The Anglican Church of Canada is pleased to announce that it will partner with the dioceses of Fredericton, Ontario, Niagara and Rupert’s Land to broaden the scope of its Legacy Gifts Identification program to coincide with May’s Leave-a-Legacy month (an initiative of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners).
Holland Hendrix, executive director of the ACC’s Department of Philanthropy, says this initiative is of greatest benefit to parishes as they are most likely to be the beneficiaries of legacy gifts. “After our pilot project with the Diocese of Toronto we learned that the lion’s share of the more than $3 million in identified gifts had been designated to parishes in that diocese.” Hendrix points out that the ability to identify and anticipate funds from legacy gifts is helpful to parishes and dioceses as they develop their own ministry and stewardship plans.
The initiative is also expected to have a morale-boosting effect for participating dioceses. Hendrix says “this is one of the best ways for us, practically-speaking, to move away from a culture of scarcity towards one of abundance; this is going to be a really good news story for Anglican parishes, and will help us to truly celebrate the generosity of our faith community.”
All subscribers of the Anglican Journal in these dioceses will receive a joint letter from their diocesan bishop as well as Archbishop Fred Hiltz, the Primate, and will be provided with a declaration card that enables them to identify whether or not they have provided for a legacy gift to their parish, the diocese, or the national church. An online form for declarations has also been set up at www.anglican.ca/legacygifts. Talks are currently underway with other dioceses, and a several others are expected to come on board in time for the May launch.
The Anglican Church of Canada is committed to ensuring the privacy of all donors and stresses that only those people who express an interest in being contacted will receive a follow-up communication.
For more information please contact:
Michelle Hauser
Special Initiatives Consultant, Department of Philanthropy
Phone: 416-924-9199 x 326, Email: [email protected]
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