With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1296256
F e a t u r e C R E A T E A L E G A C Y Brink's generosity is well known in his community of Prince George, where he has made sizeable donations to the Prince George Animal Rescue, Goodsir Nature Park and to the Trades & Technology Centre at the College of New Caledonia— named after Brink in 2005. In 2019, he received the Order of British Columbia and an Honorary Doctorate of Laws Degree from the University of Northern British Columbia in recognition of his past 50+ years of commerce, philanthropy and community involvement. Also in 2019, Brink's record of fierce advocacy for skills training in the north was further cemented with a $1 million commitment to the College of New Caledonia. Employing over 400 people in Northern British Columbia, he advises philanthropists to become involved in their communities and the issues that matter to them. "Become part of groups that help in your community, but first and foremost become knowledgeable about what you can do to really give back," he says. "I think of younger people who are entrepreneurial and hope they make giving back part of their life's work. I hope they choose something important to them and pursue ways to contribute." He points to some of British Columbia's most generous doners—Jim Pattison, Joe Segal and Peter Legge—as examples of people who have given back in spades. "The most successful individuals we know in BC and beyond stand out for things they have done, not only in business, but in terms of giving back," he says. Once a donor identifies a cause, the next step is to speak to a qualified financial planner who is also aware of the wide range of options for charitable giving that can maximize the gifts while reducing the tax burden for the estate. Typically, people write a will or put a plan in place, but that plan may not be triggered for decades. That is why it is important to plan ahead but not be overly prescriptive. For instance, if you are passionate about housing and sheltering the vulnerable, trust your gift to an organization who holds that as one of its primary functions, but don't assign the gift to something specific like supplies. Vancouver Foundation works on an endowment model where donors commit a gift amount, the foundation invests it, and the income generated goes to serving the purpose, in effect creating a life-long legacy. John Brink