Generosity and Wise Financial Stewardship

Generosity and Wise Financial Stewardship

A Surprising Discovery  Alice* stood in the doorway of the farmhouse she and her husband Henry had occupied for over 40 years. Cleaning out the clutter accumulated over decades of ownership was a daunting task. However, with Henry’s passing, she had decided to move. Now, imagine her surprise when, amongst the possessions and papers, she…

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When Giving Is Good for Business: Donating Private Company Shares (Part 2)

In Part One, I introduced you to Keith and Edward, who contacted me to help them donate $100K of private company shares. Although complex rules apply, with proper planning and professional advice, this gift planning strategy can be a tax efficient way to support charity.   How to Donate Private Company Shares  The process of donating private company shares to Abundance…

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When Giving Is Good for Business: Donating Private Company Shares (Part 1)

Edward & Keith always knew they wanted to work together. After earning their CPA designations, the brothers took the plunge and went into business together. They incorporated their accounting business, which qualified as a Canadian Controlled Private Corporation (CCPC). In time, the business became quite successful and the brothers were happy to give back to…

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Markets Are Looking Up, and Your Charitable Giving Can Too

Instead of spending fun times at our favourite amusement parks over the past few months, many of us have been riding a different kind of a rollercoaster. Along with businesses and charities, investors white-knuckled it through volatile market ups and downs this spring and early summer as the world figured out the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.    Thankfully, markets today have largely recovered, and most stocks and mutual funds have…

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Support Your Favourite Charity with Gifts of Securities

Fred Smith* is a big-hearted man, and has always donated a percentage of his annual income to charity. When the homeless shelter in his city launched a fundraising campaign to construct a new building, he decided to give them an extra $10,000 above his annual support. Fred was excitedly telling a friend about the project over lunch one day when his friend told…

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Minimizing Taxes, Maximizing Generosity

Two men meet over coffee

Ralph lost his wife to cancer. When he stopped into our office with a cheque to top up his Gifting Fund™, he was still working through the tangle of emotions and practical tasks such life events bring. I invited him into my office to have a coffee and catch up. As Ralph and I chatted,…

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Generosity in Tax Season? (Part Two)

Selling publicly traded securities

Link to Part One Like most Canadian taxpayers, Joanne and John Nelson* knew that charitable receipts generated tax credits that helped offset their income tax payable. That wasn’t why they donated to their favourite charities, but they appreciated the benefit, as it often allowed them to be a little more generous with their donations. The…

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Precious Returns

Rodger and Carol

When Rodger and Carol Woods chose to add shares in a new company to their investment portfolio, they hoped for a decent growth rate and maybe even some future dividends. The investment performed just well enough to stay in their portfolio, but never really took off. They never imagined such a dud would one day…

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Upsize Your Giving: 5 Ways You Can Make a Bigger Impact

Upsize your giving

Anna* was ready to downsize a lot of things in her life. At 75 years old and widowed, she knew she was better off making changes while she could still manage everything. After some careful planning, she began scaling back her house, her vehicle, and even her extensive volunteer commitments. Meanwhile, her charitable giving happened…

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