In 1787, Josiah Wedgwood, the British ceramics manufacturer, created an anti-slavery medallion in its classical, low-relief house style. This medallion is the OG protest button, and it was circulated free to abolitionist societies to be pinned to clothing of reformers. It starts a trend that has influenced the world of…
Category: Philanthropy/Charitable Giving
Total 166 Posts
My friend Aneil Gokhale, Director of Philanthropy at the Toronto Foundation, has a talent for facilitating discussions about money. What messages do we inherit and how do they inform our inclination for, and approach to, giving? These messages are the software that influence future behaviour, including openness to giving to…
Fine art is an asset class of growing importance among the affluent and is beginning to be a significant part of select estate plans. A recent estimate pegged the international art market at US$57.5 billion in 2024 (a 12% decline from 2023) and Canada has seen some record prices at…
Pieter Claesz, “Vanitas Still Life” 1630. Private foundations are believed to be durable entities. Perpetuity is often assumed at the planning stage. Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) data shows, however, that 3,073 private foundations closed during the period 2000 to 2025. Growth in Private Foundations Private foundations have seen significant growth…
Every few hundred years charitable endowments come under attack. The Trump administration has imposed tax on the investment income of private foundations of up to 10%, up from 1.39%, as part of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”. A similar bill, the Endowment Tax Fairness Act, seeks to Impose 21%…
Philanthropy can strengthen one’s estate plan. In Canada, an estate plan may integrate charitable donations to leave a legacy to our community while taking advantage of the associated tax benefits. Such strategy can be implemented during the donor’s lifetime or upon the donor’s death. If the donor is a U.S….
In the U.S. there is a generation of contemporary artists who have never been richer and they are endowing – with art and money – some significant foundations. Cy Twombly Foundation, for example, reportedly has assets of over $1.5 billion. There is even a support initiative called the Artist-Endowed Foundation…
Founders are a source of innovation and energy in the social good sector. Lionized as “social entrepreneurs” they identify gaps and create organizations to fill them. But there is, sometimes, a dark side to founders. Donors, employees and stakeholders should be aware of these dynamics. Dr. Susanna Kislenko is a…
A common misconception about donor advised funds is that they are trusts, charitable purpose trusts. At times, lawyers, especially those with expertise in trusts and estates, struggle with this distinction, as do donors. In 2023, this issue came to the forefront when Canadian charities briefly thought they might need to…
Charities do not exclusively depend on donations, despite popular perceptions to the contrary. In Canada, government funding and earned revenue contribute more to registered charities than donations. Both these types of low-key funding are under pressure, enough so that we will soon witness some large charities shrink or even collapse….