Archive for the ‘People’ Category

It has been my privilege during my travels to become friends with former High Court of Australia Judge, the Honourable Michael Kirby AC CMG in his role as President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal. After he was elevated to the High Court of Australia, I was particularly honoured when he cited me in a charity law decision. Prior to serving on Australia’s highest constitutional and appellate court, Michael was Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations for Human Rights in Cambodia from 1993-1996. Most recently, he was honoured as a co-winner of the 2010 Gruber Justice Prize, which recognizes “individuals…whose groundbreaking work provides new models that inspire and enable fundamental shifts in knowledge and culture”.

Now in retirement, Justice Kirby has agreed to come to Vancouver as part of Benefic’s “Charity Matters” series, for several meetings and lectures, from September 29-30, 2010. He is a dynamic speaker whose presentations are always interesting and engaging.

Justice Kirby will be speaking on the topic, “What Is the Public Benefit of Human Rights?” Increasingly, charities are required to demonstrate to CRA that their activities and purposes demonstrate a “public benefit” which is tangible and can be established in court. This is much more difficult in areas of human rights and religion than it is in the relief of poverty or advancement of education. Justice Kirby’s exploration of the impact of human rights principles on the humanitarian, social, political and religious activities of civil society organizations is one of the most significant challenges in the future of charity law.

Justice Kirby has served as a judge since 1983 and was on the High Court of Australia from 1996 – 2009. Kirby has been heavily involved in human rights issues around the world. During his time as Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations for Human Rights in Cambodia, Justice Kirby fought tirelessly for the recognition of HIV/AIDS as a human rights issue. Since his retirement, he has taken an active teaching role, putting his twelve honorary doctorates to good use as a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University along with a number of other institutions. We hope you are able to join us for this important conversation with the honourable Michael Kirby on a charity issue that matters.

If you’re interested in attending, please contact info@beneficgroup.com to ask for specific event details and registration information, as soon as possible as the events are in high demand.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are challenging other billionaires to give away at least half their wealth to charity.

Buffett pledged 99 per cent of his $46 billion fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation in 2006, and both Buffett and the Gateses are encouraging other billionaires to follow in their footsteps.

They call it the Giving Pledge. Read more…

Giving money to charity is good. Giving $37 billion is even better. But what about giving your knowledge of investing if you are Warren Buffett?

As the world’s third wealthiest person, and arguably, the world’s best investor, Buffett knows a thing or two about getting the most out of an investment. Read more…