SPRING 2018 CHIMP. NET 15
AS A CHARITABLE investment advisor, Mike Todd meets a lot of clients who want to support charity, but don’ t know where to start- or how to do it well.
“ There’ s this idea that to become a philanthropist you have to be Bill Gates,” says Todd.“ But that just isn’ t true. With the right tools and support, every one of us can have a greater impact.”
Todd has gleaned this perspective from years of working in both wealth management and charity. Early in his career, he spent a decade with Fidelity Investments, before changing tack to join World Vision Canada as director of corporate development in 2002.
“ I recognized that I had an obligation to give,” he says.“ I needed a practical way to live out my values.”
Todd then spent almost nine years as director of engagement for Linwood House, which offered healing retreats for vulnerable women from Vancouver’ s Downtown Eastside.
Today he’ s the director of Charitable Investment Programs at CHIMP( Charitable Impact), a Vancouver-based organization that combines online tools with the legal structure of a donor advised fund( DAF) to make it easy for donors at every level to become thoughtful philanthropists.
CHIMP was founded in 2012 by John Bromley. With a unique background in both corporate finance and charity entrepreneurship, Bromley has founded multiple philanthropic ventures, advised on hundreds of charitable projects, and helped facilitate over $ 1 billion in charitable giving.
CHIMP itself has already helped over 100,000 donors put $ 220 million in the hands of Canadian charities. It combines several features: CHIMP. net, which provides accounts for everyday online donations; Charitable Investment Accounts, which hold charitable assets managed by a donor’ s financial advisor, and Charitable Impact Strategies, which offers high-touch philanthropic advisory.
CHIMP. net lets anyone open a free CHIMP account, which combines a DAF with innovative online giving tools. After transferring funds into the account, donors get an instant tax receipt; they can then decide at their leisure when and where the money goes. They can choose to give directly to any registered charity in Canada, join forces with others in supporting their favourite causes or send charitable funds to family and friends to give away.
These benefits carry through to Charitable Investment Accounts, which allow for more complex giving. That’ s where Todd specializes.
Working together with their financial advisor, a client can donate publicly traded securities and private company shares to a Charitable Investment Account. Life insurance, real estate and art are also eligible for donation.
From there, the advisor can continue to manage and grow these assets tax-free until the client is ready to give to a specific cause.
Because giving needs can be complex, Todd also supports donors and their financial advisors with charitable planning and management through Charitable Impact Strategies. It’ s the best way, he says, to make sure donors have the biggest possible impact.
“ We’ re offering the type of services most donors never thought was possible,” says Todd.“ Our advising, plus the donor advised fund structure- we’ re the only firm in Canada that offers that.”
He points out that many high net worth individuals might not know the advantages of a DAF over a private foundation. Besides costing money out of pocket to get started, private foundations require hours of demanding paperwork, and contrary to their name, actually lack anonymity. A private foundation ' s data, including how much is distributed to which charities, is publicly available on the Canada Revenue Agency’ s website. A DAF like CHIMP, on the other hand, gives donors the option to retain full control over their privacy.
What’ s more, with a private foundation, the client and their financial advisors aren’ t necessarily working with guidance from professionals experienced in the charity sector. That’ s something Todd takes pride in offering through CHIMP’ s Charitable Impact Strategies.
“ At the end of the day, CHIMP is about empowering people to give in the way that’ s most meaningful to them. It’ s about providing objective, cause-neutral advice, and the tools for anyone to carry out their giving goals.”
Mike Todd is responsible for Chimp ' s Charitable Investment Programs. This includes the Charitable Investment Account, a unique donor advised fund which allows philanthropicallyminded individuals, families, and companies to be as strategic with their giving as they are with their investments. Mike enjoys working with Wealth Advisors and their clients to help them achieve their philanthropic goals.