Frequently Asked Questions

Based on our 2021-22 audited financial statements, 77 cents from every dollar raised is invested in community programs and supports. The remaining 23 cents is allocated to operations, making sure our impact, local expertise, donor experience, and financial management continue at a high rate of excellence.

This meets the Canadian Revenue Agency’s standard and reflects a level of effectiveness and excellence that our donors have come to trust and expect.

As a registered Canadian charity, United Way Halifax files a T3010 report with CRA annually; the latest CRA T3010 data, detailing all of United Way’s costs, can be found here. 

We do not currently disclose the salaries for any positions at United Way Halifax, however, all salary ranges, including senior management, are benchmarked against other Canadian non-profit organizations of similar size and scope. United Way Halifax complies with the required T3010 regulatory reporting to CRA for its executive compensation, which can be viewed here. 

Last year, we invested $3.9 million to respond to growing needs in community and 13,979 individuals benefitted from the programs we fund. Everyone on our staff team played a vital role in making that impact happen. From fundraising and data security, to managing funds and evaluating impact, to building partnerships with the community, and following best practices in governance.

We are a donor-funded organization. Most of our donations come from individual people or families like you, and from companies that partner with us so they can have a local, social impact.  

 Over the last few years, the pandemic has led to a few extraordinary circumstances. For example: in the 2020-21 year, we received $4.2 million from the provincial and federal government for COVID relief. We invested that funding in local community programs and services, on the government’s behalf.  

For cash, cheque, and credit card donations, the fee is 4% of your total gift. For payroll deductions, the fee is 8% of your total gift. These fees help cover the costs associated with this service.

We provide designated donor dollars to other registered charities three times a year: in March or April, June and December. The exact timing of your specific gift arriving at the charity varies depending on the way you give and the time of year you give. In a typical situation, if you donate by credit card, cash, or cheque, your donation will be forwarded to the designated charity by following April. If you made your donation through a workplace campaign payroll deduction, your donation will be sent to the designated charity by the end of following December.

In every case, we wait to fully receive your donation before passing it on, so that your charity of choice can receive the full impact of your gift and generosity, and we can keep the costs associated with processing your donation (like bank fees or postage) as low as possible.

Payroll deductions

If you donated via payroll deduction through your employer, your charitable donation amount will be shown in box 46 of your T4 slip. In these situations, the Canada Revenue Agency accepts your T4 slip as your official receipt for income tax purposes.

Electronic platform donations

If you donated via our online donation page, or a third-party platform like CanadaHelps, Benevity, or YourCause, you should have immediately received an email with your charitable tax receipt. If you haven’t received it, please check your junk or spam folders. We can reissue charitable tax receipts if you donated on our website, but for other platforms please contact them directly.

All other donations

This includes one-time cash gifts, cheques, credit-card donations paid in full by individuals or organizations, donations by post-dated cheques, and pre-authorized debit/monthly credit cards. When you donate $25 or more by one of these methods, your charitable tax receipt will be mailed or emailed no later than February 28 of the calendar year that follows the year of the donation. 

All United Way Halifax donation receipting practices are in accordance with the Canadian Income Tax Act.

We are committed to protecting the privacy of personal information. The information you provide is used to assist in the administration and acknowledgement of your gift, to issue tax receipts, and to fulfill your information questions. We do not release donor names unless requested by the donor. For more information, please visit our privacy policy or the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Donor Bill of Rights.

When you donate to United Way Halifax, you can take advantage of federal and provincial government tax incentives. By claiming your donation receipt, you may receive a portion of your donated amount back when filing your taxes. You may also consider carrying your charitable donations forward to the next tax year to receive a larger tax deduction. When donating publicly traded securities directly, you can eliminate the capital gain tax and get a larger tax credit.

We provide funding to a wide range of programs and services, managing investments in each and connecting the dots between them. This helps ensure that every dollar donated fills gaps in care and possibility, making the greatest impact.

You can find descriptions of the funds we currently manage, as well as a list of the charity recipients for each one on our Provide Funding page.

Each of our funds has a slightly different process. We typically use funding applications and review panels to recommend funding decisions to our Board. We always focus on serving marginalized populations, filling gaps in support, and reflecting the diversity of our community.

Donating to United Way’s Community Fund allows you to help people (or issues) you care about in more than one way and make the biggest difference you can for them. It means you’re investing in several community organizations and programs that are working together to make sure people can access the support they need – when and where they need it.