Recognizing that all clients may want to pass on their values through a charitable legacy is important to your success. In particular, clients who come to mind include the following:

Unmarried
People who are financially comfortable but not necessarily wealthy
Married, without children
Owners of privately held companies
Married couples who have independent children
Owners of appreciated securities or real estate
Widows
People with an existing relationship to a cause or community organization

Your greatest opportunities to help your clients maximize the personal benefits of giving occur when they are making major business, personal and financial decisions, such as:

estate planning
writing or revising a will
sale of a business or other major asset
retirement planning
at times of a financial windfall, such as an inheritance, a merger or acquisition Circumstances in clients' lives usually cause them to begin or alter their financial plans, including charitable giving. The following scenarios might signal an opportunity for a discussion about planning and how charitable giving can help achieve their goals.
Your clients tell you that they are about to take their company public, or that they want to transfer ownership of the family business to the next generation
Your client tells you he wants more income from his stock but worries about capital gains tax if he sells
Your client discovers he has a large retirement fund which his heirs will receive only some of
Your client says she would like to provide income to her mother, sister, niece, or others

When drawing or reviewing a will, include the "giving question" as a regular item on your list of issues to discuss with your client

In advance of your meeting, provide your client with a printed list of issues and questions (including charitable giving) to be addressed - this allows your client to consider the idea ahead of time and ensures that the question is not overlooked.

Introduce the subject in a way that generates a thoughtful rather than reactive response, using one of the following conversation starters:

Many people who have been actively involved in their community like to leave something in their will for charity - as a way of sharing one's good fortune with those who have been less fortunate, or of repaying an organization that has made a difference in their lives, or of helping make our community a better place in the future. Had you considered the possibility of a charitable gift in your estate plan?
There are other reasons as well to consider a charitable gift - tax savings, for one. It would appear that your estate will be substantially reduced by income tax. Charitable giving can reduce that tax burden and benefit both your inheritors and your community.
Are you aware of the income tax provision that eliminates the capital gains tax payable on the sale of appreciated securities when you gift shares?

If your client shows interest, but cannot make an immediate decision, include a bequest clause in the will with blanks to be filled in. When you send your client a draft of the will, he/she will have a chance to think about the gift and to talk it over with family or other advisors. It may also provide an opportunity for your client to make enquiries about particular charities or to seek information or guidance from the community foundation about local or regional community needs, opportunities and potential beneficiaries.

Try to determine your clients' values and aspirations using the following conversation starters

I know you are very supportive of [organization or program, e.g. , the local soup kitchen, your seniors centre, your alma mater] ...Would you like to continue your support through your estate plan?
Are you making charitable gifts now that you would like to continue after your death?
Have you considered what would happen to your assets if your spouse or children do not survive you? Would you like any of your assets passed on to a charity, rather than to a distant relative?
Expand your clients' thinking about their legacy to the next generation using the following starters:

Do you think your three children would mind getting 30% of your estate rather than 33% if you decided to give 10% to your favorite charity?
If your children were to write your epitaph, what would it say about you? Would it match what you would say? What would you like to tell your children about what really matters to you?
You could use a quote from Warren Buffett: "Parents should leave children enough money so they would feel they could do anything but not so much that they could do nothing."
Clients can be hesitant to consider charitable gifts because they are afraid they will not have enough assets for a secure retirement. You might discuss how much is needed and open the discussion with the following sentence:

If you're interested, perhaps we could try making your money work better for you in your retirement while also providing for organizations that are important to you.
If your clients are interested in including philanthropy in their plans but are unclear about a particular cause you might also ask your client ...

When you lie awake at night, what do you worry about?
What values, activities and organizations contributed to your success? At your funeral, you would like people to say, "She really cared about ..."

The following have been identified as the key reasons people give to charity:

Has a relationship with a particular charity because of personal experience
Has a wish to create immortality through a lasting legacy or wish to obtain recognition for themselves or a friend or relative or colleague
Desires to be a good person, feel compassion towards people and feel good about themselves
Has a sense of social responsibility, a need to help others less fortunate
Wants to give something back to the community
Interested in making their charitable gifts work effectively
Finds this is a way to pass on family values or civic heritage from one generation to another
Appreciates the tax advantages

Recent Canadian research shows that:

7% of all adults have a will and have included a charity in the will
27% of all adults would include a charity in their will if asked
1 in 3 adults have made or would make a bequest to a charity if asked

The majority of significant gifts to Canada's community foundations are donor advised, says Monica Patten, President and CEO of Community Foundations of Canada. "There is a trend toward donors wanting to get closer to their giving". Ninety percent of the $4,000,000 Hamilton Community Foundation received in 2001 came from living donors rather than bequests. By making their gift now, donors can see the benefit of their contribution as the years unfold, and they can shape a legacy for the community that will last forever. The Toronto Community Foundation has assets of over $100 million. Eighty percent of all current donations are for donor advised funds. Today's donors want a say in grantmaking.

The transfer of wealth that has been created in this country since WWII will occur in unprecedented proportions from those over 50 years of age to their children and grandchildren. Community foundations view this shift as an extraordinary opportunity to reach out and influence new sources of wealth and to secure the participation of new donors in the lives of their communities.