Welcome to The MapleMoney Show, the podcast that helps Canadians improve their finances to create lasting financial freedom. I’m your host, Tom Drake, the founder of MapleMoney, where I’ve been writing about all things related to personal finance since 2009.

Do you struggle to give to charity? Perhaps you want to give but aren’t sure where to allocate your charitable dollars. This week’s guest explains why charitable giving is so important and shows us an easier way to donate.

John Bromley began his career in corporate finance working with PwC and RBC Capital Markets. After developing an in-depth understanding of the complex world underpinning the charity sector, he founded Charitable Impact, an organization that has facilitated more than $1.1 billion in charitable donations.

Charitable giving provides a way for Canadians to lower their tax bill, but it’s so much more than that. When we give to charity, we are helping to move the world forward in a positive way. Unfortunately, most Canadians only give to charity when they’re asked. One of the reasons is that it can be difficult to know how and where to give back.

John explains how his organization helps Canadians give. With Charitable Impact, you can deposit funds into a charitable account, and decide how to allocate your giving at a later date. There are very few things you can’t do with charitable dollars, and there is no shortage of good causes to give to.

John and I also discuss the idea of donating money for the purpose of getting a tax receipt. While many people focus on tax savings, it’s a much better feeling to know that the money you donate is changing the world for the better.

This episode of The MapleMoney Show is brought to you by Retire Happy. Retire Happy has been providing top-quality information and resources on retirement, investing, and estate planning for over 20 years and was named the best personal finance blog by The Globe and Mail.

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Episode Summary

• Why it’s so important to give to charity
• Most Canadians only give to charity when they’re asked
• The value of monthly recurring charitable donations
• How the disbursement quota works
• There are 86,000 registered charities in Canada
• Qualified donees vs. registered charities
• There are very few things you can’t do with charitable dollars
• The impact of credit card fees on charitable donations

When you pay your tax, the government chooses how to spend that money…with charitable giving, you offset the tax you pay, but then you get to choose what causes that money goes towards. - John Bromley Click to Tweet

Resources

• Visit John’s website
• Follow Charitable Impact on Twitter
• Follow Charitable Impact on Instagram
• Charitable Impact is on Facebook
• Check out the Charitable Impact YouTube Channel
• CanadaHelps.org