Give Manitoba

JUNE 11, 2022 | give Manitoba 15 Ellen Murray is a senior financial planner and insurance advisor with Westoba Financial Solutions in Brandon. (Supplied photo) Y O U R L E G A C Y G I F T W I L L : • prepare for the unknown impacts of climate change in the Global South • secure relief for families affected by future conflicts and disasters • solidify MCC's financial future Preparing for a changing climate For a confidential discussion on how your legacy can make a difference, please contact Valorie Block at 204.261.6381 or ValorieBlock@mccmb.ca. mccmb.ca/legacygiving Your legacy gift to Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is a meaningful investment. A gift in your will helps young mothers and their children prepare for the world's future challenges. In late January, the rains and winds of Tropical Cyclone Ana swept through Chikwawa, Malawi — taking with them Ndiuzani Butao's plans for a better harvest. As a lead farmer in an MCC-supported project, 22-year- old Ndiuzani was embracing new lessons in conserva- tion agriculture, hoping they would provide more food for her elderly grandmother, her 1-year-old daughter Hanna Danela and her teenage brother. It was one way that she and her family could work to withstand the more erratic rainfall and frequent flooding that climate change has brought to their region. Instead of harvesting, though, she's grappling with the aftermath of a cyclone that took all but one dwelling on her homestead. For now, MCC is providing emergency food relief to the most affected families in the region. mccmb.ca/legacy-giving For a confidential discussion on how your legacy can make a difference, please contact Valorie Block at 204.261.6381 or ValorieBlock@mccmb.ca. Ellen Murray is a senior financial planner and insurance advisor with Westoba Financial Solutions in Brandon. She says you don't have to be wealthy to leave something behind, but it should be stated in your will. For instance, you could designate that a portion of an investment should go to a charity. "Whether it's a mutual fund or a GIC, or whatever the financial product happens to be, those proceeds would go to the charity," Murray says. She does caution that a person's estate is responsible for paying the tax on any investment because it's considered income in the year of death. But on the flip side, there's a charitable donation to the estate, which might offset that amount. Murray says it is possible to set up a charitable foundation, but there are annual costs. That's why a designated amount or even a percentage of a person's estate given in a single donation is the norm. She says a percentage is a better way to go since the assets of an estate may be less than a designated amount decided upon at the time the will is drawn up. To guard against an estate's diminishing value, Murray says you can name a charity as a beneficiary on an insurance policy. "It's one my personal favourites for the simple reason that you can leverage minimal dollars and make it a very large contribution, which benefits the organization that you're supporting," she says. Although many donors prefer to direct their gifts towards a specific program or cause within a charity, financial planners advise that you discuss your intentions with the charity first. That way, the charity can advise whether it can address a specific request in the person's will. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

• Cover