American entrepreneur, author, and humanitarian activist, Dan Pallotta, argues that our view of charities is wrong. Pallotta is best known for his involvement with multi-day charitable events, which raised over US$582 million. He argues that the people and communities served by charities do not need low overhead, they need high impact.

From a donor’s perspective, an endowment gift is treated exactly the same as any other donation. The entire range of potential donations (cash, appreciated securities, life insurance, etc.) remain eligible, and the tax benefits remain the same. The difference is what the recipient – the charity – does with the money.

A dilemma is a problem where none of the available solutions are good. Should charities reduce programming in the wake of lower donations or ask staff to work longer hours for less pay? Should they invest donations needed today into long-term communication programs that will help them survive tomorrow? What a dilemma!

Acquiring a new customer (donor) can be five to 25 times more expensive than holding on to an existing one. - Harvard Business Review

What role can professional advisors – accountants, lawyers, portfolio managers – play in bringing about the type of change the charitable sector needs? As it turns out, quite a lot.

A few years ago, actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought a once-good, but now-lousy football team in a Welsh backwater that had been relegated to fourth tier status. What was the first thing they did to start the process of turning it around?

They told a story.

Many Canadians have a financial plan, an estate plan, and even a plan for next year’s vacation, not very many have a strategic plan to help them enhance the impact their charitable gifts can make. That’s unfortunate, because as the old adage goes “if you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else”.

Giving cash “in the moment” may seem like the right thing to do, but a moment of reflection may end up bringing more value to both you and the charity.

What does Rick from Pawn Stars know about building a professional network? From my perspective, quite a lot.

In Greek mythology, Scylla and Charybdis were mythical sea monsters that lived on opposite sides of the strait between Sicily and Calabria. They were regarded as maritime hazards, close enough to each other that they posed a threat to passing ships. To avoid one meant courting disaster with the other. It’s a nautical reference to a similar expression: “caught between a rock and a hard place”. And that’s exactly where many charities and nonprofits find themselves today.

I went to downtown Toronto recently. I thought it would be busier as the pandemic lockdowns and regulations thankfully, for now, seem to be in the rear view mirror. I was wrong! It was nowhere close to what it was pre-Covid-19.

Social Development Goals are societal goals that influence government spending and the flow of capital, which may influence how different economies, asset classes, and investments perform over time.

Socially conscious investors have a choice to make. Do they invest passively in companies that have high ESG scores or do they invest and actively work to change a company with a poor ESG score?

Putting all eggs in a single basket is never good practice, yet, it seems that when it comes to investing in their fundraising activities, most nonprofits still fail to diversify their activities.

Is avoiding a specific investment or investment category the best way to make a difference?

Putting all eggs in a single basket is never good practice, yet, it seems that when it comes to investing in their fundraising activities, most nonprofits still fail to diversify their activities.

Is the charitable sector in a fundraising crisis? Donations are down, competition has increased, and the big players are receiving the lion's share of the donated assets. Competing in this environment requires imagination and vision.