Philanthropy is Personal; Fundraising is Social
There are two types of charitable giving: personal and social. Gifts that are part of the estate plan are typically a form of personal giving. By contrast, most traditional charity fundraising uses a social giving model. Both are equally important, but it is helpful to make the conceptual distinction when helping clients to include philanthropy in their estate plans.
Is 50 percent enough for the very wealthy?
I was at a recent event where Brett Wilson – the Calgary entrepreneur, former investment banker and CBC Dragons’ Den personality – spoke about philanthropy. He criticized Bill Gates and Warren Buffett for setting their Giving Pledge target of 50 percent of net worth too low. Giving half of one’s estate is not enough if you are very wealthy, said Wilson.