Dragon Donations

Dragon W. Brett Wilson sees the benefit of Donor Advised Funds

W. Brett Wilson, a successful Canadian entrepreneur and TV personality, channels his philanthropy in a number of ways. “I agree with Mother Teresa who said, ‘No gift is too small.’ Whether you donate your time, your talent or your money, the important thing is that you get involved and give back. I learned the value of giving back from my parents, who didn’t have a lot of money, but gave of their time and encouraged others to do the same. They inspired leadership and rarely turned anyone down. My father was a coach for most teams that my sisters and I played on and would walk door to door for the United Way and other causes. My mother couldn’t swim, but she once put on a life jacket and swam 40 laps for charity. They paved a path for me.

“I wouldn’t say that I have a master plan for my philanthropy. I have given to organizations in six countries in Africa and built houses in Mexico, but for the bulk of the work I do, I keep my focus on Alberta and Saskatchewan. I give both time and money toward health care initiatives, especially profiling the importance of early screening for prostate cancer, which nearly took my life a few years back; I have a passion for promoting entrepreneurship; I have supported programs that deal with the root causes of domestic violence; and I am actively promoting the sports of volleyball and swimming.

“I’m always looking for ways to be innovative in my giving, especially through creative partnerships or high-profile public events. I’ve used charitable events to support various community initiatives. The 50th birthday party I organized in 2007 with a group of friends who were all hitting that same milestone is probably the most successful so far. We invited over 1500 guests to enjoy a concert with Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings, Herman’s Hermits, and Beverley Mahood. Everybody dressed up in clothes from their favourite decade and enjoyed comfort food like mac and cheese. The event was more than just fun, as the “price of admission” was a “meaningful” charity cheque. We raised $3 million for prostate cancer awareness that night—the biggest single-night fundraiser in Calgary’s history.

“I’m a busy person, and I give to many organizations, so establishing a family fund at the Calgary Foundation was an effective way to give because they do all the administration. We have several funds set up at TCF, and my whole family gets involved in determining where their portion of the funds’ annual grants will go.

“My advice to charities is to do their homework and understand what is relevant to the donor before making a request. Charities also have to be able to communicate what they are doing succinctly (I ask for one page letters) and I have been known to leverage my donations by offering matching gifts—$1.00 for every $1.00 they can raise themselves. When I challenged my hometown of North Battleford, Saskatchewan with a matching gift of $300,000, they didn’t think they would be able to hit that target. But the whole town rallied behind the cause, raising $500,000 for technological improvements to the local hospital, which I matched. In the process, they learned what they were really capable of achieving.”