Innovation & Impact Fund

You may designate your gift to any of our funds, by selecting an individual fund in the drop-down menu on our Make a Donation page.

CanadaHelps charges a 3.5 per cent transaction fee on monthly donations and a 3.75 per cent transaction fee on one-time donations. These amounts are deducted before the donation is sent to the Victoria Foundation. You can select the “fees covered” option if you wish to cover these costs for the foundation. The transaction fee covers all credit card merchant fees, transaction fees, banking costs, receipting, reconciliation and disbursement. For more information on their fee structure, please visit the CanadaHelps website.

After you pay for your gift, CanadaHelps.org will send you an online receipt. There are several privacy permissions available. If you include your name and address in the information provided to the Victoria Foundation and have made a donation to a charitable organization, we will be pleased to let them know that a contribution has been made to support their vital work.

If you would like Victoria Foundation staff to process your credit card over the phone, please call us at 250-381-5532 with your credit card information.

* Please indicate the fund name or gift designation in the memo field of your cheque or in an attached letter.

Please follow the instructions below to make a donation by e-transfer to the Victoria Foundation. If you need assistance, you can contact our Finance department at [email protected].

Add the Victoria Foundation as a new e-transfer recipient in your online banking using the following information:

1. Name: Victoria Foundation
2. Email: [email protected]
3. Preferred Language: English
4. Create a secret question and answer of your choosing and ensure that you email the secret answer along with your name and address to [email protected].
5. Enter the fund name or gift designation in the message field.
6. Send the e-transfer via your online bank account to [email protected]. The Victoria Foundation does not accept e-transfers via text message.

Please note: Our Donation Form for Gifts of Securities was updated as of January 9, 2025, with new contact information. All previous versions will now be invalid.

Making a gift of securities is one of the most cost-effective ways to make a gift to your community. It works at all levels of giving. Whether you give securities now, during your lifetime or in the future through your Will, the tax benefit is the same. Qualifying publicly listed securities include shares, bonds, warrants, options listed on a prescribed stock exchange, mutual fund shares/units and segregated fund units.

When publicly listed securities are donated to the Victoria Foundation, tax on the capital gain is eliminated. To take advantage of the tax savings benefit, the donor must transfer the securities “as is” through an electronic transfer from the donor’s brokerage account to the foundation’s brokerage account.

We will work with you and your advisors to ensure the transfer is smooth and your donation receipt is delivered to you. Simply complete the step-by-step instructions on our Donation Form for Gifts of Securities and send a copy to your broker and to the Victoria Foundation. We will look after the rest.

You will receive a donation receipt for the fair market value of the securities based on the closing price on the date the securities are received into the foundation’s account.

Donors can designate a specific gift or a portion of their estate to the Victoria Foundation. Doing so makes you eligible to join the Victoria Circle.

Where you wish to restrict your gift to a particular purpose, a clause in your Will should indicate that the gift is to be designated to your named fund at the Victoria Foundation or to any other specific organization, purpose, or area of interest. We will be pleased to work with you to create the fund that best meets your philanthropic intentions.

Charitable gifts in a Will result in a donation receipt which can be used to offset the taxes payable on up to 100% of the income in the year of the donor’s death, with any unused credits carried back one year, plus other taxation benefits to the estate. We recommend you seek planning advice from your professional advisors. Sample clauses for your Will are available for you to use in consultation with your advisors.

Life insurance allows donors to make extraordinary gifts at a manageable cost. You may choose the following options for making this type of gift:

1. The donor may purchase a new policy naming the Victoria Foundation as the owner and irrevocable beneficiary of the policy. The donor will receive a tax receipt for the annual premiums payable on behalf of the Victoria Foundation.
2. The donor may transfer an existing policy to the Victoria Foundation. The donor will receive a tax receipt for the fair market value and for any subsequent premiums paid by the donor after the transfer to the foundation.
3. The donor may name the Victoria Foundation as the beneficiary only of the policy. The policy proceeds are paid directly to the foundation at the end of the donor’s lifetime. The tax receipt may be used to offset taxes in the donor’s final tax return with a one-year carry-back for any unused credits or in the estate return as appropriate. This is often the chosen method to take advantage of this significant tax benefit.

You can designate the Victoria Foundation as a beneficiary of your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) or Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF). These assets are highly taxed after the latter of your or your spouse’s death. By donating a RRSP or RRIF, you will offset the tax that would otherwise be payable on these assets by your estate.

You can designate the Victoria Foundation as the beneficiary of your Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) after death. Since the income generated in the TFSA is tax-free when withdrawn, the tax credit offsets other taxes payable on death.

The Victoria Foundation welcomes gifts of property such as real estate, works of art and antiques within the parameters of its gift acceptance policy.

To qualify for a tax receipt, the transfer of property must be irrevocable, voluntary and without material benefit to the donor. The foundation may not accept gifts of property which result in ongoing obligations for the foundation or which are not readily convertible to cash. Making gifts of property other than cash may involve additional costs with respect to obtaining the necessary appraisals, tax and legal advice and other expenses related to the transfer. Donors are advised to discuss proposed gifts with their professional advisors and with Victoria Foundation staff before these costs are incurred.

A charitable remainder trust is a gift that allows the donor to give an asset during their lifetime (with immediate tax savings) and yet retain the right to the income from the asset for a certain number of years or until the end of their lifetime. The donor irrevocably sets aside a certain sum of money, and a trust agreement provides that the donor (or a nominee) will control the management of the fund as trustee and that the donor (or a nominee) will receive the income from the fund while they are alive.

Upon the donor’s death, the capital of the fund will be payable to the Victoria Foundation for the purposes of which the donor has requested. This may be to create a new fund in the donor’s name to benefit specific registered charities or to add to an existing fund, such as the Vital Victoria Fund. The donor will receive a tax receipt in the year of the gift based on the present value of the gift which is an actuarial calculation based on the age of the donor and life expectancy tables. The ultimate gift of the capital of the trust passes to the Victoria Foundation outside of the donor’s estate and is not subject to probate fees.

To send a wire transfer, please contact our expert staff at [email protected].