TD Waterhouse today announced that, as the Private Giving Foundation marks its third anniversary, it has accumulated close to $60 million in assets, up 37% from $43.5 million last year.
The Foundation has grown considerably since its introduction in 2004. By year-end, the Foundation will have distributed more than $4 million to a wide variety of charitable organizations across Canada. Since the federal government eliminated capital gains tax on charitable donations of publicly traded securities in 2006, the Foundation has received approximately 80% of its contributions in securities.
“Since the Foundation was launched three years ago, we’ve seen a marked trend towards strategic philanthropy,” says Jo-Anne Ryan, vp, philanthropic advisory services, TD Waterhouse and executive director of the Private Giving Foundation. “More Canadians are planning their contributions in the same way they plan their investment portfolios. They want a return on investment. In this case, the ‘return’ is deeper engagement with their favourite charities and the knowledge that their giving is having a long-term impact.”
“The good news is that you don’t have to be Bill Gates or Warren Buffet to apply this kind of strategic approach to charitable giving,” continues Ryan. “With its minimum initial investment of only $10,000, the Private Giving Foundation is unique in that it makes effectively establishing a private foundation an accessible goal for many Canadians.”
The Foundation pools donor-advised accounts in a special class of the TD Balanced Income Fund. Annual grants are made to charities based on the recommendations of the donors.
Foundation charitable distributions from April 2005 to Oct 2007 can be divided into six categories as follows:
- healthcare and health related causes, 68%;
- social services, 14%;
- education,10%;
- religious organizations; 4%;
- arts and culture, 3 %; and
- other, 1 %.