Thank you for your interest in supporting the Great Divide Trail Association and the work we do to maintain the Great Divide Trail. One easy way to make your giving go a little further is by donating stocks or other publicly traded investments directly to our charity.
In Canada, when you donate eligible investments “in kind” (for example, publicly listed shares, mutual funds, or ETFs) to a registered charity, you do not pay tax on the capital gains. At the same time, you receive a charitable tax receipt for the full market value of the investment on the day it is transferred.
In practical terms, that can mean:
- You can often give more to charity than if you sold the investment and donated the cash.
- You may be able to clear out some built‑up gains in your non‑registered account without triggering tax.
- Your tax credits help reduce what you owe at tax time while supporting a cause you care about.
The process is straightforward:
- You decide which investments you would like to donate.
- Your advisor or investment firm completes the Great Divide Trail Association Donation of Shares and Securities Form to move the investments “in kind” from your account to the GDTA’s account. Your advisor or investment firm will be able to facilitate the transfer on your behalf.
- Once the transfer is finished, we send you a tax receipt for the fair market value, and we sell the investments to fund our programs.
Everyone’s tax situation is a bit different, so it is always a good idea to run this past your own tax or financial advisor. If you would like to explore this, I am happy to connect with you (and your advisor, if helpful) and provide our charity details and transfer instructions.
Thanks again for considering this kind of support for the GDTA. It really does make a difference.