How to Give

Why Choose CFNO?

Community Foundation North Okanagan (CFNO) offers a flexible yet structured approach for charitable giving. We provide investment and community expertise and help donors to be effective with their charitable giving.

Giving

There are many reasons for choosing Community Foundation North Okanagan

Experience: We have been helping donors achieve their philanthropic goals for almost to 50 years.

Simplicity: Setting up a fund at Community Foundation North Okanagan is easy. We take care of all the administrative details so that you can focus on what matters most – giving back to the community!

Investment Management: We prudently manage our investments to carefully balance risk and return, and can access much lower investment management fees than most individual investors.

Community Expertise: We have deep community knowledge and relationships, and provide opportunities for donors to learn about the community through our various events and services.

Giving to your Community Foundation

Donors - Anyone can be a donor and contribute a gift, small or large, to a Community Foundation. Every dollar helps.

Donor Engagement - Community Foundations and donors work together to realize a donor’s philanthropic goals, matching donor interests and community needs.

Make a Contribution - Community Foundations work with the donor to establish a new endowment fund, make an immediate impact, or give to an existing fund.

Investment - Unless earmarked for immediate use, donor gifts are pooled with a Community Foundation’s endowed assets, and invested to generate income used to make grants.

Grants - Community Foundations distribute grants to all corners of the community in arts and culture, education, health, social services, and the environment.

Community Impact - The Community Foundation invests in many ways – by granting and building partnerships, and by pooling knowledge, resources, and expertise to stimulate ideas and strengthen community.

Not sure which charity to support? Give to our Better Together Fund and help us plan for an unpredictable crisis or donate to the Smart & Caring Community Fund and let our local community advisors direct your donation to where it’s most needed in the North Okanagan.
By establishing your own Fund, you can support the causes you’re passionate about year after year. Launch your endowment fund with a gift of $5,000 (or $1,000 to start), and support any registered Canadian charity, or let our community advisors evaluate hundreds of projects on your behalf.
When you leave a gift to CFNO in your will, you are planting a seed — a seed that with careful tending, will grow into something for future generations to benefit from, ultimately leaving a gift that helps build a better world. That’s the power of a legacy donation.
Explore hundreds of funds with various focuses, and find one that speaks to your values.

Fund Types

Other Ways to Give

We offer a variety of options for giving. Whether it’s setting up an endowment fund, contributing to an existing fund, making a donation to be used immediately, or making a legacy gift, we work with you to meet your financial needs and your personal philanthropic goals.

Cash or Cheque

Cheques can be made payable to “CFNO” or “Community Foundation North Okanagan” with the name of the fund noted in the memo line.

You will receive a charitable donation receipt for the year your contribution was made for all donations over $25.

Credit Card

You can donate directly to your fund at any time using Visa or MasterCard, by clicking here.

You may also want to consider setting up monthly or quarterly donations through your credit card. This is an easy way to give and, if at any time you want to stop, increase, or decrease the amount, just contact us.

E-transfer

We now accept E-transfers; send them to info@cfno.org and specify where to direct your donation; (fund, charity, etc.) Please include your mailing and email addresses in the memo line of the e-transfer, or send a separate email to info@cfno.org so we can issue you a tax receipt.

Publicly Traded Securities

A simple, tax-conscious way to contribute is by donating stocks to charity. Direct transfer of publicly traded securities to charity allows you to make a donation without incurring capital gains tax. Please note, the rules on this option may be changing in 2024 so call us for more information and the required forms.

Life Insurance

Making a donation through life insurance is a way to make a significant impact in the future at a manageable cost today. Donors can transfer ownership of an existing policy to CFNO or name CFNO as the beneficiary. The same options exist if you purchase a new policy for the purpose of donating it. To understand the tax implications of these options, our friends at the Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP) have put together a helpful summary here.

RRSP/RRIF/TFSA

Your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) or Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) can be used to make a significant donation to CFNO by naming us as your beneficiary. This can save your estate from paying probate tax on the proceeds.

We’re here to help.

Questions or concerns? Reach out to us for any additional support.

Leanne Hammond
Executive Director
leanne@cfno.org
250-542-8655