Osprey Community Foundation

We work with our donors to establish endowment funds that allow them to give a legacy back to the community. We have several fund types, such as bursary or scholarship funds, memorial funds, designated funds that support a particular charity or cause, donor-advised funds, and so on. We’ll discuss with you how to create a fund that best suits what you hope to accomplish. We’ll also be happy to work with your financial or legal advisor.

A few things to know about Osprey funds

• We focus on endowed (permanent) funds. The fund capital is invested and never spent. We permanently invest all of Osprey’s endowed capital with the Vancouver Foundation, taking advantage of its large ($1 billion) investment pool. With the exception of our transferable funds (see below), it’s important that donors realise that they cannot withdraw endowed capital once it has been gifted to Osprey. Each year the fund will generate income that can be granted back to the community. Transferable Funds: For an initial capital contribution of $100,000 transferable funds can be established on behalf of registered charities. Funds with transferable terms provide a steady stream of income but allow charitable agencies to make requests to transfer, in whole or in part, the fund’s capital at some future date. Contact us for more details.
• Our charitable status as a public foundation means that we can issue charitable tax receipts for donations to our funds. It also means that recipients of annual fund distributions must be charitable organizations or other CRA-approved recipients. School districts, colleges and municipal governments are eligible, but individuals are not.
• $10,000 minimum fund balance must be reached within 10 years of establishing a fund (unless establishing a memorial fund in anticipation of an estate gift, ask us for more details.) In order to generate a substantial annual grant, however, funds will need to be larger.
• Fees: There are no initial fees to set up a fund, and the full amount of your endowed gift goes into the fund. Thereafter, annual management and administration fees are taken off the income generated by the fund. The Vancouver Foundation aims to provide a steady stream of revenue to its fund holders such as Osprey, so it determines an annual distribution rate (currently 4%) that also allows it to protect capital for inflation and smooths out the highs and lows.

The process of setting up a fund

1. We’ll meet with you to discuss what kind of fund you wish to establish, its purpose, and where the annual distributions will go. Plus any other questions you have.
2. Osprey drafts up an agreement (“Deed of Gift”) that includes that information as well as clauses that outline legal requirements. If you are satisfied with it, you sign it as the Donor and two members of Osprey’s executive will sign on behalf of the organization.
3. You provide us with the initial contribution to the fund, and receive a charitable tax receipt for that amount. Osprey will accept, receipt and track all further donations directed to this fund.
4. Once a year, in about March, we will send you a fund report with updated information on your fund balance, earnings, distributions, etc. In some cases we may need to consult with you about the annual distribution, but if it is all spelled out in the agreement, Osprey will simply send out a cheque to the designated recipient organization, with accompanying notification.
   

Some final notes

• In addition to cash donations, Osprey can accept donations in the form of other assets such as appreciated registered securities (which may mean capital gains savings for you).
• For memorial funds honouring individuals who have recently died, we can supply donation forms and information about your Osprey Fund to have available at the memorial service.
• Some donors choose to establish a Legacy Fund now with an initial donation of $1000, and then make an estate gift in their wills to go into the Fund after they die. It provides them with peace of mind, knowing that they will be leaving a legacy to a cause that is important to them. They may also benefit from the immediate tax savings. Contact us for more details.