An Off-the-Radar Opportunity

WP 7.08

Originally published in Wealth Professional Canada. Issue 7.08, October 2019. Read the interview with Rick Braun-Janzen, Director of Gift Planning at Abundance Canada on donating a life insurance policy to charity.    

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Winterize Your Giving

Making a generosity plan

Even though we may be in denial, winter is just around the corner and it’s time to winterize! Whether it’s closing your cottage, changing to snow tires, or booking a last-minute vacation down south, we all have fall rituals that prepare us for the winter season ahead. Now is a wonderful time to take advantage…

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Dream Big…And Then What?

Couple excited about their dream

Is It Enough to Dream Big? The night before bone cancer took his right leg, Terry Fox lay in a hospital bed reading a magazine article about an amputee running the New York Marathon. That night, he dreamed of running across Canada and beating cancer forever. And what a dream it was. Thanks to Terry’s…

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How to Make a Bigger Impact

farmer with corn

There was a farmer who grew excellent quality corn. Every year, he won the award for the best grown corn. One year, a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about his growing practices. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbours. “How can you afford to share your…

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Landscaping Your Generosity

chestnut tree

The light streaming through a crack in the shades woke me earlier than I would have liked. I padded downstairs and brewed some coffee. The bright sun was already heating the house, so I took my cup to the backyard in search of some shade and a bit of breeze. The best I could find…

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Lifestyles of the Kind and Generous

Couple with tablet

Opportunities for spontaneous generosity pop up all the time. Your doorbell rings and a canvasser for Heart & Stroke is on the stoop. “Would you consider giving a minimum $10 to research,” she asks. The cashier at the grocery store asks whether you’d like to add two dollars to your bill to support the local…

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Dollars and Sense

Mom and kids at computer.

Good manners tell us that we shouldn’t talk about money because it isn’t polite. At the same time, we are bombarded with constant conflicting messages. One second ‘money can’t buy happiness’ is on a billboard and the next says ‘buy this product and you’ll be happy’. Commercials encouraging us to give generously interrupt episodes of reality…

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I’ve Got No Strings

Smiling older couple

Building Healthy Relationships Between Donors and Charities No matter why a person gives to charity, the organization they support is certain to be grateful. Financial contributions are what enable charities and nonprofits to do the good work they do. When I work with people giving to charity, they often know which charities they want to…

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