Planned giving is a chance to build your philanthropic legacy and ensure long-lasting impact.

United Way Halifax’s variety of funded programs and agencies helps you direct giving to the areas that matter most to you, aligning your vision and values with community needs.

It’s never too early to start philanthropic planning. Major life changes, such as marriage, children, or the loss of loved ones, can trigger adjustments to your plans. But the flexibility of a custom, planned gift means it’s easy to make changes.

United Way Halifax can work with your tax, financial, or legal advisors to craft the right approach for you.

There are many ways that planned giving allows you to make a donation to United Way Halifax.

We’ve provided suggestions below, but they are only intended as general information to help guide your decision-making. Please be sure to seek independent guidance from your own legal or other professional advisors when making charitable gifts of annuities, securities, life insurance, and wills.

Key Information You’ll Need

Legal name: United Way Halifax
Charitable registration number: 11927-8232-RR0001

Life insurance policy

There are three ways to make a gift of life insurance.

Change an existing policy

You can change your beneficiary to United Way Halifax. We cannot offer an immediate tax receipt; however, after death, your estate will get a charitable-donation receipt. As a result, the income tax payable on your estate’s final tax return can be offset. Your gift will not be subject to probate taxes. 

Transfer ownership of an existing policy

If you’d like to receive immediate tax savings, you can transfer ownership of a policy to United Way Halifax. At the same time, make United Way Halifax the beneficiary. As a result, a portion of your policy’s value will be taxable as income, but you will receive a charitable-donation receipt to offset taxes. If premiums are still owing, you will receive a receipt for every premium you continue to pay on that policy.

Purchase a new policy

You can purchase a new life insurance policy to support United Way Halifax. By designating United Way Halifax as its owner and beneficiary, you will receive an income-tax receipt for your annual premium payments. If you name United Way Halifax as beneficiary only, you will not receive an income tax receipt for your premium payments, but your estate will receive a tax receipt for the face value of your policy.

Charitable Remainder Trusts

A charitable remainder trust (CRT) is a life income gift that enables you to give today and receive immediate tax savings, while retaining use of an asset. 

Essentially, you can transfer an asset such as real estate, investments, or artwork into a trust to be managed by a trustee (which could be a financial institution, a lawyer, yourself, or another individual). Then you name United Way Halifax as the remainder beneficiary in trust. Meanwhile, you retain an interest in the asset for the rest of your life.

After a prescribed period of time, or upon your death, the asset will be transferred to United Way Halifax. This allows you to use the property or receive income from it during your lifetime, while receiving a tax receipt you can benefit from today.

Still have questions? We’re here to help.

Nicole Cameron (she/her)
Director, Development & Engagement
ncameron@unitedwayhalifax.ca 
902-402-6680