wealth transfer

So the issue for Baby Boomers isn't which charity to give to, rather the question is can I afford to give to charity at all?

Coming from someone who is advocating investing more in community projects this seems like a moot question.  I recently had a conversation with Nick Offord of The Offord Group about the direction of Canada's charitable sector and specifically about talking to people about strategic philanthropy.

Our conversation touched on several topics but one that resonated with me and why I am writing about it now is the conversation on the values of charity.  The wealth transfer (something that I have blogged about before) in conservative numbers is around $3T in Canada over the next decade.  When Canadians spend less than 1% on charity currently what will that look like in the coming years?  Nick's comment to me was that charities competition isn't necessarily with each other (though that is a big part of it), rather the competition will be with people and companies that are telling Boomers to save "just in case."

Just in case of what?  Donations to medical institutions are increasing, not because of an "insurance policy" mentality of giving (i.e. I am going to give to St. Michael's because I might end up there).  Medical giving is increasing because Boomers are getting sick and so they are giving after the fact.  If it was "just in case" then hospitals and medical organizations would be growing by leaps and bounds and people would be giving to them before they got sick.

What would it look like if financial institutions worked with the charitable sector to help address the "just in case" mentality?  My assumption would be that there would be more money invested in asset management firms so that people could funnel their charitable giving directly to organizations that are effective, efficient, transparent and can show proof of impact. 

So while Boomers are saving for rainy days they can also be securing their future by investing in community, social services, the arts and medical that will ultimately help them during those rainy days.  Let's face it, the government isn't going to be doing it.