Sep 16, 2026 · 33 min · 11 segments
Philanthropy is undergoing a major shift across Canada as donor preferences evolve and strategic giving structures become essential. Navigating options like donor advised funds allows individuals…
Jo-Anne RyanGuestDouglas NelsonHostWe're gonna cover a lot of topics, donor-advised funds being near the top of the list.
But before we get into that conversation, tell us a little bit about the TD Private Giving Foundation and your role and its creation and what's going on there today.
Back in early 2000s, I was attending lots of conferences, including Canadian Association of Gift Planners, and, uh, we often had a speaker from the US talk about Fidelity and Vanguard and how they were such a huge force in the US, and they predicted they would come to Canada because we usually copy the US.
So in 2003, I put a proposal together, and I approached TD, and I said, "We can be the first financial institution in Canada to launch a donor-advised fund." It was a tough sell back then because philanthropy was considered a fluffy thing on the side.
Thankfully today, nobody in leadership would argue about the importance of philanthropy for our high-net-worth clients.
We launched October of 2004, and we were the first financial institution to, to launch.
Marketing said to me that, "It'll be a matter of time before competitors copy us, and if they don't, then you should be worried as to whether there's a market for this." Anyway, lo and behold, they're all over the place.
People are always asking what your assets under management are, which we call your AUM.
I have to answer that, but I always say the more important number is what we have granted to registered charities.
And so in last fall, we actually celebrated a milestone of surpassing 1.2 billion in assets under management, and then about six weeks ago, we celebrated a milestone of being able to say that we have granted over a billion dollars to charities since inception also.
We're gonna cover a lot of topics, donor-advised funds being near the top of the list.
But before we get into that conversation, tell us a little bit about the TD Private Giving Foundation and your role and its creation and what's going on there today.
Back in early 2000s, I was attending lots of conferences, including Canadian Association of Gift Planners, and, uh, we often had a speaker from the US talk about Fidelity and Vanguard and how they were such a huge force in the US, and they predicted they would come to Canada because we usually copy the US.
So in 2003, I put a proposal together, and I approached TD, and I said, "We can be the first financial institution in Canada to launch a donor-advised fund." It was a tough sell back then because philanthropy was considered a fluffy thing on the side.
Thankfully today, nobody in leadership would argue about the importance of philanthropy for our high-net-worth clients.
We launched October of 2004, and we were the first financial institution to, to launch.
Marketing said to me that, "It'll be a matter of time before competitors copy us, and if they don't, then you should be worried as to whether there's a market for this." Anyway, lo and behold, they're all over the place.
People are always asking what your assets under management are, which we call your AUM.
I have to answer that, but I always say the more important number is what we have granted to registered charities.
And so in last fall, we actually celebrated a milestone of surpassing 1.2 billion in assets under management, and then about six weeks ago, we celebrated a milestone of being able to say that we have granted over a billion dollars to charities since inception also.
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