November 26, 2020
Start soon to ensure your tax benefits
2021 has provided more than enough hurdles, which is why we want to provide you an end-of- the-year alert to ensure you receive your 2021 charitable tax receipt without any issues.
December 31 is the final day you can make a charitable gift to claim on your 2021 personal tax return. Many charities will see an increase in contributions and support as the giving season ramps up. If you are considering contributing to your favourite cause(s), making the gift sooner than later, might be beneficial, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic has organizations limiting office hours and employees working remotely.
Online gifts or gifts mailed with a Canada Post date stamp of 2021 on the envelope can ensure you receive a 2021 donation receipt. If you are mailing, it is worth the time to go into a postal outlet and have them manually hand stamp the envelope.
You may also wish to begin the conversation with your favourite organizations or cause about your donation intentions. Even straightforward gifts of cash have the potential to create issues as some organizations close for the holiday season.
Gifts to your Fund
If you are considering making a gift-in-kind, like publicly traded securities (shares or mutual funds) to your fund at ECF, we ask that you contact us as soon as possible. We will provide you with the most up-to-date transfer forms, along with the information you and your advisor will need to ensure the transfer is done smoothly.
Gifts of securities will take at least a few days to complete and unforeseen delays, though not common, could make your transfer stretch even longer than anticipated. Gifts of mutual funds generally take longer than gifts of shares.
ECF’s suggested deadlines to ensure these types of gifts will be processed are as follows: For an in-kind gift of securities, please start this process no later than December 15th. As the process for an in-kind gift of mutual funds, the suggested deadline to submit this request has passed and we would caution that it may be too late to ensure this transfer is completed before December 31st. In all cases, we cannot guarantee that transfers initiated beyond these dates will be completed before the end of the year. If you are considering a gift of publicly traded securities, contact us immediately to discuss your options.
ECF cannot guarantee that transfers initiated beyond these dates will be completed before the end of the year. Contact us immediately to discuss your options.
The ECF office is not operating at full capacity, as many employees are working remotely. Our employees are accessible, however, so if we can be of any assistance or if you would like to discuss a potential gift before the end of the year, please contact donorservices@ecfoundation.org.