Jo-Anne Ryan, Vice President of Philanthropic Advisory Services
Your achievements in your career have been stellar. Please share a bit about yourself and the achievements that you cherish the most.
I am most proud about being the architect of the Private Giving Foundation. I brought the concept to TD back in 2003. I approached them with the opportunity to be the first financial institution in Canada to launch a donor-advised fund (DAF) program as an alternative to establishing a private foundation. I saw the success of these among financial institutions in the U.S. Fidelity launched their DAF in the early 90s, followed by Vanguard, Morgan Stanley, and others. I was attending gift planning conferences that had speakers from the U.S. They would talk about the success of DAFs and predicted that they would come to Canada since we often follow trends in the U.S. That inspired me to act. I approached TD with the opportunity to be the first financial institution to establish a DAF in Canada and we launched the PrivateGiving Foundation in October 2004. We are about to celebrate a milestone: our 20-year anniversary. Since inception, contributions to PGF have exceeded $1.3 Billion and we have distributed close to $700 million to a wide range of charities.
What are the key challenges you have faced and how did you address them?
In 2003 when I first approached TD, philanthropy was not a priority. The core businesses at TD and the other Canadian banks at that time were investment management and banking services, so there was some hesitation and fear of the unknown. I persevered and continued to talk about the benefits of being “first to market”. I also convinced the leadership that when advisors have philanthropic conversations with their clients, it is good for business. When an advisor takes the time to understand the values that are important to their clients, what keeps them awake at night and helps them to address these issues, it strengthens the relationship with their clients. When that happens, it results in more business and potential referrals from that client. Thankfully today at TD nobody in leadership would argue about the importance of philanthropy for our high-net-worth clients. In fact, at TD as part of Private Wealth Management, we have four pillars that we address with clients. They are: Build Net worth, Implement Tax-efficient Strategies, Protect What Matters, and Leave a Legacy. For many of our clients, their legacy is a charitable one.
The research you have conducted has highlighted consistently the increasing role– that Women play in the philanthropic domain. What impact has that had on Canadians-both men and women? Are the audiences that need to appreciate the role of women in philanthropy responding?
In 2014, TD Wealth published a major study on Canadian women and their philanthropy. This ground-breaking report led to a heightened level of discourse about the significant role of women in Canada as donors, volunteers, board of directors and charity executives.
Ten years later, it was time to shine a light on the Canadian female philanthropist today and we were pleased to publish new research: Trust and Transformation: Canadian Women and Philanthropy. In this report, we highlight women’s growing economic power. As women’s life expectancy is greater than men, they often inherit twice (from a parent and then from a spouse or partner). It is predicted that $1trillion may be inherited by women over the next decade. Many charities are providing forums for education and discussion, and we are seeing an emergence and increase in women’s giving circles. We have been partnering with charities and convening discussions across the country to inspire and educate women to participate in philanthropy both as donors and volunteers. The feedback and interest in these sessions has been very encouraging.
From a demographic viewpoint do we know about the philanthropic aspirations of women from diverse communities? About young philanthropists?
In our recent research we cast the net wider to understand who the contemporary Canadian female philanthropist is, and what matters to her. We interviewed women of different ages, ethnicities, geographic location to understand what drives them. Newcomers to Canada and second-generation Canadians are highly motivated to support charitable causes. Many successful immigrants are incredibly grateful for the opportunities that Canada provided to them and give back generously. Younger women are very committed to philanthropy. They tend to support a cause rather than be loyal to one organization. They also use their purchasing power to drive change. Young women are making more conscious decisions in terms of buying from brands that align with their core values. They choose to support brands and companies that place a high priority on social responsibility. These include but are not limited to the environment and both animal and human rights.
If we move to a world in 2040 where women philanthropists gain increasing leverage and coordinate their efforts, what would the Canada’s landscape look like? Would we be better positioned to address society’s key problems viz poverty, lack of housing, climate change, environmental preservation and the polarizationthat divides us?
I am hopeful that the rise in trust-based philanthropy will make the world a better place by 2040. When donations are made on an unrestricted basis to support the overall mission of the charity and allow them to use its discretion as to how the funds may be used most effectively, charities will be better positioned to address society’s key problems.