Do you Need an Endowment Policy? As part our work, we are often asked by clients to review their Endowment Policy. Occasionally, we are even asked to develop a brand-new Policy. But these requests have got me thinking. Do charities need a separate Endowment Policy? Do they...
As mentioned in a previous article, the meaning of endowment in Canada is a fleeting one, largely because the word lacks a formal legal definition. As a result, endowment has been subject to a myriad of conflicting definitions, resulting in considerable confusion for fundraisers and...
Endowment is one of the most misunderstood terms in our charitable sector. Given the fact that “endowment” lacks a formal legal definition, this should hardly come as a surprise. There are many who still hold on to the traditional definition of an endowment – that...
Endowment funds have the opportunity to make a difference in how charities fulfill their missions. The oversight of a charity’s investments can involve considerable fiduciary risk. How charities manage and mitigate this risk is probably the more important aspect of the investment management process. The term “fiduciary”...
Over the last few years, both donors and fundraisers have had the opportunity to consider the notion of endowments and how they might fit into an overall donor development model. Over this time, I have discussed endowments with many people in the charitable sector. What I...
The endowment is a bit of lost soul. It’s a term with no true legal meaning but a whole bunch of different interpretations. It’s a word embraced by some fundraising organizations yet frowned upon by others. Endowments are like perennial flowers – we don’t necessarily...
The Disbursement Quota is a hot topic in the charitable world. There are strong advocates for changing the existing rules, most notably raising the 3.5% minimum spending threshold on long-term assets. So given this renewed attention on the DQ, I thought it might be fun...
While a charitable bequest in your Will is an easy and very effective way to make a legacy gift to your favourite charity, there are other options when comes to making a deferred donation. This article will explore two of them: life insurance and retirement...