Silent Voice Canada Inc. (hereafter known as Organization) solicits and accepts gifts for purposes that will help the organization further and fulfill its mission. Gifts to the Organization may be in the form of outright gifts, pledges, or deferred commitments. While the Organization’s gift acceptance policy is intended to provide guidance to donors regarding acceptance of prospective gifts, donors are ultimately responsible for ensuring that the proposed gift furthers their charitable, financial, and estate planning goals. The Organization does not provide legal, accounting, tax, or other advice to prospective donors. Therefore, each prospective donor is urged to seek the advice of independent legal and tax counsel in the gift planning process.
It is an important obligation of the Organization to record, acknowledge all gifts received, and issue official charitable receipts in compliance with the requirements of the Canada Income Tax Act, and in accordance with procedures established by the Organization.
The Organization is extremely grateful for the private support they receive and are committed to the following procedures in accepting donations:
- Designated gifts will be used for the purposes for which they are provided and in support of the Organization’s mission, programs and services.Undesignated gifts will be used to support the programs and services, in ways that the Organization decides will best serve its mission and priorities.
- Accountability to donors will be of the highest calibre, through appropriate acknowledgment, accurate and timely reporting, and excellent stewardship by the Development unit of the Organization. Where appropriate, gift agreements will be recorded between donors and the Organization and these will be adhered to by the Organization and its Board.
- All donations will be recorded and receipted in accordance with the rules and regulations set out by the Canada Revenue Agency.
- Recognition of donors will be determined in accordance with the Organization’s recognition levels and policy. Anonymity will be granted to any donor who makes this request.
Silent Voice Canada will not accept gifts that:
(a) would result in the Organization violating its corporate charter
(b) would result in the Organization losing its status as a Not-for-Profit organization
(c) are too difficult or too expensive to administer in relation to their value
(d) would result in any unacceptable consequences for the Organization
(e) are for purposes outside of the Organization’s mission
(f) would limit programming freedom or create potential conflicts of interest
(g) require the Organization to act in any fiduciary capacity with regard to the gift
(h) are designated and fulfilling the donor’s expectations would require other resources that are unavailable or inadequate
(i) are intended to support programs/ activities peripheral to the mission of the Organization
(j) could injure the reputation of the Organization or would generate such controversy as to defeat the purpose or the clientele to be served.
Decisions on the restrictive nature of a gift, and its acceptance or refusal, will be made by the Executive Director in consultation with the Director of Development and Board of Directors
(a) Cash – Cash gifts are acceptable in any form, including by check, money order, credit card, or on-line.
(b) Marketable Securities – Marketable securities may be transferred electronically to an account maintained at one or more brokerage firms or delivered physically with the transferor’s endorsement or signed stock power attached. All marketable securities will be sold promptly upon receipt unless otherwise directed by the Organization’s Finance Committee of the Board. In some cases marketable securities may be restricted, for example, by applicable securities laws or the terms of the proposed gift; in such instances, the decision whether to accept the restricted securities will be made by the Executive Director in consultation with the Board of Directors.
(c) Bequests and Beneficiary Designations under Revocable Trusts, Life Insurance Policies, Commercial Annuities and Retirement Plans – Donors are encouraged to make bequests to the Organization under their wills, and to name Silent Voice Canada Inc. as the beneficiary under trusts, life insurance policies, commercial annuities and retirement plans.
(d) Charitable Remainder Trusts – The Organization will accept designation as a remainder beneficiary of charitable remainder trusts.
(e) Charitable Lead Trusts – The Organization will accept designation as an income beneficiary of charitable lead trusts.
Certain forms of gifts or donated properties may be subject to review prior to acceptance. Examples of gifts subject to prior review include, but are not limited to:
(a) Tangible Personal Property – The Board of Directors will review and determine whether to accept any gifts of tangible personal property in light of its marketability, restrictions, carrying costs, and clarity of title/provenance.
(b) Life Insurance – The Organization will accept gifts of life insurance where Silent Voice Canada Inc. is named as both beneficiary and irrevocable owner of the insurance policy. The donor must agree to pay, before due, any future premium payments owing on the policy.
(c) Real Estate – All gifts of real estate are subject to review by the Board of Directors. Prior to acceptance of any gift of real estate other than a personal residence, the Organization will require an initial environmental review and /or audit by a qualified environmental firm. Criteria for acceptance of gifts of real estate include its usefulness, marketability, limitations (e.g. covenants, conditions, restrictions, reservations, easements, encumbrances), carrying costs (e.g. insurance, property taxes, mortgages, notes, maintenance expenses), and the result of the environmental review or audit.
As a matter of principle, the Organization will not engage in any of the following practices:
- Accepting gifts that violate federal, provincial or municipal laws.
- Accepting gifts that require the Organization to deviate from its normal hiring and promotion and contracting procedures.
- Accepting gifts that violate the Ontario Human Rights Code, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, or the Organization’s Equity and Human Rights Policies.
