Heritage Toronto's - Legacy Stories is a way to support the work of Heritage Toronto and at the same time, ensure that your investments are working in way that matters to you. You can easily match your donation to one of Heritage Toronto's programs or advocacy initiatives, or allow us the flexibility to place your gift in our general Programs and Education Fund.

Support History in the Making...

Whether you are passionate about Toronto's built heritage, or the city's unique natural heritage, or you would like to support one of Heritage Toronto's innovative initiatives, making a planned gift has a lasting impact. Your gift will ensure that important stories of the people, the places, and the significant events in Toronto are honoured and made known. While at the same time, you will be helping Heritage Toronto increase its capacity in order to effectively respond to the diverse needs of the community.

By including Heritage Toronto in your estate or trust planning, or by making a gift of insurance or securities, you will make a direct impact on protecting Toronto's unique heritage. You will be ensuring that Toronto's stories are told to future generations. You will be helping to tell the stories about what has made Toronto what it is today, and who has helped shape our present, and our future.

How can I include Heritage Toronto in my Gift Planning?

By making a planned gift to Heritage Toronto, you make a significant impact on the protection and promotion of Toronto's heritage while at the same time receive tax benefits that in some cases, reduce the out-of-pocket cost of each gift significantly. By working with your financial advisor, planned gifts can be customized to your personal and financial circumstances. You may contact Kim Adlard, Fund Development Manager at 416.338.0682 or kadlard@toronto.ca for information about Heritage Toronto's giving options.

These can include gifts of:

Publicly-listed Securities

Donating appreciated securities to Heritage Toronto allows you to eliminate capital gains tax and receive an immediate tax receipt for the market value of the securities. To donate securities, you may consult with your financial advisor or call us directly at 416.338.0682.

It is Heritage Toronto's policy that we sell donated stocks and securities immediately and we issue the tax receipt for the full market value according to the date the gift was made.

Charitable Will Bequests

Will bequests can be made in the form of a specific amount or a remainder of an estate. Gifts of a specific cash amount or asset or a percentage of the remaining estate are popular bequest choices. Your estate receives a donation receipt for the value of your gift, providing a tax credit to reduce tax otherwise payable on your final tax return. To include Heritage Toronto in your will, please speak to your estate planning lawyer or your financial advisor, or you may contact Heritage Toronto.

RRSP/RRIF Beneficiary

You can name Heritage Toronto as the beneficiary of your RRSP or RRIF at no cost to you
during your lifetime. Upon death, the final market value of your RRSP or RRIF flows directly to Heritage Toronto and your estate receives a tax credit equal to your account's full value. Alternatively, your RRSP or RRIF is collapsed and your estate pays full tax on the proceeds.

Charitable Remainder Trusts

A charitable remainder trust can provide immediate tax benefits and a lifetime income for the donor, and a beneficiary if desired. There are two different types of charitable remainder trusts.

• A charitable remainder unitrust is a popular way to achieve tax benefits as well as a fixed annual percentage on the value of the assets in the trust. The assets are valued annually and, if the trust value increases, the payment to the beneficiary(ies) increases.
• A charitable remainder annuity trust is set up to pay a fixed rate of return based on the initial valuation at the time the property is placed in the trust. The trust assets are never revalued.

Charitable Gift Annuities

Charitable Gift Annuity - A charitable gift annuity is a way for you to receive a guaranteed income for your lifetime and also make a gift to Heritage Toronto. A simple gift annuity works by purchasing a life annuity from an insurance company while a residual amount is donated to Heritage Toronto. Please speak with your financial advisor to discover if a gift annuity is right for you.

Gifts of life Insurance Policies

Life insurance is a way to guarantee a significant future gift to Heritage Toronto at an affordable current cost without reducing the value of your estate available to family and friends.

Naming Heritage Toronto the owner and beneficiary of an existing or new policy entitles you to a current donation receipt on the cash surrender value (if any), and further receipts on payment of subsequent premiums.

Why Engage in Planned Giving

Because you want to:

• Create a personal legacy that acts as a catalyst for change
• Begin, or honour, a strong family tradition of charitable giving
• Provide ongoing, stable support for the charities that have made a difference in your life
• Maintain control of your assets until your death to ensure you have the flexibility in coming years to cover unexpected medical or other costs
• Retain the ability to change the beneficiaries of your gift if interests or needs change over time
• Significantly reduce the taxes owed by your estate upon your death

Making a charitable bequest signals an unfaltering commitment to your values, and to the kind of world you want future generations to inherit. (Tides Canada)

Your Story, Your Legacy

Heritage Toronto is fortunate to have dedicated support from individuals and caring organizations. One such supporter stands out because of her ongoing commitment to heritage principles and values. We are lucky to have Madeleine McDowell, who is a long-time heritage advocate, as a dedicated supporter of our Planned Giving program.

To read a profile of Madeleine's work, please click here. 

Madeleine's Story:

"My parents named me after a seventeenth century Canadian Heroine. Our heritage is a part of my very breath and gives me a life long passion for promoting awareness and understanding of its depth.

On August 22nd, 1680 La Salle passed by my door, as he began one of the most important voyages of exploration in North American history - to the Mississippi. In 1793 our Legislature abolished the Slave Trade and passed an Act recognizing Conscientious Objection. These are not mere historical facts. To me they are a dynamic force!

Heritage Toronto, as one of the most respected heritage organizations in the country, promotes the knowledge and understanding of the natural, cultural and built heritage, in which we all share.

I want to make the hair stand up on the backs of people's necks when they think about where we are, our past, the sheer beauty of Toronto's setting and its future, demanding that its many layers be preserved. This passion for protecting our essence is accompanied by the knowledge that it will only be defended if the People know about it in all its richness and treasure it.

I trust Heritage Toronto's commitment to do this. For this reason I am making a Planned Gift to Heritage Toronto to support the vitality of educational programs which includes the Plaques and Markers program, the Walking Tours program, and Heritage Toronto's Online Outreach program."

"To see the future, we must understand the past. I am contributing to Heritage Toronto's Planned Giving program so that Toronto's heritage enjoys a future vision. Please join me in making a planned gift in support of Heritage Toronto". - Madeleine McDowell, a Heritage Toronto founding board member and current HT member.

Next Steps...

If you are interested in learning more about how to include Heritage Toronto in your gift planning we are happy to provide access to information in order to assist our valued supporters manage their gift plans. Alternatively you can contact your own personal financial manager for more information on estate planning.

Please call Kim Adlard, Fund Development Manager, at 416.338.0682 or contact by email at kadlard@toronto.ca to talk about including Heritage Toronto in your gift planning.

Thank you for your interest and support of our work.

Recognition of your Gift

Heritage Toronto will be launching our new online planned giving recognition program. This will include a special section allocated to supporter recognition and donor profiles.

Recognition layout and placement will depend on the level of gift. For more information please contact us at 416.338.0682.