Legacy giving, like mentoring, creates long-lasting change
“I grew up in a small town,” describes Steve Fooks, a Vancouverbased insurance consultant. “It was a farming community and everyone looked after everyone else.”
Fooks provides professional financial advice to his clients on a daily basis. He spends time with each client to help them identify the best way to leave a lasting gift and who to direct that gift to. But when he’s not at the office, Fooks is spending time with his family or volunteering his time with a special child at Seymour Elementary School through Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver.
“When I moved to the city, I realized that this sense of community looked a lot different than what I grew up with. It’s still there, but there is just less of it, so children and youth are left with less support as they grow up,” Fooks explains. “Mentoring doesn’t seem as urgent as causes that directly address issues like famine or emergency relief. However, I definitely know that it has a lasting impact.”
According to a study conducted by the Boston Consulting Group and Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada, every dollar invested in Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring generates an $18 return to society. Over their working lives, former mentees will earn on average $315,000 more than those children from similar family and economic backgrounds who did not have a mentor, helping break the cycle of poverty. “That’s where it starts, the lasting impact comes from mentoring one-to-one,” says Fooks.
Fooks’ current mentee, Max*, is 11 years old and has known Fooks since he was nine. Max is Fooks’ sixth mentee since he began volunteering in 1995. After getting married and having his first child, Fooks had less time to give, and began to seek other ways to give back. “I had an insurance policy that has been with me since I was a child. I talk to my clients about legacy planning regularly, and one day I thought to myself ‘I should put my own insurance policies to better use’.”
Leaving his insurance policy to Big Brothers is Fooks’ way to ensure his support for the cause continues on. “Since I have a family, I have less time these days to give, but I know there are plenty of people who have the ability to do that. I’m not going to be around forever. This is a gift that can be more lasting, so that the organization can continue to find volunteers, train them and ultimately support more children.”