Frequently Asked Questions Why should I consider funding my donation to ACWS through a Gift of Securities? Canadian Tax Law makes it possible for individuals to claim an exemption from Capital Gains Tax if they donate in-kind securities to a registered charity. What types of securities will ACWS accept so that I may qualify for exemption from Capital Gains Tax? ACWS will accept most securities that are publicly traded on any Canadian or American exchange. This includes such items as: stocks, debt instruments such as bonds, GICs, RRSPs and RIFs, shares in mutual funds and stock options. Why can’t I just sell my shares and donate the cash proceeds to ACWS? You can do that and you will still receive a charitable tax receipt for the amount of the cash donated. However you would forfeit any Capital Gains tax savings. How long does it take for my securities to reach the ACWS account? Most transfers are finalized anywhere from one week to one month. However, in some instances where complex securities are involved, it can take up to 90 days. Late in the year is when I consider these types of gifts. How can I ensure that my tax receipt will be dated in that calendar year? As there are many factors that affect the time it takes to transfer the securities to our account, we cannot guarantee the receipt date for any transfers initiated after 1 December in any given year. I noticed on the Transfer Form a disclaimer that indicates that ACWS reserves the right to decline any Gift of Securities. Why is this necessary? We at ACWS appreciate the generosity of our donors and it is with great reluctance and respect that we would ever decline a gift. However, we are in the business of raising funds for our activities and not in the business of securities trading. If a donated security cannot reasonably be sold within a very short period of time, we simply cannot accept that gift. What is meant by Full Redemption and Partial Redemption? Suppose you own 100 shares of stock and you wish to gift all 100 to ACWS. That would be an example of full redemption. This is the case for the great majority of such gifts. When completing the Transfer Form, you would simply check the Full Redemption box. Now suppose you have the same 100 shares but you only want to gift 75 shares. This is an example of a partial redemption. In this case you would write 75 in the “in kind” box and 25 in the “cash” box. Remember in this case you only get tax relief on the 75 “in kind” shares. When transferring ownership of a securities certificate, why do I need to complete a Power of Attorney form? Could I not simply endorse the back of the certificate? Yes, you could use the endorsement method. However we do not recommend it. Once you sign the back of your certificate, it becomes redeemable by whoever has possession of the certificate. Thus if it is stolen or lost before it gets into the ACWS account, everything is lost. With the Power of Attorney, the lost or stolen certificate cannot be redeemed except by the rightful owner(s). For more information contact our representative broker Edward May of MD Management at 780-436-1333 or Edward.May@md.ca
