Tax planning benefits of leaving your legacy

With so many local charities in need of funding to carry out their important work, how does a generous-spirited person or civic-minded organization decide where to make contributions?

“Through our Vital Signs program, Windsoressex Community Foundation (WECF) does a survey every year. We ask our community, ‘What is important to you?’ Their answers guide us in setting priorities. We align our giving around that,” says Lisa Kolody, executive director of WECF which produces an annual Vital Signs Report, useful in helping donors determine which worthy causes to support.

Presenting a snapshot of life in Windsor-essex that measures the vitality of the community and identifies significant trends in a range of areas critical to quality of life, the 2018 Vital Signs Report revealed survey respondents’ ratings of: work; health, wellness and activity; housing; safety and more.

For instance, on local food security, 34 per cent of survey responders wanted improved access to locally grown food, 29 per cent wanted improved access to fresh and nutritious food, and 24 per cent wanted increased support for community food programs.

These statistics are in line with Windsor-tecumseh and Windsor West being ranked as two of the 10 areas in Ontario with the highest food bank usage. Last year, local food bank usage among seniors increased by 16 per cent.

In response, WECF gave two grants to the Ontario Student Nutrition program to help five local schools provide students with healthy snacks and meal programs. The foundation also aided the Southwestern Ontario Gleaners in their production of nutritious food for residents in need.

Inspiring philanthropy to benefit the community today and forever, the Windsoressex Community Foundation is a perpetual community trust that manages donors’ legacy funds, makes grants to support local projects and establishes enduring partnerships. WECF sets up and manages endowments for numerous local charities. Often, financial gifts are received from donors who participate in WECF’S Leave a Legacy Program.

“Our Leave a Legacy program doesn’t take the place of fundraising; this is simply another avenue that charities can use to fundraise. It also gives donors another avenue where they can give to an endowment, assured the capital stays in place while a portion of the annual interest earned supports the work of the charities specified by the donor,” Kolody explains.

There are many reasons why people choose to Leave a Legacy. One of them is tax strategy.

“November and December are a good time to do your tax planning and examine tax strategies to see if there are benefits to giving to charities right now and next year,” Kolody says.

“When considering becoming a donor, look at your will, talk with your family and financial adviser, and speak with us. You can Leave a Legacy during your lifetime or make arrangements in your will. Either way, you will get a tax benefit.”

A more valuable gain is the positive feelings that naturally arise through helping others.

Opening a second door for donors to access local charities, WECF serves as an informed guide. Many donors are introduced to organizations for the first time or connect with them at a deeper level of understanding.

Donors also come to appreciate that a lot of charities are so focused on the work they are doing and the people and places they are helping, they don’t have adequate time or resources to handle their own legacy giving.

WECF’S Leave a Legacy campaign prioritizes fund development and takes care of the logistics for its partner charities.

The foundation meets with the charitable organization and gets to know the team and what the organization provides its clients and guests. WECF gathers information on the charity, including its mission, vision, programs and how funds are used.

Working with a media company, WECF incorporates the charity’s information and branding into an attractive and illuminating brochure template. WECF covers the design costs and provides a digital copy of the brochure and the first 200 printed brochures for distribution.

The profile of the charity’s Leave a Legacy campaign is boosted through promotion on WECF’S own website at wecf.ca and social media.

Upon forging a relationship with WECF, the charity is immediately connected to the other organizations that have entrusted their endowment funds to the foundation. Sharing one umbrella, the charities are better positioned to spread the word about the good work they are doing individually and as partners.

Through the Leave a Legacy program, charities that are crossing their fingers and hoping the donations they need will actually come in have some measure of security already, knowing their endowment fund held by WECF will ensure that a set amount of dollars arrives.

For more information, call the Windsoressex Community Foundation at 519-2556572 or visit wecf.ca.