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Building your legacy

Leaving a gift to charity in your will is called a bequest. Establishing a bequest fund with Toronto Foundation gives you more flexibility to adapt your giving strategy over time. And it’s simpler than you think:

Set up your bequest fund in as little as one conversation with us from the comfort of your own home
Name multiple charities as beneficiaries through a central fund
Update your bequest as often as needed to evolve with your changing goals and wishes.

There’s never a perfect time to create or update a will. But tackling it sooner means you can better plan for the future you want to shape—one that reflects your values.

If you don’t yet have a will and would like to create one online, visit Epilogue and receive 20% off your online will.

Ways to Contribute

There are a variety of ways you can contribute to your bequest fund.

A bequest in your will: The simplest way to leave an estate gift is to make a bequest including specific language in your will or living trust naming Toronto Foundation as the recipient of a testamentary gift. Gifts can be cash, securities or personal property. You may contribute a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate or the residual of your estate that remains after your loved ones are taken care of. Your estate will receive a charitable deduction for the full donation. NEW: If you don’t yet have a will and would like to create one online, visit Epilogue and receive 20% off your online will.

Life insurance policies: A gift of life insurance can be a significant future gift at a very affordable present cost. If your goal is to make a significant charitable contribution greater than what is possible right now, consider a gift of life insurance. A few different situations are typical for donating life insurance:

If you have an existing policy that you no longer need, consider making Toronto Foundation the beneficiary of the policy for tax savings in your estate. You could also transfer the ownership to Toronto Foundation from which you’ll get income tax receipts for the remaining premium payments.
You can also donate a paid-up policy, and possibly get a larger income tax receipt to use right now.
You could purchase a new policy and make Toronto Foundation the owner and beneficiary and receive a tax receipt for your premium payments going forward. The income tax refund you get will make the premiums cost much less!

Registered funds: One benefit of an RRSP is that you can name beneficiaries to receive unused funds when you pass. Plus, you can add or change a beneficiary any time without legal fees. Naming Toronto Foundation as the sole or partial beneficiary of your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) or Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) is a simple, effective way to support the community and your estate benefits from the tax credit. You can download the RRSP beneficiary form for your financial institution on the Will Power website.

When should I establish a bequest fund?

Establishing a bequest fund makes sense at any stage of your life. Some people have a specific timeframe in mind, while others are guided by life events. It can take as little as one conversation for us to set up your bequest agreement.

While a will is a relatively static document, a bequest agreement with us can be fluid. Once you name Toronto Foundation as a beneficiary of your estate via any legal will, you can update your bequest agreement as often as you wish, without the hassle of modifying your will.

Realized Bequests at Toronto Foundation

Al G. Brown
Alastair William Gillespie
Alfreda Parlee
Alison Gordon
Anne Rahamut
Anonymous (2)
Barbara Tolson
Beverley Lynn Jahnke
Bhartiben Patel
Bonnie Cox
Cecil Hoffman
Charles Roy
Charles Taylor Witherell
Clayton Gyotoku
David Payne
Dawn Lynn Mitcham
Diana Gillespie
Dorothy Bullen
Eleanor Mary McDougall
Eleanor Rooks
Elizabeth Hamilton
Elsa Maire Karha
Evelyn Mary Davis
Flora Morrison
Florence E. McEachren
Franc Joubin
Frances Anne MacDonald
Frances Deacon
Frances L. Lindenfield
Frank Corless
Frederick John Bradley
Frederick W. Dunn
Gertrude M. Thomas
Gordon Cheesbrough
Grant Parent
Gregory Deacon
Helen Audrey Chandler
Helen Doris Gardiner Phelan
Herbert George Binet
Isobel Jaffrey
J. Douglas Crashley
James Deacon
James R. Grand
Jean & William Stager
Jean Tompkins
Jeffrey Dawson
Joanne Waddington
Joel Aldred
John & Peggy Withrow
John Carey
John Currie
John Donald Moynagh
John Eston Crosby
John Wood
Kenneth Watts
Lillian Evelyn Bloom
Lucile Pratt
Margaret Eleanor Riches Hall
Marilyn Eunice Colhoun
Mary Jackman
Max Tanenbaum
Michael La Patriello
Michael Pearl
Norman Allan Middleton
Oscar Rogers
Patricia Dunham
Paul F. Hughes
Peter Dawson
Peter Milligan
Roy Frankel
Ruth Elinor Beauchamp
Silveria Ladek
Steven Williams
Sue Corlett
Thelma Briggs
Timothy Unwin
Una Coghlan
Walter Newton & Elinor Beauchamp
William M. Vaisey
Winnifred Bruton

Bequest Fund Options

The chart below summarizes our different legacy fund options.

	Permanent Endowment	Invested Flowthrough	Vital Toronto	Social Impact
Philanthropic goal	Set up your charitable legacy to last your lifetime and beyond.	Invest with a medium to long-term view, but with the option to disburse more funds.	Contribute to collective city-building with Toronto Foundation.	Invest 100% of your donations in social purpose investments.
Minimum fund balance	$10,000	$25,000	$10,000	$10,000
Granting	Grant 4%* of the fund balance per year	Can be spent down over 5, 10 or 25 years	Grant 4%* of the fund balance per year	Social impact investments are made annually
Fund subtypes			None	None

*Granting rate is determined by the Board of Directors annually

Donor advised field of interest

Cause focused, but flexible. Specify your areas of interest and name a successor to grant to the charities of your choice working in this field.

Field of interest

Set by you, optimized by us. Identify the causes you care about and we choose where to direct your grants based on the greatest needs at that time.

Designated

Consistent and automated. Select your charities upfront and we administer your grants to them every year.

Investing wisely

We work with top-notch investment experts to help your fund grow, so that the reach of your legacy will expand over time. RockCreek Canada is Toronto Foundation’s Outsourced Chief Investment Officer. Responsible for the Foundation’s main pool investments, RockCreek brings a wealth of experience as a leading global investment management firm with a solid track record in responsible and sustainable investing.

Learn more about our investing approach

Benefits of working with us

Easy to set up

There's no need to have all the answers before you begin. Let us guide you through the steps and help you reflect on what's most important to you. We can help you distill your values and goals, and set up your bequest fund in as little as one phone or email conversation—all from the comfort of your home.

Centralize your giving

Communities foundations offer a great solution to those who want to name multiple charities in their will. We can help you streamline your giving to all the organizations and causes you care about in one bequest.

Flexibility

You can shape your future gift over time. As your philanthropic interests or ambitions evolve, you can easily update your wishes with Toronto Foundation as often as you want, without the effort and expense of revising your will.

Personalized service

We have the insights, community connections and knowledge of charities to help you make decisions that further your goals. You will also gain access to our annual calendar of learning events to inform and inspire your philanthropy. We’re happy to talk about what will work for you now and in the future.

Ease for your executor

With your bequest fund already set up, you and your executor can take comfort in knowing that it is a simple transfer of your gift to Toronto Foundation.

Honouring your wishes

If you have yet to name a successor for your fund, Toronto Foundation can fill that role. Whether you have named specific charities, created guidelines for us to follow, or left the decision to our team of experts, you can be assured that your legacy will be directed to impactful community projects and charities that align with your philanthropic goals.

When collective giving goes up

We’re excited to be part of the national Will Power movement to show the power we all have to create positive change through a charitable gift in our wills. Spearheaded by the CAGP Foundation and the Canadian Association of Gift Planners, and in collaboration with many of Canada’s leading charities and advisors, the goal is to raise the level of charitable giving through wills to 8.5% of all Canadians by 2030. That number is only 5% right now. A 3% increase would translate to $40B dollars going to causes Canadians care about.

LEARN MORE

Deacon Legacy Society

When you include Toronto Foundation as part of your estate plans you join the Fraser and Frances Deacon Legacy Society, a group of forward thinking philanthropists who, like you, have a vision for the future. The Society is named after two of our founders who were committed to catalyzing lasting change for generations in the city that had given them so much. Members are invited to our calendar of fundholder events and receive regular updates.