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‘Friends’ hopes to open fundraising channels

Tax credits offered for donations to American Friends of Whistler organization A bold new fundraising venture has just got off the ground in Whistler.

Tax credits offered for donations to American Friends of Whistler organization

A bold new fundraising venture has just got off the ground in Whistler.

It is hoped it will provide lasting and meaningful financial support to all types of charities and non-profit organizations in the resort.

Called the American Friends of Whistler, it is the brainchild of Simon Levin, a U.S. tax attorney who has a second home in Whistler.

"Many (U.S. visitors and second home owners) are not aware how much the community means to them," said Levin from his New Jersey office.

"We are going to educate Americans that there are wonderful things happening in Whistler.

"Many may not realize what is going on at Millennium Place, for example. Or many may not realize how important a new library might be to the community."

The "Friends" organization allows U.S. citizens to donate to a foreign non-profit and get an income tax receipt.

Until now, if Americans donated to Whistler groups – and many have – they didn’t get any tax credit.

"I felt that we could get larger contributions from Americans if they could get an income tax deduction," said Levin.

As a tax lawyer Levin works for several large charitable organizations in the U.S. and is keenly aware of all the steps that must be taken to set up an organization such as American Friends of Whistler.

"I’ve been really thrilled with the response so far," he said.

"I started as a lone voice in the woods… and it was over a period of a year to two years… before something happened.

"I am very excited and very excited about the group of people who have come together to support it.

"I am looking forward to great success with it. I am optimistic. If we can help the community that is where the rewards will really be."

American Friends of Whistler is based in Seattle and a majority of its board is made up of Americans.

Currently there are eight board members but president Jeff Harbers hopes to increase the number as people get involved with the organization.

"We want to have a very active board but also a lot of people so they really make a commitment," he said.

"To me the real purpose of American Friends of Whistler is to introduce Americans to Whistler and get them to join in the community and get to know people in the community.

"Obviously the thing that will happen form that is people will want to start investing in Whistler and understanding what the issues are, the challenges and the opportunities."

Harbers has been travelling from Washington State since the 1980s to ski here. He has owned a Whistler home since 1995 and spends a significant amount of time in the resort.

"Hopefully we will get good people talking about more ways to sustain Whistler and keep the community that we have got," he said.

"Hopefully we will also get good input from people in Whistler because we will have some money… to do good things for Whistler."

Those who work for American Friends of Whistler in Canada are volunteers. They include Whistler’s Mayor Hugh O’Reilly and local resident Peter Ciceri, a corporate director and executive coach.

O’Reilly sees the organization not just as a vehicle to raise money but also a way to keep Americans informed about what is happening in town.

"They come here and they love the place and they would love to be closer to the real community," he said of U.S. visitors.

"By having people sign up for this program we are going to be able to find a line of communication. We will be able to send out notices about what is going on in the community, whether it is a public meeting or something on the social calendar or an event activity.

"At the same time, my personal belief is that these people do care about the community much like the Canadians do and if asked, and given a reasonable tax envelope to work in, they would make contributions more significantly than they have been.

"Right now they have been doing it but they get no benefit.

"If they are willing to give the money and there is a tax incentive for them then one would think that they would give more."

In his time in Whistler Ciceri has come across several U.S. visitors who would love to get more involved in the community and give to various projects such as the library-museum and Millennium Place.

"Americans can be very philanthropic," he said. "But all things being equal if they don’t get a tax deduction then it is more difficult for them to contribute on an equal basis.

"There definitely seems to be interest in (American Friends of Whistler). Every time it is mentioned to somebody they want to know more."

Ciceri said donors can’t pick and choose where their money goes. Rather the board of American Friends of Whistler will investigate applications for support and channel the money. But it will be clear to donors which projects are supported.

Ciceri is very excited about what this will mean to the community.

"I think it is going to mean two things," he said.

"One of the things that is great about Whistler is its diversity and I think this will add to that by giving Americans who belong to the community an option to get more involved, and that’s tremendous.

"It will also have a direct impact, we anticipate, on the capital projects and many of the charities making our community stronger, which is all great for us."

Anne Fenwick, chair of the Library Museum Capital Campaign, hopes American Friends of Whistler will open new avenues for fundraising.

"With the capital campaign we have identified a number of Americans who we think might be quite interested in using this as a vehicle for donating to our project," she said.

"There are a lot of Americans that have places up here and really enjoy their time up here and we feel this might be a great way for us to access some potential donor money."

For more information on American Friends of Whistler contact Diane Diamond at 604-935-8417 or e-mail her at friends@whistlermillenniumpl.com .

The board also plans to host a get together between Christmas and New Year’s Eve.