Layne Christensen

News Reporter Ichristensen@nsnews.com

LIKE many of his generation, Denis Saliaway is committed to - giving back to his community.

At 76 and a retired executive for a life insurance company, Sallaway lives comfortably and volunteers his time with the West Vancouver Seniors’ Activity Centre as chairman of the advi- sory buard as well as teaching bridge and helping out in the cafeteria.

Also typical of his generation, Sallaway has thought about his estate and how he can make a more lasting contribution to his community. “We've managed to make a litte bit of money and my contemporaries are now turning our minds to: what are we going to do

~with our assets. They’re all starting to scratch their heads,” says Sallaway.

According to a 1991 Cornell University study, we are experiencing an unprecedented intergenerational transfer of wealth in North America. An estimat-

_¢4 $1.5 trillion dollars is expected to pass from one generation in the 20-year period leading up to 2010.

| Like other communities, the North Shore’s population is aging. A commu- nite profile released this week by the North Shore Heaith Region estimates that' the North Shore’s population of sen‘crs, age 85 and older, will have grown by 46% by the vear 2010.

“hat means more of us are planning our estates. And charitable organizations could stand co benefir by seeing a wind- fall of funds in the coming years.

“That money can only go three places: to families, to government and to charities,” says Glen Mitchell, a market- ing and fundraising consultant who works with charitable organizations to help develop their planned giving pro- grams.

. Mitchell is also coordinator of Leave a Legacy British Columbia, a communi- ty-based public awareness campaign established to encourage people to build philanthropy into their estate plans. Simply put: charities want to get the word out that philanthropy is not solely the provenance of the wealthy — the Carnegies and the Astors, builders of libraries and arts centres in the U.S., or West Van’s own philanthropic heroes, Jimmy Pattison and Kay Meck. :

Pattison made headlines last year for his donation towards prostate cancer research through Vancouver General Hospital. What may be lesser known is that in the past 25 years, Meck has donated more than $1 million to the arts through the Kay Meck Foundation. Among the beneficiaries of her largesse: the Vancouver Academy of Music, the West Vancouver Community Arts Council and the Silk Purse Arts Centre, the Vancouver Foundation, the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the West Vancouver Youth Band. She’s also sup- ported the West Vancouver Memorial Library, where the inner courtyard bears her name in recognition of the 95-year- old’s contributions to the literary arts, the Harmony Arts Festival and the West Vancouver Museum and Archives. Meck has also given substantial funds towards the construction of the West Vancouver Seawall and the revitalization of Dundarave Park.

That level of charitable support is rare among us, says West Van’s former

Se SUNDAY Focus

lasting but

Planned giving benefits local charities

mayor Pat Boname, who honoured Meek for her contributions to the com- munity during, a civic ceremony last fall. “The wonderful Christian principal of doing good deeds is long gone.” says Boname. “People want a plaque on the wall, some kind of recognition.”

People also want a tax benefit. And that means non-profit foundations need to offer incentives thar will encourage people to part with their money.

Founded in 1979 by the municipali- ty’s then-mayor Derek Humphries and a handful of citizens, the West Vancouver Foundation is today one of 80 commu- nity foundations in Canada with com- bined assets of more than Sf billion. Like other community foundations, it pools the charitable gifts of several donors into permanent, income-earning endowments and makes grants to sup- port a wide range of local activities.

The foundation’s endowment is cur- rently valued in excess of $1 million, up from just $250,000 10 years ago. That figure could rise to $20 million in the next 10 years with the realization of pledges and bequests already committed and with the success of new fundraising initiatives, says foundation chairman Tom Baillic.

To coincide with the release of its annual report last week, the foundation announced a new initiative aimed at resi- dents of West Vancouver interested in making a permanent investment in the future of the community during the mil- lennium year. Benefactors who make an inital contribution of §5,000 or mort to the endowment will be named to the Millennium Honour Roll. The first 30 donors will receive a signed limited-edi- tion print by West Van artist Ross Penhall. The names of all Honour Roll members will be polished in the foun- dation’s annual report and inscribed on a plaque to be installed in 3 prominent Jocation in West Van.

Donations will help fund community services and groups like Laudate Singers, North Shore Liteboat Society, the West Van Otters Swim Club and West Vancouver Seniors’ Activity Centre, which all benefitted from grants in 1999,

The seniors’ centre’s Strollers sup- ported walking program, launched last spring, would not have been possible without a $4,375 grant from the foun- dation, says community service supervi- sor fill fohnson, The program provides companionship for frail or isolated seniors and transportation to and from Park Royal for a weekly morning walk.

The seniors* centre also could not operate without the donation of thou- sands of volunteer hours. Denis Sallaway estimates the benefit to the community, calculated on a minimum wage basis, at $400,000 to $450,000 a year. Sallaway volunteers his own time at the centre, which in the past five years has seen a 300% increase in users age 80 and older.

He says: “! honestly do believe that you give with one hand and you reap with two, It doesn’t come back in money but it comes back in fellowship. You just can’t give without receiving.”

The Lions Gate Hospital, too, relics on donations from the community. Monies are used to purchase equipment and improve hospital facilities. The greatest need is for an endoscopy room, estimated to cost $300,000. The hospi- tal foundation has pledged to raise $200,000 of that from the community. The foundation’s Web site, <www.lgh- foundation.coms, lists several options

NEWS photo Mike Weketieid

WEST Vancouver's Kay and Reginald Meek in a News cortrait from 1998. Kay Meek has donated more than $1 million to the arts through the Kay Meek Foundation.

for planned giving, including making LGH the beneficiary of a lite insurance policy or setting up a charitable gift annuity, which uses tax rules to allow the donor to provide a gift to the hospi- tal, while continuing to enjoy the same or greater after-tax income enjoyed today.

Glen Mitchell, who advises charities on ways to raise funds, says that more public education is needed on estate planning and the benctits of planned giving. This is the goal of Leave a Legacy, an association of more than 130 members including charities and allicd professions such as financial services, insurance and law firms.

“Wha. ihis is really about is trying to increase awareness of leaving (money) to charity as a legacy and that you can do it while you're alive. There is a satisfaction to knowing you made this bequest.”

For more informatiun about Leave a Legacy British Columbia, call 878-9455 or visit the Web site <wwwileavealegacy. ca>.

Coming in Sunday Focus

NEXT week in Sunday Focus Martin Millerchip digs into some First Nations Jocal history. To suggest a feature story that deserves to be “in Focus” write to Martin Millerchip, North Shore News, 1139 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver, V7M 2H4, fax 985-2104 or e-mail <mmillerchip@nsnews.com>.

Where the money goes

THE following are recipients of grants from the West Vancouver Foundation in 1999:

Artists For Kids Trust, $2,000;

Avalon Society, $1,000;

BBC. Schizophrenics Society, $1,000;

@ B.C. Epilepsy Society, $2,000;

@ Capilano RFC Mini Rugby, $1,500;

@ Co-Pro, $2,000"

@ Destination [magiNation, $2,500;

@ Dundarave Park Renovation, $25,000;

@ Harmony Arts Festival, $5,000;

@ Laudate Singers Society, $2,000;

@ North Shore Lifeboat Society, $2,300;

@ Pandora’s Vox/Chantalope, $3,500;

W@ West Vancouver Adult Day Care Centre, $1,200;

M@ West Vancouver Oceans Day Festival, $1,600;

@ West Vancouver Otters Swim Club, $2,000;

@ West Vancouver School Board Community-wide Ami-vio- lence Project, $19,000;

@ West Vancouver Seniors’ Activity Centre, $,375;

@ West Vancouver Track and Field, $2,000;

@ West Vancouver United Church (Robertson/Taylor Endowment Fund), $1,000;

Gi West Vancouver Visual Arts Society, $500.

@ West Vancouver Police — DARE program, $14,332.

Scholarships: @ Bradley T. Bowles Scholarship, $1,000; @ Faris Family Scholarship, $6,400; @ James A. Inkster Leadership Award, $1,600; @ Christina Lawson Scholarship, Music/Drama, $2,400; @ Gertrude Lawson Scholarship, Education, $1,200; @ Hartleywood Holdings Ltd. Fund, $390. Source: West Vancouver Foundation 1999 annual report