On Friday, April 27 the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan hosted their first seminar on Income Tax & Estate Planning. The seminar was a huge success, with more than 60 people in attendance.
“We’re doing these seminars,” said Aaron McRann, Executive Director of the Community Foundation, “to help people learn about the benefits of charitable giving. We’re not suggesting that people give to the Community Foundation, per se; just that they give to a charity that is important to them.”
Presenter Susan Kelly, a 28 year veteran of the financial and estate planning industry, emphasized the significant tax benefits of charitable giving, which came as a surprise to many of the participants.
“Feedback we received from the event,” said Ms. Kelly, “confirmed that most people believe giving to charity means taking money from their heirs. In reality, if an estate has been properly planned and structured, giving to charity means adopting another child – your favourite charity – while disinheriting the taxman.”
An additional seminar is planned for October 2012.
“We were very pleased with the response to this first seminar,” said McRann. “We’ll be advertising the next one as the date gets closer, but we definitely recommend that people reserve their spots early. I’m anticipating that we will reach capacity very quickly.”
Anyone interested in receiving information about upcoming free seminars on tax and estate planning is encouraged to contact the Community Foundation as soon as possible.
For further information, please call:
Aaron McRann
Executive Director
Community Foundation of the South Okanagan
Phone/Fax: 250-493-9311; cell: 250-488