This is one in a series of articles in our special report, “The Changing Face of Philanthropy in Canada.” To see other articles in the series, click here.
For more than a decade, charitable giving in Canada has steadily dropped, as factors such as rising inflation and a widening generational “giving gap” have curtailed Canadians’ ability to give.
To discuss the challenges and opportunities facing charitable giving in this country, Canadian Family Offices recently hosted a panel with leaders in the philanthropic space: Aneil Gokhale, director of philanthropy at the Toronto Foundation; Karen Sparks, director, philanthropic advisory services, at BMO Private Wealth; Nadia Wendowsky, vice-president, leadership & corporate giving at the Canadian Cancer Society, and Ron Bernbaum, founder and CEO of PearTree Canada.
To view the complete presentation and for a transcript of the discussion, click here.
Why does charitable giving in Canada continue to fall?
Aneil Gokhale: At Toronto Foundation, we’ve been tracking this decline for over 20 years and have found that the more people are involved in their community, the more they give. Yet, as a society, we’re increasingly less connected to one another, which has had huge implications on charitable giving.
People in the high-net-worth, transformational gift sector are stepping up. They’re passionate about their causes.
Ron Bernbaum
It’s a problem because, as needs are going up, support is going down. Community-based organizations that provide our fundamental support system are facing unprecedented demand. As recently as 2024, 30 per cent of Toronto nonprofits reported declining revenue from individual donations. Ultimately, this is due to a decline in our connection to the community, manifesting in fewer donations and volunteerism.
Ron Bernbaum: People who used to have disposable income to share no longer have that disposable income. That said, people in the high-net-worth, transformational gift sector are stepping up. They’re passionate about their causes and continue to address problems and come up with remarkable donations.
Gokhale: The challenge, though, is that nearly 70 per cent of donations in this country go to one per cent of the charities and, time and time again, they tend to go to the biggest institutions. At the community level—where people are struggling, relying on food banks and shelters—that’s where the need truly is. A lot of big transformational gifts don’t find those corners.
As the burden of giving increasingly falls on the ultra-high-net-worth group, how has this changed the way you fundraise?
Nadia Wendowsky: We have adjusted our programming by enhancing our major giving operations. That means a larger staff, having a presence coast to coast to coast, so we can work with people in a meaningful way. Donors want to be intimately involved in the work they are impacting directly. So, whether that’s working together on co-creating new ideas, programs and initiatives, or managing expectations around impact reporting, having a line of sight or direct relationship with the recipients and beneficiaries of their philanthropy is becoming more important. We need to be nimble and responsive to what our donors are looking to do and how they want to be involved in their philanthropy.
Gokhale: There are a lot of options for high-net-worth Canadians to structure their giving—things like donor-advised funds or private foundations. Then, it’s about connecting the dots to help them have an impact at the local level. This is where organizations like community foundations can really be a translator for many donors to connect their charitable intent to the grassroots good they can do.
How are philanthropic goals and strategies being integrated at the high-net-worth level?
Karen Sparks: Most of our ultra-high-net-worth families already have a foundation or donor-advised fund in place. So, our job is to help them give it efficiently, grow it exponentially and grant it effectively. As we see clients’ philanthropic wealth grow, we want to make sure they have long-term granting plans where they can see the effectiveness of their philanthropy, which often involves future generations.
Bernbaum: A big trend within the donor-advised fund world is that foundations now allow a high-net-worth financial advisor to continue managing funds, even though they’re housed within the foundation. And that’s been a game changer.
Women are increasingly driving philanthropy these days…. They tend to be more strategic in giving.
Karen Sparks
Another trend I see across business and philanthropy is the inclusion of tax advisors right from the start. The tax advisor is typically the first call when a high-net-worth donor is thinking of a major gift. He or she is at the table at the beginning of the conversation as opposed to the end.
Gokhale: Tax advisors are often the gateway to this cohort. The more we can inspire them, the more we can educate them about various options. Also, if advisors engage only with [the first generation] in a family, they risk missing out. When [the second and third generations] start asking questions and advisors lack that relationship, they typically turn to the family’s patriarch. When it comes to wealth transfer, it usually goes from patriarch to matriarch to younger generations.
Sparks: Women are increasingly driving philanthropy these days. Women take a different approach to philanthropy from men. They tend to be more strategic in giving and like to use philanthropy to teach their children the value of wealth. They are often more thoughtful in planning longer-term gifts and involving family members in philanthropic decisions.
We know younger Canadians aren’t donating as much as their parents. How can we educate and engage younger generations in philanthropy?
Wendowsky: At the Canadian Cancer Society, we’ve been working on how we can engage with youth, young professionals and recent grads to make philanthropy meaningful for them and keep them involved, because the younger generation doesn’t necessarily have the same long-term affinity with a particular charity and may decide to distribute their giving across multiple different focuses or priorities.
Gokhale: The same way young people think about their Spotify or Netflix subscription, there is a lot of focus on monthly giving. It’s a way for charities to get more constant support.
We’ve created what we call a philanthropic MBA, where people can set up a donor-advised fund for as little as $10,000. They can pick a charity or two every year for their fund to support, as they learn about the philanthropic sector and impact investing. They meet organization executives to understand how they work and what the data tells them. It’s a new way for younger people to be engaged by charities.
Sparks: We interview family members individually and try to find a common focus within the family so that they can work together as a unit. We encourage the older generation to allow some flexibility in their granting and not judge what the next generation chooses. The idea is to help them understand how to increase their granting over time. So, we have foundations now at the $5-million mark and within a few years, they could be $100 million.
Wendowsky: It’s important that at every touch point we build awareness and educate high-net-worth families not only about giving vehicles and how they can engage from a tax perspective with their philanthropy, but also about the impact they want to have with causes and within their communities.
We work with Canadian Cancer Society donors on the intersection between what they want to achieve through their philanthropy and where we see the need. We also provide bespoke opportunities to help accelerate groundbreaking research or improve patient support with things like naming and recognition opportunities.
Our panelists
Ron Bernbaum, Founder, CEO, PearTree Canada
A tax lawyer by profession, Ron founded PearTree in 2007 as an extension of his and his wife’s volunteerism after he secured from the Canada Revenue Agency an advanced income tax ruling for what is referred to as the flow-through shares donation platform. That platform combines two well-established tax incentives to reduce the after-tax cost of giving down to less than 10 cents on a dollar of donations. Now, almost 20 years later, over $4 billion of flow-through share financings have been sourced for donations. PearTree has moved from what was once thought of as a cutting-edge tax structure to a mainstay in tax-effective philanthropic giving and resource financing. PearTree also acts as a trusted partner and advisor to charities, government and broadly to the high-net-worth community.
Aneil Gokhale, Director of Philanthropy, Toronto Foundation
As the Toronto Foundation’s Director of Philanthropy, Aneil counsels individuals, multi-generational families and professional advisors on philanthropic solutions including donor advised funds and private foundations. Aneil loves connecting donors to the community, and he has helped make Toronto Foundation the youngest and most diverse community foundation in North America, by bringing on over 250 young fundholders through a philanthropic MBA learning journey.
Karen Sparks, Director, Philanthropic Advisory Services, BMO Private Wealth
Karen joined BMO Wealth Management in 2011, following progressively senior roles in the financial services industry specializing in wealth planning, marketing and communications and business development. Today, she advises high-net-worth families and business owners on comprehensive wealth planning solutions as part of an integrated team of wealth consultants and in-house technical specialists.
Nadia Wendowsky, Vice-President, Leadership, Corporate Giving, Canadian Cancer Society
A Montreal native, Nadia is a seasoned philanthropy executive with over 12 years of experience in major gift fundraising, strategic philanthropy, and partnership development. As Vice-President, Leadership & Corporate Giving at the Canadian Cancer Society, she leads a national team driving major, transformational and planned giving, working closely with high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs), and family foundations to shape meaningful philanthropic investments.
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