Our gift acceptance policy

The Canadian Women's Foundation is Canada's only national public foundation dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls. We raise money to research, fund and share the best approaches to ending violence against women, moving low-income women out of poverty and building strong, resilient girls. As such, we welcome the gifts of individuals, corporations, and foundations to help us achieve our mission.

Scope

This policy applies to donations received through all fundraising activities of the Foundation, including: general donation, annual giving, planned gifts, special fund raising initiatives and campaigns.

Gift Eligibility

The following gifts are deemed eligible for acceptance by the Canadian Women’s Foundation:

  • Cash
  • Will and bequest
  • Charitable gift annuities
  • Life insurance Policy
  • Retirement fund
  • Publicly traded securities
  • Charitable remainder trusts and residual interest gifts
  • Gifts of property

Cash

Canadian Women’s Foundation accepts cash, credit card payments, direct debit payments and cheques or money orders made payable to “Canadian Women’s Foundation”. Postdated cheques are accepted.

Will and Bequest

Bequests made to the Canadian Women’s Foundation may qualify as a charitable gift if the terms and conditions of the bequest are acceptable under the Canadian Women’s Foundation’s gift acceptance policies. Official receipts will be issued to the estate of the deceased.

The Canadian Women’s Foundation requires a copy of documents naming Canadian Women’s Foundation as a beneficiary for our files, prior to a tax receipt being issued.

Charitable Gift Annuities

The Canadian Women’s Foundation will consider charitable gift annuities on a case-by-case basis. The tax receiptable amount will be determined according to Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Guidelines.

Life Insurance Policy

The Canadian Women’s Foundation will accept a life insurance policy as a gift if it is named as beneficiary or is both the irrevocable owner and beneficiary. The tax receiptable amount will be determined according to CRA Guidelines.

Any premiums due are the responsibility of the donor. If the insurance policy lapses for non-payment prior to maturity because a donor fails to provide for premium payments, the Canadian Women’s Foundation may:

  • continue to pay the premiums,
  • convert the policy to paid up insurance, or
  • surrender the policy for its current cash value.

When a life insurance policy is absolutely assigned to the Canadian Women’s Foundation, any consent that is required by provincial regulations to change a beneficiary must be signed before the transfer represents a valid charitable donation.

Retirement Fund

The Canadian Women’s Foundation will accept the proceeds of a retirement fund as a gift if it is named as beneficiary. The tax receiptable amount will be determined according to CRA Guidelines

Publicly Traded Securities

As a general rule, the Canadian Women’s Foundation will only accept gifts of securities that are publicly traded stocks and bonds. The value and the tax receiptable amount of such a donation are determined by the value of trading on the date of receipt of donation.

The Canadian Women's Foundation Board decided and enforced the rule that all the stocks and securities CWF receives from the donors will be sold upon completion of the stock transfer without exception.

Charitable remainder trust and residual interest gifts

The Canadian Women’s Foundation will accept a charitable remainder trust as a gift if it is named as capital beneficiary. The tax receiptable amount will be determined according to CRA Guidelines.

Gifts of property

Generally, gifts of property are not encouraged. All proposals for gifts-in-kind to the Canadian Women’s Foundation shall be reviewed by the President and CEO in conjunction with the Director of Finance and Administration, and legal counsel as necessary. Gifts of property will be reviewed with special care to ensure that acceptance will not involve financial commitments in excess of budgeted items or other obligations disproportionate to the use of the gift.

Gifts of property valued at or over $1,000 given to the Canadian Women’s Foundation with the intent of the donor to receive a tax receipt, must receive an independent external appraisal.

Principle

As a matter of principle, we engage in the following practices:

  1. The Foundation will not accept gifts that are not recognized by CRA, or violate federal, provincial or municipal laws.
     
  2. The Foundation will not accept gifts, enter into partnerships, or accept support that will compromise its commitment to its mission and essential values as articulated in the Foundation’s guiding principles as attached.
     
  3. The Foundation values and will protect its integrity, autonomy and funding freedom, and does not accept gifts when a condition of such acceptance would compromise these fundamental principles.
     
  4. The Foundation reserves the right to accept or decline any gift. The final decision to decline a gift rests with the Board of Directors.
     
  5. Ownership of all gifts directed to the Canadian Women’s Foundation vests in the Foundation, whether said gifts are for the benefit of the Foundation generally or for some specific purpose in it

Procedures:

We are committed to the following procedures in accepting donations:

  1. Designated gifts will be used for the purposes for which they are provided.
     
  2. Undesignated gifts will be used for the most needed initiatives as determined by the President and CEO in conjunction with the Board of Directors.
     
  3. Accountability to donors must be of the highest calibre, through appropriate acknowledgment, and accurate and timely reporting by the relevant Canadian Women's Foundation staff. Where appropriate, gift agreements will be recorded between donors and the Foundation and these will be adhered to by the Foundation.
     
  4. All donations will be recorded and receipted in accordance with the rules and regulations set out by the CRA. The Canadian Women’s Foundation will issue an official receipt for donations of $10 or more that qualify as charitable gifts, in accordance with CRA guidelines. Receipts for donations of less than $10 will be issued only when requested by the donor.

    If, following internal consultations, uncertainty remains as to whether a donation qualifies as a charitable gift, a ruling may be sought from the Canadian Women’s Foundation’s legal counsel, auditor and/or the CRA.
     

  5. Anonymity will be granted to any donor who makes this request.

Values and Guiding Principles

We believe that Canada can only reach its true potential if our women and girls reach theirs. Achieving these goals comes when women have better access to economic opportunities and freedom from violence and when girls have chances to thrive. So we support organizations that are dedicated to these ends.

By giving the right amount of money to the right organizations we dismantle barriers and create opportunities so women and girls can reach their true potential.

A spirit of true partnership and collaboration among individuals, corporations and organizations drives our work, and we are committed to honesty, accessibility, accountability and respect. At the core of the Canadian Women’s Foundation is a spirit of diversity and inclusiveness.

This spirit drives us to be innovative and imaginative when seeking new ways to solve difficult problems, as well as engaging in rigorous evaluation of our actions and grants.