Canada’s history is steeped in philanthropy and diversity. More recently, due to a declining birth rate, the Canadian government has adopted increased immigration as a strategy to correct for a labor shortage. These new Canadians are an “emerging market” in the sense that while their legacy has been primarily in their previous homes, they are now building a new legacy in Canada, one that includes their philanthropic dreams. Why this is of additional interest in the charitable sector is that historically, ethnoculutral groups have often been overlooked or misunderstood by the fundraising community.

Does race or ethnicity matter with legacy giving?

Based on longitudinal studies conducted in the US by Dr. Russell James III, there are only modest differences among racial-ethnic groups (White, Black, Hispanic) IF/WHEN they have Wills or other planning documents. There is a lack of Will usage by Blacks and Hispanic groups compared to Whites, which might explain the perceived lack of generosity of these groups. The same might apply in Canada, a fact noted by the presenters of another session Building Relationships: Engaging Chinese Canadians in Estate Planning who pointed out that formal planning documents were also lacking in the Chinese Canadian community, with these estate plans often being oral.

How are we currently trying to reach these ethnocultural individuals?

1. Inclusive marketing

While a lot of effort is being put here, this strategy is better thought of as reducing friction versus giving a push: a necessary condition and not a sufficient condition.

2. The Champion/Ambassador/Guide/Interpreter model

This involves selecting an individual to serve as the bridge between the charity and the selected ethnocultural group.

There are 3 major limitations to this approach:

a. Essentially a P2P model, where the relationship between prospect/donor and charity mitigated through the Champion (re-acquisition efforts can be costly and time-consuming, especially if high-end events are used as primary acquisition streams)

b. Not broadbased (like Instagram Influencers), but network / net-worth based (Not ‘Indian community’ but ‘Indians in X’s network’)

c. To be extraordinarily successful, you have to have your end-donor in mind first and then select your Champion accordingly VS starting with your Champion and seeing which names they can bring on (similar to Major Gift fundraising)

There are definitely ways to work within these limitations, most notably by keeping an eye on Cost-To-Acquire (CTA) and Lifetime Value (LTV).

However, if the Planned Giving fundraiser (assets-based) is different than the Major Gifts fundraiser, there’s a higher chance the Major Gifts fundraiser will inherit the prospect and donor names to cultivate for Major Gifts:

a. Timelines typically shorter for Major Gifts

b. Differences in linkage with the cause for a Major Gift vs for a Planned Gift

c. Development committees/Boards that might have brought these new donors on board tend to have closer ties to the Major Gifts team than the Planned Giving team

3. What new approaches can charities take to bring them on as donors?

Geography

Migration is a flow of human capital that follows financial capital. We would expect that as economic agents, migration patterns within Canada follow (and in some sense sustain) job growth and indicate new markets, either as employees or employers (Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises SMEs)

The location of new immigrants and wages is then an indicator of:

a. Growing communities and flourishing businesses (which include immigrants as employers and employees)

b. Hence, new donor pools that include both immigrants as well as members of the broader community

Recommendations I

a. If, within the greographic area where you fundraise, you find clusters of immigrants AND the presence of SMEs, these are good indicators of donor pools waiting to be activated through setting up workplace giving and SME-focused fundraising, which eventually open up opportunities for a gift in will (6 years average).

b. If, as the US study showed, wills and trusts are at low-usage by ethnic communities, consider the constellation of factors that could help you in cities and areas undergoing economic development, places where Wills and Trusts could experience a parallel boom:

i. Notaries

ii. Real estate agents

iii. Business councils

Religion

There appears to be a Canadian hang-up about talking about religion publicly. This has consequences for the charitable sector, given that religious affiliation is positively co-related with charitable giving, and that religious organizations continue to receive the bulk of donations in the sector.

In respect to ethnoculutral groups, the intersection of Ethnicity/Race and Religion means that certain of these groups will give in a way that combines both elements to them, and we need to shift away from viewing religion only as a driver and indicator of giving but also as a prospect pool.

Recommendations II

a. Go to where the ethnic and racial minorities are (Church, Mosque, Synagogue, Temple, etc.)

b. Connect with the religious institution and place it in an Influencer role (broad-based, has the trust of the community, committed to social good)

c. Who in your donor file could make an introduction at the Church, Mosque, Synagogue, Temple, etc?

d. Which of your existing donors have a planned gift and can talk about it in these spaces?

This is based on a presentation from the 2019 CAGP Conference. A copy of the full presentation can be downloaded by clicking here.