Latest Associate Partner brings tax reduction, philanthropy, and support for critical minerals to Hub350 community
For Hub350 and Foundation WCPD, innovation runs deep.
A mutual commitment to pushing boundaries and challenging the status quo has led to a new partnership between the two Ottawa-based organizations, with Foundation WCPD coming on board as the latest Associate Partner in Canada’s largest Technology Park.
The Hub350 facility, managed by the Kanata North Business Association (KNBA), launched in October 2021 to serve as a dynamic ecosystem for more than 540 Canadian and international high-tech businesses. It is a hotbed of new ideas and collaborations that are changing the world.
Meanwhile, Foundation WCPD, a boutique financial services firm, has help change how major donors think about philanthropy in Canada, thanks to two policies that have been in the tax code longer than our RRSP.
“We are so pleased to join Hub350 and share in this culture of innovation,” says Peter Nicholson, the President and Founder of Foundation WCPD.
“In 2006, our firm made financial services history when we facilitated the very first charity flow- through transaction without paying a capital gain. While we already work with many technology companies and their top executives, we look forward to introducing this concept to a wider audience.”
Known as Philanthropic Tax Planning, this tried-and-true method of giving is simple. It combines two tax policies.
The first, known as flow-through shares, was first introduced by the Canadian government in 1954. The policy supports Canada’s resource sector by creating jobs, producing raw materials and discovering critical minerals that are essential to our society. The second policy, introduced after the First World War, offers Canadians a tax break for donations to registered charities, or your conventional tax break.
Flow-through shares and a charitable tax receipt each offer a 100% tax deduction for Canadian taxpayers.
Together, combining these tax policies allow Foundation WCPD’s clients, on average, to give up to three times more to charity, at no additional cost due to tax efficiency.
Clients also have the option to keep the tax reduction for themselves, or do a combination of the two. A prearranged liquidity provider, or institutional buyer of shares, eliminates any stock market risk for the client, while retaining the tax deductibility.
“It is best described as the GIC of tax reduction,” Nicholson explains.
“It takes advantage of two things the government wants more of – they want more drilling and mineral exploration, and they want more charitable giving.
In fact, in the last budget, the government has placed even more emphasis on flow-through shares by boosting credit for critical mineral exploration to 30%. These would be junior mining operations seeking that next deposit of cobalt, for electric car batteries, germanium for fiber optics, or rare earth medals for electronics, computer chips and medical technologies. So these policies have a very real impact on our society today.”
The result, put simply, has been revolutionary. Since 2006, the structure has generated billions for the Canadian economy, and billions more for charities all across the country.
“We are pleased to welcome Foundation WCPD to Hub350”, said Jamie Petten, President & CEO, KNBA. “WCPD’s experience in financial services and philanthropy will compliment Kanata North’s existing charitable initiatives and increase the philanthropic impact of Canada’s largest technology park.”
Last October, for example, Kanata North Business Association and Hub350 pledged to raise $350,000 for the Queensway Carleton Hospital Foundation for health innovation.
Through events, committees and focus groups, Nicholson adds that Foundation WCPD is looking forward to working with as many members as possible to help innovate and super- charge their philanthropy.
Now is the time, he says, to think big.
“In Ottawa, we are so fortunate to have such a robust technology sector. While our industry is different, I see tremendous opportunities between technology and what we do for Canada’s mining and charitable sectors,” Nicholson said.
For more information on Foundation WCPD, you can visit their website at wcpd.com, or contact Peter Nicholson, President and Founder, at Peter.Nicholson@wcpd.com