If giving to an existing fund isn’t for you, we can start a new one that suits your specific needs. You can establish a fund in your name, anonymously or in the name of someone you’d like to memorialize. Support specific charities, causes or scholarships. It’s all about making the most of your wishes while making our community a better place.
Our most popular type of fund. A minimum donation of $10,000 is required to create this type of fund. Your donations are permanently invested, with a portion of the returns made available for granting to the Canadian charities of your choice each year. You also have options available to manage your fund after your passing, such as designating a successor fund advisor, or converting your fund into a Designated Fund. A donor advised fund is considered the most effective alternative to the creation of a private foundation.
Donors wishing to support specific charitable organizations in perpetuity will choose to create this type of fund. A minimum donation of $10,000 is required to create this type of fund. Your donations are permanently invested, with a portion of the returns granted to the Canadian charities of your choice. Unlike a Donor Advised Fund, your choice of which charities to support does not change from year to year. You can take comfort in the knowledge that, even after your passing, your support of specific charities will continue indefinitely.
This type of fund allows you to support an area of interest to you (e.g. youth) without having to designate a specific charity (e.g. Big Brothers/Big Sisters). A minimum donation of $10,000 is required to create this type of fund. Your donations are permanently invested, with a portion of the returns granted as part of our Community Granting program each year to local charities working in the field of your choice, such as the arts, education, health, community service or the environment.
Unlike our other funds which permanently invest your donation and only distribute a percentage of the returns as grants to charities, this fund will also utilize a portion of the capital on an annual basis for granting purposes. The amount of capital distributed each year will be determined according to a formula established when the fund is created. A minimum donation of $100,000 is required to create this type of fund, and grants from capital are made for at least a 10-year term. A Long-term Fund may be set up as a Donor Advised, Donor Designated, or Field of Interest fund.
Unlike our other funds which require a minimum donation to start, this type of fund allows a donor to make contributions over a period of time until the minimum amount of $10,000 required to start a permanent fund is reached. After that time, it can be set up as a Donor Advised, Donor Designated, or Field of Interest fund, and the fund can begin to make grants to Canadian charities.
This type of fund enables a donor to make a contribution and provide advice on the subsequent disbursement to charitable organizations within the following 12-month period.
Socially responsible businesses will set up this type of fund to send a message to the community about their support and encourage philanthropy among their employees. See our section on giving for businesses for more information.
These types of funds are managed by the Victoria Foundation on behalf of charities that are seeking to create a stable source of permanent income. The foundation accepts donations on behalf of these organizations. See our section on giving for charitable organizations for more information.
The Victoria Foundation typically does not charge for fund-related services, other than administrative and management fees on funds. We charge a minimal 1.0 per cent annual administration fee for permanent, long-term, medium-term and emerging funds where the fund is donor advised or donor designated. Where the fund is discretionary (that is, fund distributions are managed by the Victoria Foundation), the current fee is 1.5 per cent. Where the fund is a hosted organization fund, the fee is 0.75 per cent. For pass-through gifts, a fee of 1.0 per cent on the value of the gift will be assessed, although this fee may be waived where the donor or the grantee organization has established a permanent fund with the foundation.
These fees allow us to care for your fund and help cover the costs of our operations. It is the goal of our Board of Directors to keep these fees as low as possible while providing the best philanthropic services to our fund holders. Fees are set by the Board of Directors and are subject to change from time to time.
Investment management fees are also paid to the managers of our Common Trust Fund (the entire endowment managed by the foundation). Due to the size of our fund holdings, these fees are significantly lower than what an individual or organization would typically pay for these types of services. We are currently paying 0.50 per cent for investment management fees.
Please see our Administrative Fee Policy for complete details.
The simplest way to make a gift to the Victoria Foundation is by cheque or credit card. Donors are provided with an official income tax receipt and the foundation will allocate the gift to a fund or organization as requested by the donor.
Gifts of any size are welcome and donations of $10 or more will receive a tax credit for individual donors, or in the case of a corporation, a tax deduction. We are happy to talk to you about the tax benefits of your gift.
We can be reached at #200 – 703 Broughton Street, Victoria, BC, V8W 1E2. If you’d like to donate by credit card, you may either call us at 250-381-5532 with your credit card information or donate online through our portal at CanadaHelps.
Using our CanadaHelps* portal, you may designate your gift to any of our funds, including our leadership funds, by selecting from the pull-down menu. All donations over $3 will immediately receive a tax receipt.
CanadaHelps assesses a 4 per cent transaction fee on one-time donations. This amount is deducted before the donation is sent to the Victoria Foundation. This 4 per cent fee covers all credit card merchant fees, transaction fees, banking costs, receipting, reconciliation and disbursement. For more information on their fee structure, please see 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 choose to include your name and address in the information that is sent to the Victoria Foundation, we will be pleased to let your chosen organization know that a contribution has been made to support their vital work.
Please note: Our Donation Form for Gifts of Securities has new contact information and is updated as of January 9, 2025. 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 and 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, the tax on the capital gain is eliminated. To take advantage of the tax savings benefit, the donor must transfer the securities “as is” – either through an electronic transfer from the donor’s brokerage account to the foundation’s brokerage account, or in the form of a share certificate in the donor’s name delivered to the foundation.
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.
If you have share certificates, please call us to arrange for delivery of the certificates. Since a signed certificate is negotiable, please wait to sign it until you have met with us and are ready to transfer your shares to the foundation. We will arrange for your signature to be guaranteed and for the receipt to be issued to you.
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. For deaths after January 1, 2016, there are new rules for Graduated Rate Estates which offer additional 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.
The Victoria Foundation welcomes gifts of real 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 the staff of the Victoria Foundation before these costs are incurred.
A charitable remainder trust is a gift that allows the donor to give an asset during his or her 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 his or her 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 he or she is alive.
Upon the donor’s death, the capital of the fund will be payable to the Victoria Foundation for the purposes 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.
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.
Life insurance allows donors to make extraordinary gifts at a manageable cost. There are several options. 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. Or, 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.
Another option is to 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.
