Canadian Association of Gift Planners’ national convention coming to Halifax

Charity officials, donor advisors and others will be in Halifax next month for a conference on philanthropy, fundraising and gift-giving preparation.

The theme of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners’ national convention is “navigating the future” of charity to help “achieve a vision of fairness, justice and inclusivity” in the philanthropic sector.

Delegates are to meet June 14 to 16 at a local hotel. The association is an Ottawa-based nonprofit that was established in 1993.

Gift planners “play key roles expanding the fundraising options available to charitable organizations,” the association’s website says.

Conference speakers from this province and elsewhere include David Chilton, author of The Wealthy Barber, Tareq Hadhad, of Peace by Chocolate fame, DeRico Symonds, a veteran community activist and an advisor with Nova Scotia’s Office of Equity and Anti-Racism Initiatives and Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard, a social-justice crusader and scholar and an educator.

The agenda says the senator’s talk will cover racism in the philanthropic sector and will motivate delegates to “consider ways they can use the privilege of the … sector in funding programs” that inspire and influence people and communities.

Symonds’s presentation will be about this: “Charity inequity – the winners and losers in charitable giving.” 

Other scheduled sessions include a panel discussion on government relations, a workshop about the use of online platforms for wills and an examination of the “barriers to giving,” from the perspective of donors and charities.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the group’s conference last year was an online-only event. The 2020 meetings were cancelled.

This year’s convention is to be held in person; there will be no virtual sessions. All delegates, speakers and exhibitors must be fully vaccinated.

Michael Lightstone is a freelance reporter living in Dartmouth