Include A Charity Week (16-22 October 2017) inspires people to leave a gift in their Will to a cause that they care about.
Everyone has causes that they care about; a charity involving children, youth, the elderly, animals, the environment, community services, wellbeing or health.
We’re often not able to give as generously during our lives as we might like to. Leaving a gift in your Will is a great way to support the vital work of charities we’ve always wanted to help but were previously unable to, or to increase the level of giving to a charity you’ve supported all your life.
It's a common misconception that only wealthy people leave money to charity when they die. Gifts in wills, or bequests, are not just made by the rich and famous. The reality is that most bequests are made by ordinary, hardworking people who want to make a positive difference in their community and to other people's lives.
The simple fact is that without the generosity of these normal, every day New Zealanders, many of the charities we care about and support wouldn't exist.
Bequests form the financial basis of many New Zealand charities and are absolutely essential for ensuring the good work they do continues into the future.
The good news is that including a charity in your will is just as easy as providing for your loved ones. And it can be as much, or as little, as you want.
Community Foundations New Zealand believes generosity is for everyone, and they are proud to support Include a Charity Week.
While the community foundation concept is not new by world standards it is relatively recent in New Zealand. Our New Zealand community foundations are really coming of age and with 14 now established it’s happening all over New Zealand; inspired, generous people are giving directly to their local communities building endowment funds which will be transformational to their local area. It’s the powerful concept of community foundations.
The idea behind a community foundation is deceptively simple. Local people give to their local foundation, either through direct donations or through a gift in their Will. The main difference between giving to your local community foundation and giving to charity is your gift is not spent, it is invested, meaning the gift continues forever.
Even more powerful is the fact the generous donor can choose to which cause the proceeds from their donation goes – be it the local scout group, school, charity or food bank – anywhere they choose.
It’s a strategic way to give that lasts, and has an impact forever, rather than a straight charitable donation which, while important, most often has a short-term impact for the charity.
The community foundation movement started in the USA and Canada around the middle of the 20th century and has rapidly spread across the western world. All of them start small and they all start with a spark.
In Vancouver 75 years ago Miss Alice McKay sought the advice of W.J. Van Dusen, a partner in MacMillan-Bloedel, on what to do with the $1,000 she had saved from her secretarial job. She wanted to invest her savings in a way that was both creative and significant for the people of British Columbia. Van Dusen added $1,000 to Miss McKay's savings and challenged nine other donors to match his gift. Then, with that initial endowment of $11,000, he created Vancouver Foundation.
This modest fund of capital has today grown to more than $1 billion. Vancouver Foundation is one the largest community foundations in North America and works with generous people, charitable organisations and the people of British Columbia in a wide variety of ways. Over time it has grown to become a vitally important feature of the social and cultural landscape of British Columbia.
Time shows us that, when properly organised and carefully run, a community foundation can make a significant contribution to the quality of life in its town, city or region. It can be a very powerful local force for good.
Here in New Zealand our community foundations are emerging from their fledgling beginnings. The Tindall Foundation have been instrumental in assisting New Zealand community foundations off the ground. Currently there are 14 community foundations in New Zealand, from Northland through to Aoraki in the south. It’s a growing movement with currently 5 more in the planning stages.