Foundation Management Services

If you run a charity, private foundation or public foundation and are looking to reduce costs and the administrative load on your team, consider outsourcing to Cause Strategies.

Here are some of the services we provide, allowing your organization to focus on fulfilling your charitable objectives:

Granting Administration

End-to-end grant processing including review of grant eligibility, issuing payment, communication with the grantee, and confirmation to the donor. You can outsource grant administration to a known and experienced team with an excellent reputation for donor and advisor service. 

Philanthropic Advisory Services

National, independent and expert charity due diligence for select donors. Engagement of external consultants for more complex requirements and donor/family dynamics.

Consultancy Services

Access external expertise, with existing knowledge of Foundation operations and policies and procedures. Areas of support include assistance establishing policies regarding gift acceptance, investing and grant making, assistance with set up and registration as a charitable organization or with dissolution and revocation of charitable status.

Gift Acceptance & Tax Receipting

Receiving and receipting donations of cash, securities, life insurance policies and gifts from estate through Wills. You can minimize risk for your organization, its donors, and its affiliated advisors through additional oversight and due diligence on acceptance of complex gifts.

DAF Program Support

Creation of Donor Agreements, Gift Forms, Marketing Collaterals, ongoing donor reporting and other critical Donor Advised Fund program materials.

Annual regulatory reporting requirements (including T3010 filings)

Outsource books & records, corporate secretarial requirements, tax filings etc. to a known and experienced team, thereby reducing the administrative burden on your internal resources and minimizing risk to the organization.

Investment Management & Oversight:

Active management and monitoring of investments associated with the foundation and executing any necessary trading activity, with the required authorizations in place.

 

MFA-Philanthropy (MFA-P™)

Canadians are becoming more philanthropic; giving more every year to causes that are important to them. Simultaneously, charitable giving is becoming ever more important to investors of all ages. In light of this, the Master Financial Advisor – Philanthropy (MFA-P™) program was created by the Knowledge Bureau in partnership with The Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP) and Spire Philanthropy. This program is designed for advisors of all kinds wanting to build knowledge of and expertise in strategic philanthropy in order to better assist their clients.

The program is comprised of three courses:

  • The first course is designed to help advisors learn how to engage with their clients’ philanthropic goals, while fostering trust by being perceptive of clients’ values and personal causes. The modules include “Personal Tax Aspects of Charitable Giving”, “The Role of the Advisor”, “What a Successful Plan Looks Like”, and more.

  • The second course gives advisors the practical tools to provide guidance on charitable giving. Not only does the course cover trends in philanthropy in Canada, but also details investment options and charitable structures to ensure clients are strategic in how they structure their charitable giving. Modules include “The Charitable Sector Landscape”, “How Charities Operate”, “Planning for Impact”, and more.

  • The third and final course in the MFA-P™ program offers advisors an understanding of how to apply gift planning tools to an array of individual client situations, through the use of practical case studies. The topics covered include “Working with Vulnerable Clients”, “Donation of Existing Life Insurance Policy”, “Using the CPP for Philanthropy”, and more.

What Are The Benefits Of The MFA-P™?

  • The knowledge from this course will help advisors understand their clients on a deeper level, by discussing their values and beliefs in regard to philanthropy

  • Advisors will learn to help structure charitable gifts in a way that respects their clients’ philanthropic goals, while upholding their investment, estate, and tax planning strategies

  • Graduates will be equipped with the necessary tools to address their clients’ increasing desire to make a difference

To learn more about this program, check out the Knowledge Bureau below.

Knowledge Bureau