A Canada Gives Donor Story: International giving in honour of a loved one

In our latest Donor Story, we highlight the philanthropic work of a Canada Gives Foundation family with deep roots in India. Their passion for bringing their late mother’s giving wishes to life—using international giving to help impoverished girls in the developing world attain meaningful education—and drive to bring multiple generations together to build a transformative legacy, is extraordinary. So, too, is their dedication to ensuring their generosity makes the greatest possible impact, improving the lives of those who need it most. Here’s how the Canada Gives team helped the family research charities and deliver a life-changing gift.

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The generosity of Canada Gives Foundation families is limitless. And a common trait that’s shared by so many of our donor clients is a deep-seated commitment to giving back to the communities that shaped their lives or helped them succeed.

This is a story of one of our donor families that emigrated to Canada decades ago to raise their two daughters. The matriarch, having grown up in India and understanding the challenges faced by young girls hoping to obtain a meaningful education—particularly in rural areas where the country’s rigid caste system remains a dominant part of the social structure, had a passion for elevating young girls and women out of poverty through education.

When their mother passed away, the family set out to work with Canada Gives to establish a foundation in her honour. In that first year, they began collaborating with the Canada Gives Client Services team to define the foundation’s charitable mission. They decided on a clear, simple mission statement to frame their mother’s philanthropic goals and guide their philanthropy: Empowerment of girls and women through education in India.

Next, they would need to find Canadian charity partners operating in India whose work aligned with the family’s mission. As it turned out, there were very few. The reason: the Indian government is resistant to some types of foreign aid and has put restrictions on the operations of Canadian charities in the country. Months of research and due diligence ensued, during which time our team worked with six potential grant recipients to present individual proposals; each directly aligned with the charitable mission of the family’s foundation.

That extensive due diligence process highlights the complexities of giving abroad, especially in countries that are less welcoming of international aid. Finding a good Canadian charity partner that is already well established in delivering international aid is sometimes the very best option for Canadian donors wishing to support global charitable initiatives.

In the end, the family chose to support two organizations, one of which is an international organization with a Canadian charity arm that operates orphanages in several countries, including India. The family was particularly connected to this group as their mother had supported them many years ago and even arranged for one of her daughters to travel abroad to do volunteer work with them in India. The grant funds will be used to support girls of all ages to be educated and receive vocational training with the objective of elevating them into financial independence. The other is a Canadian charity partner to an Indian organization working in areas such as Rajasthan to educate economically disadvantaged families on the benefits of sending their daughters to school, rather than to the sex trade—a long-standing tradition in the area. The grant funds will be used to fund all aspects of the recipient’s education including travel, basic needs, housing, uniforms, books, supplies and tuition. The organization ensures success by assigning mentors to each child to ensure they stay in school and are protected from societal pressures to support their families through other means.

As these are new charity relationships for the donor family, our Client Services team recommended that rather than establishing a multi-year commitment to each organization from the outset, that the family take the time and grow into a closer working relationship as impact reporting is provided and the family experiences the direct impact of their generosity. If all goes well, the donor family would then have the option to make a longer-term commitment in order to provide predictable funding to these organizations and the female students they’re supporting.

This family’s generosity highlights the potential to work with the Canada Gives team to design gifts that are highly personalized to a family’s roots, passions and personal values. It’s also an example of multiple generations of a family banding together to establish and achieve a philanthropic vision that had real meaning for their late mother. It all came together when we were able to work with them to find the right charity partners; organizations that could help realize their mother’s dream of bringing education to the scores of girls and young women that would otherwise miss out on the opportunity to attend school and have the chance to elevate themselves from poverty.

Perhaps most importantly, this fulfilling philanthropic journey has brought the donor family together in new ways, setting the stage for them to build a legacy of giving across future generations of their family.

The Canada Gives Team

To explore how a DAF might help you build a legacy that reflects your charitable values, consider opening a Foundation account with Canada Gives. Our team is here to help guide your charitable giving with flexibility and foresight. To learn more, contact a member of our team.