Rethink Your Legacy

A breast cancer diagnosis can throw the best of us into a bit of an existential crisis. It has a way of reminding us that our time here is finite, underlining the importance of our actions and how they impact the world around us.

So if you’ve received a breast cancer diagnosis and are looking for ways to make positive change in the community, you’ve come to the right place. Initially, you might think of actions like volunteering your time, making a donation or throwing a fundraiser. These are all a fantastic answer to the question “how can I help today”.  But have you ever asked yourself “how would I like to be remembered”? Because the answer to that might be a legacy gift.

What is a legacy gift?

A legacy gift is a gift to a charity or non-profit organization in your will. It can be a piece of property, cash, or a percentage of your estate. Legacy gifts play a key role in supporting our initiatives and help us continue to improve the lives of young women with breast cancer for years to come.

While legacy giving makes it achievable to leave much larger gifts than otherwise possible, it’s important to remember that you don’t have to be wealthy to leave a legacy gift. You can leave as much or as little as you want – there is no gift too small to empower positive change.

What are the benefits of legacy giving?

Legacy giving is a way to leave a lasting legacy of generosity and make Rethink an important part of your life story. Benefits of leaving a gift to Rethink include:

  • Rethinking the Future: Your gift will ensure that we can continue to improve the lives and futures of young women.
  • Leaving Larger Legacy: Legacy giving doesn’t affect your income today, allowing you to leave a more substantial gift than otherwise may be possible in your lifetime.
  • Tax Benefits: When you leave a legacy gift, your estate receives a tax credit for the full value of the gift which adds a tax credit to your final income tax return. This can help to maximize the value of your residual estate for your beneficiaries.
  • Inspiring Others: Your gift might also cause others to think about their own philanthropic goals and inspire them to give back as well.

Here are some of the things your legacy can make possible:

  • A private peer support network of over 1,300 young breast cancer patients
  • Advocacy programming that puts the issues that matter to women with breast cancer on the agenda and in front of decision makers to ultimately help these women live better and live longer
  • MBC specific programing support and research
  • Virtual support groups facilitated by a trained therapist 
  • Research in priorities areas affecting young women with breast cancer
  • Expert talks led by a professionals like oncologists, physiotherapists, fertility experts giving the community access to health care professionals COVID-19 makes it more difficult to connect with 
  • Peer support calls connecting women in our community across the globe 
  • Published stories from voices not always heard in the cancer community 

How can I leave a legacy gift to Rethink?

A legacy gift (also known as a charitable bequest) can be given in two ways. First, you can leave a lump-sum cash amount. These gifts are given separately when you pass away, and are not included in your residual estate. (Your residual estate is everything that’s left after debts/taxes are paid and specific gifts are distributed).

Instead of or in addition to leaving a set amount, you may leave a percentage of your residual (remaining) estate, Rethink will receive the cash value of the distribution you gave them from your overall estate. While a cash gift will remain constant over time, a percentage of your residual estate can grow over time, potentially resulting in a higher gift amount.

Once you’ve made the decision to leave a gift to Rethink, ask your financial or estate planning advisor to make a legacy giving part of your estate plan! Many online will companies, like Willful, have also made charitable contributions extremely easy by incorporating it into the will-making process.

In many cases, you can also designate Rethink as a beneficiary of your life insurance or retirement plan. We recommend reaching out to your insurance company or plan administrator to inquire about requesting a change in beneficiaries!


Rethink has partnered with Willful to help educate Canadians on the benefits of legacy giving and tackle the stigma around end-of-life planning. Willful is an online platform that makes it affordable, easy, and convenient to create their wills and power of attorney documents in less than 20 minutes.


Are you or someone close to you living with metastatic breast cancer?

We know it’s uncomfortable and scary, but when you are ready, Tasha from our MBC board is ready to help you initiate some of those tough conversations that you might (understandably) be avoiding.

Check out the Sh*t List here.

50 Carroll Street Toronto, Ontario Canada M4M 3G3
Phone: 416 220 0700
Registered Charity #: 892176116RR0001

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