Give Green Canada has created a TOOLKIT, graciously housed for us at Royal Roads University,  to help your organization build financial stability through gift planning and in particular, green legacies. The TOOLKIT is created especially for conservation and environmental groups in Canada who have relied in the past on the roller-coaster of government and foundation grants. 

Click here to go to our TOOLKIT. You'll have guest access.  To access to all the resources, click on the "Log-in" button, upper right corner when you land on the Royal Roads site.

Read what one of Canada's leading gift planners has to say about it:

"Give Green Canada’s distance learning course, “Jump Start your Gift Planning Today” (TOOLKIT), is the best publicly accessible source of information on ecological gifts and planned gifts in Canada.  It is a terrific resource for environmental charities to become educated about gift planning.  The content is clear and well presented, and the course has excellent links to quality external resources". Malcolm Burrows, Head, Philanthropic Advisory Services, Scotiabank
 

This TOOLKIT is the first of its kind worldwide and is currently being field-tested. You can choose to explore just one unit or all twelve. See the link at the bottom of this page to register, there is no charge.

Learn how to discover your strengths and state of readiness for receiving, processing and asking for gifts. The TOOLKIT can be explored at your own pace and at a time convenient to your schedule.

You can explore individual units (see Course Outline below) or complete the full program for future accreditation.

Find out about different types of gifts and what you need to know so you can talk with your donors and make gift transactions flow smoothly. The TOOLKIT offers you tools to make your work easier: gift acceptance policy templates, checklists, and assessment tools. It runs on a Moodle platform, using state of the art technology.  We are building the course together with your input to make it as practical and helpful as possible.  Your suggestions and contributions of material are welcome.

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OUTLINE

Title

Jumpstart Your Gift Planning Program Today

Description
This is an introduction to gift planning for conservation and environmental organizations across Canada. Individuals can take the full program or just individual units (see unit descriptions below). Participants complete the program at their own pace and at a time convenient to them. We welcome your involvement to make the resource as practical and helpful as possible. For instance if you have examples of "best practice" (brochure, website, newsletter, FB site, Twitter) or a donor testimonial you would like to share, we welcome such contributions.

Delivery Method
Online distance learning via Moodle.

The following communication tools will be used
The course’s Community Forum, Facebook and Twitter

Moderator Information
Name: Natasha van Bentum, CFRE

Technology and Equipment Readiness (and one suggested reference book)

The only equipment required to take the course is an Internet connection with Flash.

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There is one book we highly recommend, "Planned Giving for Canadians" by Frank Minton   Frank Minton was mentor for many leading Canadian gift planners today.  His book is an important tool for beginners or advanced alike.  Check with your local library to see if it is available or through inter-library loan.  While you can purchase the book directly from the Canadian Association of Gifts Planners, a downloadable, complete version is one of the benefits of membership in the Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP). .

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this program participants will be comfortable building an introductory gift planning program for their organization and wll understand the tools and resources required to sustain the program for years to come.

Assessment and Evaluation
There are no formal assignments or homework. Participants take Polls in each unit.

Description of Units

Unit 1   Introduction Unit (“Home Page”)

Unit 2   Getting Started

Unit 3   Tracking Progress

Unit 4   Get Basic Systems in Place

Unit 5   Outreach and Building Relationships

Unit 6   Ecological Gifts Program, Environment Canada

Unit 7   Bequests

Unit 8   Life Insurance

Unit 9   Gifts of Land

Unit 10  Gifts of Securities

Unit 11  Other Types of Gifts

Unit 12  Other Resources

Unit 1 - Introduction Unit (“Home Page”)

The introduction covers an outline of the units and explains why your organization should start a gift planning program in the present economic climate. You will learn how to navigate the course, get involved with our social networking opportunities and share experiences with other course participants.

Unit 2 – Getting Started

In this unit you will learn if your organization is ready to begin; discover gift planning vocabulary; find out how to obtain internal support (an advocate), and find a step-by-step chart outlining the various steps as you move along the gift planning spectrum

Unit 3 – Tracking Progress and Laying the Groundwork

In this unit you will learn about the importance of tracking your progress by measuring activities, not revenue. You will also learn more sophisticated ways of monitoring the program.

 Unit 4 – Get Basic Systems in Place

 In this unit you will discover the importance of gift acceptance policies and why having such policies in place helps you. You will also learn about working with professional advisors and how to find them. You’ll also have a chance to view things from the perspective of an advisor and discover how helpful they can be in the success of working with your donors.

Unit 5 – Outreach and Building Relationships

In this unit you will explore such topics as a Donor’s Bill of Rights, Confidentiality policy, many pointers and helpful hints on reaching out to donors, using new media, marketing tips, social networking, trends and opportunities

Unit 6 – Bequests

In this Unit you will discover the necessary elements to start up a bequest program, find a step-by-step chart on processing bequest gifts, explore templates, and download tips and resources from around the world on such topics as estate administration, legacy societies and recent research.

Unit 7 – Gifts of Life Insurance

This unit explores the world of Life Insurance gifts, the second-most important type of planned gift for an introductory Gift Planning program (after Bequests). Learn why it is such a popular and practical way for your organization to receive major gifts through life insurance, download step-by-step charts and a template for your basic gift acceptance policy. Click here for the official CRA bulletin on gifts of life insurance.

Unit 8 – Ecological Gifts Program, Environment Canada

This unit will provide you with a good overview of Environment Canada’s Ecological Gifts (Ecogifts) program. Here is the link to the official site. The unit also covers a variety of topics such as Appraisals and Split Receipting.

Unit 9 – Gifts of Land

In this unit you will discover examples of best practice from other organizations, learn about conservation agreements, covenants or servitudes, see success stories, learn about the legal tools available for the protection of land, and also find tips about gifts of real estate such as cottages.

 Unit 10 – Gifts of Securities

In this unit you will discover why gifts of appreciated securities are a wonderful way to work with your donors to enable them to make major gifts to your organization with favourable tax outcomes for the donor, download a step-by-step chart on how to handle gifts of securities, and learn about flow through shares.

 Unit 11 – Other types of gifts

This unit covers other types of planned gifts such as annuities, tangible assets, large outright gifts of cash, and others.

 Unit 12 - Other Resources

This unit will link you to other gift planning resources. Some will take you to our main website of Give Green Canada while others will point you in the direction you seek.