Family honours husband and father with creative and prudent generosity

Photo caption: Redeemer University College’s Dr. Derek Brouwer shows visitors to his lab the new bench-top Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer, purchased with a gift from a family’s donor-advised fund.

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An Ontario family is using a donation in honour of their late husband and father as a way of expressing their gratitude to God.

The man’s family members, who do not want to be identified by name, named three Christian schools – Redeemer University College, Hamilton District Christian High School and a local Christian elementary school – as beneficiaries of a fund worth more than $100,000.

The donation was accomplished through a timed in-kind gift of securities.  An initial investment was made in flow-through shares, which were then transferred in-kind to the Christian School Foundation after a two-year hold provision had passed. The family received a charitable donation receipt for the full value of securities at the time the transfer was made, which helped to reduce the tax impact on their loved one’s estate.

Although he had not left specific instructions in his will, his wife and children knew what they were doing would have given him joy, they said, as he had such a heart for Christian education.

“They honoured their loved one through a very tax-efficient means,” said Henry Koornneef, executive vice-president of the Christian School Foundation.  The two-year hold gave the family time to think about how the money would be used – they didn’t have to rush into making decisions when their emotions were still raw. They now have the ability to direct where the money will be used so that it has maximum impact.

The family paid a visit to Redeemer, where they saw the new bench-top Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer, purchased for Darren Brouwer’s chemistry lab with a $20,000 contribution from their Donor Advised Fund.

Koornneef said many donors plan in advance to leave a gift for Christian education.  But even when they don’t, the Christian School Foundation is able to help families after the fact to honour a loved one or create a legacy. Every family’s situation is different and some can be quite complex, but the Foundation has the expertise and resources to help.

“The donor’s wishes always take priority,” Koornneef said.  The Foundation works to structure the gift so that both the donor and recipients will benefit.

And for these family members, who are aware of God’s abundant blessing on them over the years, the ability and choice to bless the cause of Christian education – in a way that is special, impacting and lasting — is simply their way of saying “thank you” to the Lord.