CFLSA

Planning for Philanthropy

"The need to plan for philanthropy in the same way as you plan for retirement or your children's education was an idea that came up in a conversation with a friend a few years ago," said Dr. Richard Aucoin. "The concept struck me as a good one."

Richard and Denise Aucoin have put that concept. into practice by starting an Emerging Fund with the Foundation. "We are very fortunate and Lethbridge has been very good to my family and me, so we wanted to give something back," he explained. To create an Emerging Fund, the donor contributes a minimum of $1,000 a year for 10 years. The interest on the resulting fund of $10,000 or more supports charities chosen by the donor.

In 1988 the Aucoins moved to Lethbridge, where they "started

a new job, started raising our family, paying off debts, and

working to develop a comfortable lifestyle. Lethbridge is a

fantastic community." Southern Alberta is far from Cape Breton

Island, where Richard was raised near the ocean, his father a

fisherman. "Although this area is very different, we really enjoy

this dry, windy place and have never doubted for one minute

our decision to live here."

The Aucoins learned about the Foundation and the opportunities

it provides at the Friends of the Foundation Dinner this past

October. According to Richard, the evening gave them food for

thought. "Listening to the testimonials from grant recipients

was really enlightening.

When you see who has received grants from the Foundation,

you realize that it is average people, in order to make their

lives better. We were really touched and decided we wanted

to contribute to the Foundation's work." He added that they

were impressed by the Foundation. "The concept of permanent

endowments is well thought out, and the Foundation's broad

mandate means it touches a lot of people at a grassroots level."