Invest in the future of Duchenne muscular dystrophy research by leaving Defeat Duchenne Canada a gift in your will.
This altruistic form of giving funds life-saving research and has the potential to enhance the lives of boys and young men with Duchenne for generations to come. Legacy gifts can minimize and even eliminate taxes on your estate, so you contribute to a cause you care about, while mitigating the risk of financial complexity for your family.
Leave a gift in your will
Our legacy giving program creates the opportunity for you to make a gift to ensure Defeat Duchenne Canada can fulfill our community’s vision of a future free from the difficult reality of Duchenne. The simplest, most common way to make a planned gift is a bequest in a will. A bequest in your will is a meaningful and generous gesture, as it prioritizes the well-being of others, without consideration for how you may benefit. It’s also a wonderful way to ensure your legacy lives on, rippling with the positive effect of a life well lived.
Read Sharon’s story about creating a compassionate legacy through a gift in her will.
Sharon's Legacy
Sharon's Legacy
There are many ways to give to a charity and for me, giving back to Jesse’s Journey was easy.
My nephew Tyler has Duchenne muscular dystrophy and after reading John Davidson’s book “The Right Road”, I was inspired to do whatever I could to support Jesse’s Journey and help John to fulfill his goal of finding a cure. John Davidson is an incredible man and an inspiration and while I know that I can’t walk across Canada like he did, I can leave money to a charity and Jesse’s Journey is my charity of choice.
In November 2013, I made the choice to leave a gift in my will to Jesse’s Journey. I had turned 50 that September and I knew I needed to update my will. This was an opportunity for me to think about the legacy I want to leave, and I want there to be a cure.
Every year, I help organize Brian Connor’s Rice Lake Challenge and Tyler’s Walk to Defeat Duchenne in Cobourg, Ontario. These events have raised more than $265,000 for research through Jesse’s Journey. It is important to me to know that I’m doing everything I can for research today and in the future.
– Sharon Lynn-Weese
A planned gift through a bequest may significantly reduce, by means of a charitable tax receipt, the tax payable on your final income tax return. When organizing your finances and deciding how to direct your funds, there are many options available to you. and we encourage you to speak with a financial advisor or lawyer, as well as your family, to determine which option is best for you.
In partnership with Quiet Legacy, Defeat Duchenne Canada will be hosting a series of educational webinars on Income Tax Reduction and Estate Tax Elimination. Contact us to find out when our next webinar will be held.
Examples of how to word your will can be found here: Sample Will Wording (PDF)
If you have already left a gift in your will to Defeat Duchenne Canada, please consider notifying us. We would be honoured to recognize your generosity in a way that is meaningful to you. Click here to fill out a planned gift intention form or contact [email protected]
Give the gift of life insurance
While life insurance is most often used to provide for loved ones in the future, it can also be used to “insure” a philanthropic legacy. A gift of life insurance policy can be a way to enjoy tax benefits throughout your lifetime, while also enhancing the capacity of your charity of choice. Your belief in a better future and willingness to act to create it will live on in each step you empower our community – and our boys – to take forward.
Click here to read Al and Anne’s story about leaving a legacy through a gift of life insurance.
Give the gift of life insurance
Give the Gift of Life Insurance
We often look back and recall the devastating news given to our young family that day so long ago. Reality struck with the quiet ride home from the hospital – each of us alone in our thoughts as every mile seemed to creep by in slow motion. We kept replaying the dreaded words that we knew far too well as my wife’s brother died at eighteen years of age of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Yes, both of our sons were diagnosed with Duchenne. As we watched our sons struggle, we waited and hoped for researchers to find a cure. The cure didn’t come in time for them. Now in the 21st century, the research to cure this dreaded disease is making great advances every day.
You can join us in making a difference today by leaving a gift that plans for tomorrow. For us, the best way to do this was by donating a gift of life insurance. Our tax-deductible premium payments are building a gift that will one day make a big difference to boys like our sons.
We know there are other families just learning today that they are in a race against time. It’s easy to make a difference by leaving a legacy, just as we have done, by contacting your insurance agent or speaking to a representative at Jesse’s Journey.
Leaving a legacy will insure that research will continue until the cure is found.
No family should have to go through that quiet ride home from the hospital.
– Al and Anne Matheson
There are several options available to you, and we encourage you to discuss these options with your financial advisor and your family:
- Purchase a new policy and name Defeat Duchenne Canada as owner and beneficiary
- Transfer ownership and beneficiary status of an existing policy
- Donate a paid-up policy that you no longer need
For more information about giving a gift of life insurance, please contact Perry Esler at 519-645-8855 or [email protected]. We will be excited to support your generosity to come to fruition in powerful ways for well-deserving young men and boys.
Give the gift of stocks, securities, and mutual funds
The Government of Canada has eliminated the capital gains tax on the charitable donation of publicly listed securities. Now, you can reduce the tax paid on capital gains when the securities are donated directly to Defeat Duchenne Canada instead of selling the securities first.
To make a gift of stocks, securities, or mutual funds, click here to access the Share Transfer Authorization Form (PDF) and your financial advisor can help you complete the transfer. You can also donate securities online through Canada Helps – click here and search for Defeat Duchenne Canada.
For more information about donating gifts of securities, contact Perry Esler at 519-645-8855 or [email protected].