What We Do
We know that you want to leave a meaningful and lasting legacy to your community. We understand that you care, and want to learn about the needs of local people and projects so that you can best support the causes that are important to you.
We know how to connect your generosity and your concern and match you with charities that serve the needs of Surrey. Our Vital Signs reports and our deep community relationships help us to inform you about the best ways to provide support in the areas that are of specific interest to you.
Your donation can be added to an existing or new Endowment Fund, a Managed Fund, or in some instances may be partly designated for Flow Through, or immediate and direct gifts. You can designate your gift to a specific cause, to an existing endowment fund, or easily open your own fund!
It's easy to give. We receive your donation, send you a tax receipt, and we annually grant out funds to qualified charities identified by SurreyCares as being of interest to you.
Giving through SurreyCares benefits you, and benefits the charitable gift recipient:
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Charities can focus more closely on fulfilling their mission instead of continually seeking funds
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Funds are professionally managed to continue to earn while providing charities with needed funds
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Funds stay right here in Surrey
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Donations through SurreyCares are tax receiptable
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Donations may be made with cash, securities, life insurance, and other non-cash items (subject to CRA guidelines, please seek professional tax advice)
What’s more, the money you give supports the cause you care about forever.
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Each dollar invested in an endowment fund matters. It matters to the community, representing the hard work and generous heart of the donor. It matters desperately to the recipients who are undertaking charitable work, allowing them to serve the most people at maximum efficiency.
The more robust the endowment fund is, the more dollars are available to give to the areas of greatest need in our community. For this reason, funds are well managed, and enjoy a healthy return on investment, as calculated over the long term.
In addition to granting out a portion of the investment proceeds to charitable activity, we are committed to grow each endowment fund by reinvesting a small percent of the annual earnings, increasing the fund organically.
We live out our responsibility for financial accountability by keeping our fees low in order to maximize the amounts available for charitable giving.
We grow endowments by making it easy to donate: by cheque, by credit card, in person or online.
We provide easy online technology for donors to create a fundraising drive. They can challenge friends and colleagues to outdo one another in online donations in a self-created campaign, with each establishing their own sub-donations page and financial goals! (Ask for more about this.) Donors receive a tax receipt either by mail, or if the donation is online, immediately by email.
Your donation is safe with SurreyCares. We ensure that your gift is soundly invested and professionally managed by CIBC Wood Gundy Investment Advisors, and is reviewed by our Finance Team quarterly.
Consider contributing to an established endowment fund, or create your own endowment fund dedicated to a cause of your choosing. Either way, the generated perpetual income from an endowment is used to change and improve the lives of those who need the most help in Surrey. You may lead the way for others to donate to the fund you have created.
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SurreyCares invests in the people of Surrey throughout all aspects of the community including arts and culture, education, health, social services, the environment, and in community-building.
How it works: Interest income from endowment funds is granted to charities. This ensures that the principal is intact and continuing to earn interest for grants in future years. Grants are awarded according to the directives of the fundholder, and according to greatest community impact. Recipients may be chosen by the SurreyCares Grants Committee adjudication team, or by the donor as noted below.
Types of endowment funds and who they support.
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Unrestricted Fund: this will fund a broad range of local needs as determined by SurreyCares’ research and the areas of greatest necessity in the community.
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Field of Interest Fund: these grants are created to fund a specific area of interest, such as the arts, or at-risk youth, or any broad category of importance to the donor.
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Scholarship Fund: donations and earnings fund a scholarship opportunity for a student
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Donor Advised Fund: this fund may fit one of the above categories, but the final recipient is chosen by the fundholder rather than by SurreyCares’ grant adjudication committee.
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Agency Endowment Fund: a self-funding tool for a charitable organization, these funds go to one specific charity.
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Designated Fund: a donor may start a private endowment fund to benefit a specific charity.
Other funding
Occasionally an opportunity will arise for SurreyCares to work with a partner. Some examples:
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Matching funds. Two or more donors donate to a qualified donee (as defined by CRA), with SurreyCares as a partner.
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Flow Through funds. A (significant) donation may be split between the endowment, and a direct gift to a charity. Conditions apply.
In the Spring, community grants from Unrestricted and Field-of-Interest endowment funds are administered and awarded by SurreyCares through our Annual Grants Program. Careful consideration is given to all grant applicants to ensure that the people of Surrey are served in the best possible way with the grant dollars available.
Individuals, businesses, or organizations establishing an endowment fund may be memorialized and recognized (should they wish) in the following ways.
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the name of each fund listed on our webpage, with a description
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the name of each fund in our Annual Report
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a letter to the fundholder describing the grant recipient or recipients
SurreyCares invests in people in other ways.
We honour the difference-makers in our community through our Serving with Distinction Awards celebration. By highlighting the work and contributions of individuals and charities that quietly serve our community, by telling their stories, our hope is that the community will celebrate the heroes among us by providing the support so needed in many areas of our growing community.