What’s important to you and your family? If education, community and charity come to mind, then strategic planning for your philanthropy can make a difference. It makes good sense to give wisely and to maximize your tax benefits. Canada has some very generous rules and tax laws when it comes to charitable giving both during life and through your estate, but they can be complicated.

If you are considering a gift from your life savings and investments, we want you to have the peace of mind that your decisions are well informed. When you give to SFU, we want you to know that you have made a difference and that we are accountable to you.

SFU offers a series of up-to-date, easy-to-read brochures to help you plan effective and tax efficient charitable giving. Some are available on line as pdf documents, and others can be request by phone, mail or e-mail. There is no cost or obligation for this service.

Here are the titles we have available:

Donating securities
When you donate publicly traded securities, capital gain on those investments are eliminated for tax purposes, thanks to the May 2006 budget. This means that the tax receipt can be used to offset income from other sources.

Gifts for Endowment
A gift for the endowment fund is like having a personal foundation at SFU managed by professionals with a guaranteed payout for a purpose that you decide. If that sounds good to you then download  our brochure on how to establish your own endowment or add to one of the many funds that support almost every aspect of a great university.

Wills and Bequests
Please consider a bequest to SFU in your will. Legacy gifts are vitally important to SFU’s evolution as one of Canada’s top universities. Strategically planned charitable gifts can reduce or even eliminate final taxes otherwise payable from your estate. You can take care of family, support SFU and disinherit the taxman, all at the same time.

Gifts of Life Insurance
Gifts of life insurance can allow you to donate a much larger gift than any other strategy. While new policies are best suited for people under age 60, older donors may donate a paid up policy that is no longer needed for its original purpose. Insurance is a versatile financial vehicle that is useful in estate and philanthropic planning.

Gifts of Real Property
There are significant tax advantages for real estate gifts. You can convert land and other real property into an income stream rather than having it drain your resources. Outright gifts, mortgaged property, residual interest and partial interest gifts can all be considered.

Donating RRSP's and RRIF's 
RRSP's and RRIF's are the best assets to use to fund charitable bequests. Upon death, the funds may pass only to spouses, dependent children and to charity without incurring taxation at the highest rate. The most effective way to make a charitable gift of a registered asset is by direct beneficiary designation.

Lifetime “Peace of Mind” Gift Annuities
A lifetime gift annuity is a gift of capital to SFU in return for income as long as you live. In almost all cases after tax income is significantly higher through a gift annuity especially when compared to dividends, bonds, GICs, investment properties and commercial annuities. View a sample rate chart. 

Term Certain “Peace of Mind” Gift Annuities
A term certain gift annuity is a gift of capital to SFU, in return for tax favourable income at a high rate for a fixed term of years. Term certain gift annuities are not age dependent, are designed for individual need for cash flow and value of the donation receipt. They can be funded with a variety of properties. Rates depend on length of term but usually are higher than life annuities.

Charitable Remainder Trusts
A charitable remainder trust can be created during life or by a person’s will. It can be a very effective way to make a significant donation, provide a guaranteed income stream and have the security of professional trust management.

Gifts of Shares from Private Companies
Today, many people hold much of their wealth in shares of private companies. If you are in such a position and want to make a significant donation to SFU, it could be more advantageous to donate shares or property through your company.

Gifts of Personal/Tangible Property (Gifts-in-Kind )
Many of the University’s collections of books, archives, research papers and especially works of art have been donated as gifts of property. Careful planning is important whether the gift is made during life or in your will. If you have been thinking about donating a collection or other property, please talk to us first.