CAGP's 25th National Conference on Strategy Philanthropy: A ‘First-timers’ Perspective

My very first official engagement with CAGP was at this year’s 25th National Conference on Strategy Philanthropy in Winnipeg. In a nutshell – I was both impressed, and relieved. Let me unpack that statement a little. 
 
I was relieved to find that there is a place for wealth management advisors, legal advisors, and philanthropic advisors to come together and talk about how we can work together to take the sector to the next level. Before attending the conference, I was feeling a little isolated in my business needs but found there was an enlightening conversation to be had, in almost any direction that I turned at the conference. 
 
The philanthropic landscape in Canada is changing. As we often say at Tides Canada, check-book philanthropy is dead. To get in front of intergenerational needs, we must do more for our donors and clients. We must show them that we have their best interests in mind and they can trust in their advisors to work together to build a wealth management strategy that is complemented by a values-aligned philanthropic strategy.  That conversation was actually happening at the conference, and I was delighted. 
 
Can we please talk about Gail Asper’s talk at the lunch plenary about what motivates her giving? I know there were 300+ other people in the room, but I felt that I was at a donor meeting with Gail and she was speaking only to me. To shed some light on her world, Gail successfully spoke to the interests of philanthropic professionals as well as financial advisors in the room, which is not an easy task. I now understand what people mean when they say she is an incredible woman – thank you for bringing us into your world, Gail.  
 
I left the conference with a sense confidence in the sector and what is to come. Now I wonder, can we go deeper into collaboration with one another in the year to come? What kind of custom solutions can we collate to meet our clients’ unique needs? How can we work together to harness the talents of one another and support success in the sector as a whole? I have decided that CAGP will be the membership and community that I invest in this year, because I am confident that this will be the place where great ideas will emerge, I’ll find useful information for my work and unique collaborations will come to life.