For immediate release:
WILL Power is a Canada wide initiative sponsored by the Canadian Association of Gift Planners.
The objective of WILL Power is to promote and inform Canadians that not only can they leave money in their Wills to Canadian charities, but they can do so in addition to leaving money to family and loved ones.
The United Way of Sarnia- Lambton and Rayjon Share Care are the only two Sarnia and Lambton county-based charities currently part of this national campaign.
“It is our hope to get out to promote to the local residents that the campaign exists, and both the United Way and Rayjon are participating. We anticipate meeting with financial advisors, lawyers, and other professionals in our area to inform them of WILL Power, and the initiative that both our groups are a part of, “said Brian Rea, Rayjon Board Member.
“We are delighted to partner with Rayjon in this capacity,” said Al McChesney, a recent United Way of Sarnia-Lambton board member who is active in planned giving for the United Way. “The United Way and our agencies do a great job locally, and Rayjon is probably the best in Canada at helping individuals on a global stage, working with developing countries, primarily in Haiti and the Dominican Republic”, he said.
“Our objective is to inform not only local citizens, but legal and financial advisors that our two organizations have a well thought out plan to accept these planned gifts for future use. In terms of the United Way, we set up the Sarnia-Lambton Future Fund Foundation, which I am currently the volunteer president, that invests those donated dollars and provide regular, ongoing funding annually directly to the United Way funded agencies,” McChesney said.
“We at Rayjon will use funds or securities we receive directly, or through Rayjon Share Care Sarnia Foundation Fund, to support community led development initiatives in some of the most marginalized communities among our neighbours in the Americas”, Rea said.
“This is a great way for local citizens to leave a legacy to local charities with very clear and measurable impacts,” Rea added.
Rea said the first step is to inform the community that this activity is underway and to meet with the local advisors. It is now “Tax Season”, which highlights that this method of donating can provide a number of tax savings for individuals and their estates now or in the future.
WILL Power is a tool that can help advisors and their clients identify charities that fit their values, and also maximize the impact of their donations through tax optimized planed giving.
According to the Canadian Association of Gift Planners, currently 5% of Canadians leave donations in their wills for Canadian Charities, and if this number can reach up to 8.5%, that could result in $40B to Canadian charities. The WILL Power program is based on a similar program in the United Kingdom where after 20 years, 17% of the population has named at least one charity in their Will.
-30-
Photo caption:
Brian Rea and Heather Smith of Rayjon meet and Al McChesney from the United Way to go over details of a new partnership between the two groups to encourage Sarnia-Lambton residents to consider donations to either, or both, charities in their Wills. Rayjon and the United Way are a part of WILL Power locally, a national campaign promoting estate planning and donations.
Additional information:
United Way of Sarnia-Lambton currently funds over 30 programs and services locally, who provide assistance to those in poverty or with low incomes, children and youth, those with mental illness, and seniors’ programming throughout Sarnia and Lambton County.
Rayjon Share Care has worked in partnership with Haitian and Dominican communities for more than 36 years, supporting locally-led development initiatives in Education, Health Care, and Economic Development, toward the elimination of poverty and equal opportunity for all.
For more information, please contact:
Dave Brown, United Way at 519 384-9270
Or
Heather Smith, from Rayjon at 519 381-5929
