Sometimes the most meaningful gifts come from the most personal journeys.
One family we worked with spent months at SickKids while their son received care. Anyone who has lived through something like that knows it changes you, the gratitude, the perspective, the deep awareness of how much the people around you carry you through. For this family, that experience became a desire to give back in a way that would matter.
With deep gratitude, we were honoured to help make their legacy gift to the SickKids Hospital Foundation a reality. It's an act of generosity that will go on to support countless other families walking a similar path, long after the gift is made.
What "legacy giving" really means
A legacy gift, also called planned giving, is a way of supporting a cause that's woven into your overall financial and estate plan, rather than written as a one-off cheque. It's giving with intention: structured so that it does the most good for the cause and fits sensibly within your own plan and tax picture.
Planned gifts can take many forms, including:
- A gift in your Will, a bequest of a specific amount, or a share of your estate.
- Donating appreciated securities, which can eliminate the capital gains tax on those investments while delivering full value to the charity.
- A gift of life insurance, naming a charity as beneficiary, or donating a policy, to create a larger future gift than you might be able to give today.
- Donor-advised funds or a foundation, for families who want to give in a structured, lasting way and involve the next generation.
The right vehicle depends entirely on the family, the cause, and the goals. But the common thread is the same: thoughtful structure lets a gift go further.
Why we help with this
Giving is one of the most personal things a family can do. When it's tied to a journey as profound as a child's care, it deserves to be done with care of its own, so that the gift reflects the family's intentions, supports the cause as fully as possible, and integrates cleanly with the rest of their plan.
Helping families turn that kind of intention into reality is one of the most meaningful parts of what we do.
Thinking about your own legacy?
If there's a cause close to your heart and you'd like to give in a way that's intentional, tax-smart, and lasting, we'd be glad to help you shape it. Book an introductory conversation and we'll explore what a legacy gift could look like for you.
