Planned Giving seminars roll on

From the Cote-Saint-Luc Shopping Centre to the boardroom of RBC Dominion Securities, the financial experts of the MUHC Foundation’s Planned Giving Committee have been touring the city explaining the advantages of this increasingly popular mode of philanthropy to laypeople and financial professionals alike.

On August 24, more than 100 members of the Cote-Saint-Luc Senior Men’s Club listened as Committee Chair John Archer described the benefits of common planned giving strategies such as bequests, and introduced them to lesser-known options such as charitable trusts. Earlier in the summer, professionals at Royal Trust, TD Trust and HSBC met with Archer and committee member Robin Morton to ask questions about how they could incorporate planned gifts to the MUHC Foundation into their clients’ fiscal plans. At each presentation, representatives from the Foundation were also on hand to provide an update on the MUHC’s redevelopment project and the Best Care for Life campaign, giving audiences a clearer sense of how a planned gift can not only improve the health of their bank accounts but the health of Montrealers for generations to come.

The response to these sessions has so far been enthusiastic, particularly in light of recent changes to tax law that make certain forms of planned giving even more attractive. As we reported in our last issue, the most recent federal budget eliminated the capital gains tax on gifts of securities; this summer, the Quebec government announced that it will do the same.

For more information on gifts of securities and other forms of planned giving, or if you would like to arrange for our planned giving professionals to speak to your community or professional group, please contact Dolly Shinhat-Ross at 514-931-5656.