Glen Mitchell, Director of Gift Planning
One commonly held distinction between charity and philanthropy is that charity deals with the symptoms while the other attempts to solve the problem. That is, charity provides meals or beds for the night while philanthropy aims to solve hunger and homelessness.

Whether you agree or not, both face serious consequences due to the recent financial melt down. Savvy investor Warren Buffet, one of the world's most generous people, saw his Berkshire Hathaway company lose about one-third of its value in 2008 (Economist Jan 6, 2009). Many large charities including the Jewish Federation of Toronto lost millions in the alleged Bernard Madoff ponzi scheme that has rocked the sector. The Vancouver Foundation amended its charter to be able to make grants from capital rather than income. Diocesan investments have also suffered from the market melt down.

For these reasons and many others, the British Columbia government should take steps to encourage donors to continue their support. It can do this by including in its 2009 budget a proposal presented to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

The association recommended that the provincial tax credit for donations to charities match the Alberta rate where the donation tax credit maximum is 50%, up from the current maximum of 43.7% in BC. Tax credits are a cost to the provincial treasury, but it will encourage donors to give in difficult times and demonstrate the province's commitment to the non-profit sector to deliver social services in challenging times.

The Anglican Church of Canada is on the frontline of caring for the hungry and the homeless and for that reason Diocesan Council was correct in December to endorse the tax credit proposal and to encourage the Finance Minister to respond favourably. The situation has worsened since that time which makes this positive step even more important now than it was just two months ago.