyère’s death the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa had founded key local institutions and had extended their services to sixteen other communities in Canada and the U.S.
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Donor Report
The Space Between First And Second Families Mark Armstrong, left, and his family look on as United States Navy personnel carry the ashes of his father, Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong, from a military aircraft at Naval Station Mayport in Florida on Thursday, 13 September 2012, the day before Armstrong’s burial at sea.
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By Justin de Vries
he U.S. space program, the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, and Neil Armstrong’s historic first step have been much in the news of late. The remarkable feat of landing a man on the moon is rightly celebrated and recalls headier times. However, Neil Armstrong was a reluctant hero, often eschewing the fame that inevitably and relentlessly came his way. I recently read an article in the New York Times about Neil Armstrong’s legacy and the competing visions between what I call his first family and his second family. This brought home that not even the great and good are immune from the more mundane things in life — settling an estate after death. Neil Armstrong’s first family includes his ex-wife and two adult sons. His first marriage lasted over 38 years before ending in divorce. Neil was married to his second wife, who outlived him, for close to 20 years. From what I have read, Neil was close to his step-children from 50
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his second marriage. When Neil Armstrong died in 2012 after cardiac surgery, his first family donated some of his personal items to museums, but ultimately decided to sell most of his belongings at auction. Sale items ranged from a childhood teddy bear to space memorabilia. According to The New York Times, millions have been raised over the course of several auctions. Neil Armstrong’s second family is not participating in the auctions and is said to disapprove of the monetization of Neil’s fame and legacy (he was, after all, a reluctant hero who stopped signing autographs when he discovered that they were often sold by the recipient for profit). Many friends have come out in support of Neil’s second family, saying that Neil would not want his legacy to be commercialized (while alive, Neil donated personal documents, working papers, memorabilia and photos to Purdue University). It is not for me to judge whether
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auctioning off Neil Armstrong’s personal items and space memorabilia is the right thing to do. Rather, I think another lesson can be learned from the recent controversy: there is always a need to talk about your last wishes with your whole family before you die. While the thought of family meetings may be especially daunting when dealing with blended or multiple families, the long term benefits often outweigh any present discomfort. Clear communication remains the best way to diffuse tension between family members and avoid litigation. Detailed wills are often not enough; there is no substitute for active and respectful discussions between family members. “Houston, Tranquility Base here. Litigation has been avoided.” Justin de Vries has been consistently named as one of the Best Lawyers in Canada/Trusts & Estates. He is an accomplished litigator who has appeared before all levels of the Ontario Court & the Federal Court of Canada. Justin’s areas of expertise include: estate, trust, and capacity litigation, as well as probate applications and estate administration. foundationmag.ca
