On legacies

Alice's post has received plenty of attention for highlighting Ruth Hass' $210,000 bequest to the NDP as a major factor in this year's third-quarter fund-raising numbers. But it also highlights a noteworthy trend in how well the federal parties have done in winning estate support:

The Liberals have reported only three bequest contributions over $200 in the period 2004-2010, two in 2008 totalling $7,500, and one in 2009 for $5,000. The Conservatives have reported 11 bequests over $200 during that time frame, including six annual bequests of $1,000 from the estate of one late supporter, and two in 2008 of $3,000 each from two other supporters' estates.

However, it's the NDP that seems most advanced in its planned giving program, reporting 38 different bequests of $200 or more since 2004 — including many of $5,000 or more, and 9 of $10,000 or greater, in addition to the $211K received from Mrs. Hass earlier this fall.

Now, part of the explanation for the NDP's success in bringing in bequests figures to have much to do with its making a concerted effort in the area, as noted by Norma Greenaway. But it's also interesting to wonder how the parties' relative political positions may affect their ability to raise money through estate donations.

After all, it seems fairly safe to say that an estate donation - unlike one made by somebody with any reason to want to curry favour with a party - would be based solely on a desire to make a difference rather than any sense of self-interest. Which means that it shouldn't make for much surprise that a party like the Libs which is branded more as adapting to the political environment than having any particularly strong core beliefs might have trouble bringing in such donations.

But interestingly, the Cons too look to be well behind the NDP in convincing supporters to leave anything to them - notwithstanding both their well-oiled fund-raising machine, and their equally ideological positioning. And it's worth wondering what the comparative willingness of NDP and Con supporters to leave a donation behind might say about their relative belief in the causes underlying the political parties.