The story begins with the Cosmic Lottery, which I entered in July 1945 when I was conceived. I won it on April 5, 1946. On that day, I was born to well-to-do parents in Toronto, Ontario. Seventy-six years later, I live on the Love Mountain Nature Reserve in the Happy Valley Forest, just 40 kilometres from where I was born.
After years of hard work and careful financial management, my wife and I have an opportunity to leave another legacy – to leave our mark on the future.
We have already left a glittering legacy through our magnificent three children and our inspiring four grandchildren. Our finances are such that we will be able to remember them all with gifts in our Will. But the best news is that after doing this, we will have money left for gifts to our favourite charities.
We will create our legacy for nature through Ontario Nature.
When thinking about what our gift would be and what it would do, I talked to Ontario Nature about creating a fund to support staff who wanted to learn more about the art and science of fundraising.
I have been a fundraiser for 53 years, mostly for nature. In this time, I have learned a great deal about how to practice my craft. This made me think that a gift which would allow staff to learn more about fundraising would result in more money for nature conservation in Ontario.
As a result, my wife and I created The Love Family and Friends Fundraising Education Fund at Ontario Nature with a gift of $25,000 to be spent down at $2,500/year for 10 years. (The fund allows for a larger annual expenditure should a unique opportunity arise.)
We included “Family” because our family is entirely supportive of this idea. We included “and Friends” in the hope that others might contribute to the fund extending its reach beyond 10 years.
While we can’t estimate what this will mean for nature in Ontario, my personal experience suggests that fundraising revenues will dramatically grow as all staff – not just fundraising staff – learn how to be better fundraisers.
This also means that precious current donors and future donors will be treated with respect, integrity, and a dash of donor care.
And we know that in whatever form that takes, Ontario Nature staff will raise more money for nature in Ontario.
And that is our legacy for nature.
Ontario Nature is incredibly grateful to the Love Family for their lifelong commitment to protecting nature in Ontario.
If you’d like to learn more about making a gift in your Will or contributing to the Love Family and Friends Fundraising and Education Fund, please contact Kirsten Dahl, Director of Development, at kirstend@ontarionature.org or 416-444-8419 ext. 235.
David Love has been raising money, mostly for the environment, for over 50 years. He lives near the Love Mountain Nature Reserve in Happy Valley Forest, just north of Toronto. He spends his time there with his wife, children, grandchildren and golden retriever discovering the magic of the forest.
