Legacy Giving

To make a lasting and meaningful gift, you need only to name Covenant House Toronto as a beneficiary in your will. Here is our legal name, charitable number and mailing address:

Covenant House Toronto
20 Gerrard St. East
Toronto, ON M5B 2P3

Charitable Registration No. 10699 0195 RR0001

You can leave a percentage of your estate, the residue or a specific cash donation, a paid-up life insurance policy, securities or property. Your lawyer can contact us for any legal information that is required.

A bequest offers flexibility. You retain complete control during your lifetime and it provides your heirs with tax relief.

There are three ways you can use life insurance to donate to our cause. There can also be tax saving benefits:

• Name Covenant House as the beneficiary on your policy. We would receive the insurance proceeds like a regular beneficiary would. The payments to Covenant House would be considered a donation in the year of death. The receipt issued would qualify for a tax credit that could offset the income tax liability on your estate.
• Donate an existing or new life insurance policy directly to Covenant House. You would receive an official tax receipt for any cash value present at the time the donation is made on a paid-up policy. This provides an immediate tax benefit while you are living.
• Donate certain assets to Covenant House and use a life insurance policy to replace the value of the donated assets. You would receive a charitable tax receipt for the amount you donate, or the fair market value, if you donate other assets, such as securities or property. With the tax savings from the charitable gift, you could purchase a life insurance policy for the value of assets donated, naming your heirs as beneficiaries. This is called “wealth replacement.”

Your gift can be in the form of shares, bonds or mutual funds.

If you make a gift of appreciated stock, you will receive the benefit of a tax receipt for the fair market value of the stock and not be subject to paying the capital gains tax.

For example, if you were to donate stock that was originally purchased for $500 and now has a fair market value of $1,000, you will receive a tax receipt from Covenant House for $1,000, and you will not have to pay any tax on the gain.

However, if you were to sell the stock and then donate the money later, you would be required to pay tax on the capital gains at 50 per cent.

A charitable gift annuity combines a charitable gift with an insurance contract that provides regular payments to the donor in exchange for a lump sum payment. This blend produces tax savings, a dependable payment stream and a gift for Covenant House.

The insurance contract provides the purchaser with guaranteed payments in exchange for a one-time initial payment. Annuities are widely available as an insurance product in Canada.