October 2016

Disability Alliance BC (DABC) is thrilled to announce a new province-wide program to help British Columbians with disabilities access the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP). This new service has been made possible through the generous support of the Vancouver Foundation and will be provided in partnership with Plan Institute and the BC Aboriginal Network on Disability Society (BCANDS).

Through this new partnership, DABC advocates provide direct service by:
– Helping people who are eligible for the RDSP to apply for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC), a pre-requisite for the RDSP.
– Connecting individuals who have the DTC to Plan Institute or BCANDS who will help people open an RDSP.

In addition to direct assistance, DABC will travel to communities across BC to raise awareness about the program with a goal to increasing the number of people accessing the RDSP. We will provide information about the RDSP and DTC through workshops and one-on-one clinics, and will meet with community organizations, banks, and credit unions to promote the RDSP.

For more information about the DTC and RDSP or to request a workshop, please call Linda at DABC: 604-872-1278; 1-800-663-1278 or email rdsp@disabilityalliancebc.therightfitbc.org
Plan Institute’s RDSP Helpline (1-844-311-7526) is a great resource for information about the RDSP and DTC. Plan will also be administering the Endowment 150 program, formally operated by the Vancouver Foundation.

More about the RDSP
The RDSP is a long-term savings plan designed to help Canadians with disabilities at all income levels save for their futures. One reason the RDSP is so unique is because eligible individuals who open RDSPs can receive federally administered grants and bonds worth as much as $90,000 during a person’s lifetime.

Since July 2015, Tax AID DABC advocates have helped British Columbians receiving provincial disability assistance to file their income taxes so that they can take full advantage of all the benefits and credits available to them. As of October 2016, Tax AID DABC advocates have helped more than 335 clients to file 931 years of taxes and access over $670,000 in tax credits and benefits. Curly Tail Pictures has produced a great new video that provides info about the program and features stories from some of the clients who have benefitted from Tax AID DABC’s assistance.

On October 24th, Plan Institute, in partnership with Tamarack Institute, will be launching an exciting free Webinar Series with Al Etmanski and Vickie Cammack based on Al’s bestselling book IMPACT: Six Patterns to Spread Your Social Innovation. The book chronicles more than fifty stories of impact: impact that transforms, that lasts, and that disrupts the status quo. Vickie and Al have spent the last dozen years studying the field of social innovation to learn more about impact.

Please join them for this webinar series as they discuss the ways people who live with disabilities and their families have a distinct talent for continuously inventing and creating ways out of adversity to achieve “impact-ability”.

In each one-hour session, Al and Vickie will focus on one of the patterns identified in his book and interview a special guest whose experience led to the pattern and whose work exemplifies it. In the first session, coming up on Monday, October 24th 2016 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. EST, 9:00am – 10:00am PST, Al and Vickie will interview Honourable Minister Carla Qualtrough to open up the webinar series and discuss the Importance of Being a Wise Traveller.

For an overview of the IMPACT-Ability series and a list of upcoming sessions, visit their site. To register for the first session, please do so here.

Join for one session, all seven, or whatever your schedule will allow and be a part of a virtual learning circle with people from a diverse range of sectors who share your curiosity about strengthening their effectiveness at advancing positive change.

Happy virtual learning!