C R E A T E A L E G A C Y
S P E C I A L F E A T U R E
The Gift of a Lifetime
The best gifts are ones that have no expiry date and continue
to mean something many years after they've been given
G
iving small amounts of money
to a friend or a colleague who is
helping raise funds for a personal
cause is an easy decision. But
when people ind themselves
in a position to make a more
signiicant donation, a lot of
consideration and careful planning is
needed to ensure these larger gifts have the
lasting impact they are intended to.
Planning a Legacy
One factor to consider is whether you would
like to make a short-term or a long-term
gift. "If you are interested in the long-term
and the cumulative effect of granting, then
a community foundation makes sense,"
says Kevin McCort, president and
CEO of
the Vancouver Foundation. "If you are
interested in helping a charity with a need
they have today, then just give them a gift."
The Vancouver Foundation is the
largest community foundation in Canada.
McCort describes the role of a community
foundation as an intermediary between
a philanthropist and the work they wish
to support. The Vancouver Foundation
was started more than 70 years ago and
the endowment fund has grown to more
than $1 billion. The Foundation invests
the capital of all donations and gives
out the income generated. Currently,
the Vancouver Foundation is granting
more than $1 million a week to various
organizations and causes. "It's like a
perpetual motion machine for charitable
giving," says McCort. "We have a very good
track record on our investments, and our
ive-year returns are over 10 per cent year
over year. The charities that are funded by
our endowment want consistent income,
so our investment philosophy is built on
supporting charities in a consistent way."
Donating to a fund through the
Vancouver Foundation is easy, McCort
notes. An endowment fund can be started
with a donation of just $1,000, and once it
