The Seven Deadly Sins of Charitable Giving

It is estimated that a full third of those individuals who set out to make a charitable gift do not complete the task. Is it the fault of the charity or the donor, or just a breakdown in communication? Make your gift happen and make it count. This information is designed specifically for those individuals who are considering making a charitable gift and who want to make a difference. See the Seven Deadly Sins of Charitable Giving - The Donor's Perspective below. 

Prospective donors will find that the material below is a summary of the 7,000 word document that is available in the Members Only Section of Planforgifts.com. Professional fundraisers will now find a Power Point presentation entitled "The Seven Deadly Sins of Charitiable Giving" in the Documents Download section in Members Only. This presentation is a powerfull tool in a seminar to prospective donors.

Deadly Sin # 1

Lack of understanding of your level of philanthropic interest and

Intent - Your Philanthropic Footprint

It is common for people to simply consider philanthropy as a process where an individual pulls out their cheque book at certain time of the year (holidays or tax time) and begins writing a series of cheques to all the charities that have asked for a donation in the past year. While this process is effective in creating tax relief for the donors, it is not effective in creating a lasting legacy or “philanthropic footprint”.

Deadly Sin # 2

Lack of direction and theme

Isolating one or two areas or sectors on which you focus your giving will allow you to make a much greater impact than simply giving a little to all who ask.

Deadly Sin #3

Fear of the bigger dream

What if you stop for a minute and dream BIG? Don’t be shy, imagine what you could achieve if you focus your efforts and carefully consider your giving potential. Once you have chosen the sector you wish to support by determining what is near and dear to your heart, take a look at your family history. Could your gift be part of a larger, intergenerational family giving plan?

Deadly Sin # 4

Not doing your homework – is the charity worthy?

It is amazing how often people are caught up in the idea of giving to a worthy cause and go to great lengths to do so, but when asked, know very little about the organization they hand the money over to in support of that cause. We are encouraged to support causes and not organizations but it is the organizations who are the stewards of our gifts and it is these organizations we must scrutinize to be certain they are doing all they can to support the cause and the donor. There are a few basic steps you can take to make certain that your gift will be in the hands of an organization that is worthy. These steps are described in the Members Only section of this website. 

Deadly sin # 5

Not looking at giving options other than cash.

Philanthropy should be part of your wealth management plan. Think about making your gift fit your tax, investment and estate plan. Consider:

· Estate gifts through a Will

· Publicly traded securities

  Donor advised funds

· Life insurance

· Charitable Remainder Trusts and other trusts

· Gifts of residual interest

· RRSPs and RRIFs

· Real estate

· Annuities

· Private company shares

Deadly sin # 6

Not expecting and/or demanding professionalism 

Expect your target charity to treat you with the same level of  professionalism that you would expect from a for-profit organization or business.

Deadly sin # 7

Repeating a bad experience

Take time to reflect back on your experience with your chosen charity and don't do it again if it didn't feel right the first time.