Support the Okanagan Science Centre ( Vernon Science & Discovery Society)  by making a gift of your publicly traded stocks, such as mutual funds or bonds. It’s also a tax-smart way to donate: your taxable gains will be 100 per cent eliminated and you’ll receive a charitable tax receipt for the full value of the gift. Please consult your financial advisor to determine the most tax-effective method of giving for you.

Please note that  our brokerage is RBC Dominion Securities Inc

Steps to Make a Gift of Securities: 

1. Decide which securities to donate.     

Consider which of your investments will have the most financial and philanthropic impact for you. Speaking to a trusted financial advisor can help with your decision-making. 

2. Complete and Submit the Intention Form 

Fill out the intention form and send it to OSC by email or mail and, if applicable, to your broker. Alternatively, you can fill out the online intention form, which will be sent to us instantly.  Please note that OSC cannot issue a receipt without receiving this completed form. 

E-mail: donations@okscience.ca

Mail: 2704 Hwy 6 Vernon BC V1T 5G5  

3. Initiate the Transfer of Securities 

Instruct your broker to transfer the securities to OSC or, if you’re handling it yourself, initiate the transfer directly. OSC cannot initiate the transfer on your behalf. 

Tax receipt policy

Once we receive the shares, we will send you a receipt for their value. Please expect a delay of 2 to 4 weeks before receiving your receipt while we process the gift. The value of the shares on the receipt will be the value of the day they were received in our account regardless of any delay with receipting. Note that sending us the Intention Form does not initiate the transfer of stock, as we cannot initiate it for you. You must contact your broker or self-administer the stock. Completing this form allows us to correctly attribute the gift and ensures that the transfer process is as smooth as possible. Without a complete form we are unable to issue a tax receipt as per our policy. If a form is not received with your gift, we will identify the gift as Anonymous.

Giving securities at end-of-year

The volume of transfers in November and December from our generous supporters is very high. Please consider holiday closures at the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and initiate your transfer as soon as possible. Given these external closures and delays with processing times, any transfers of commonly traded mutual funds initiated after November 30th, or equities initiated after December 15th cannot be guaranteed a tax receipt dated that year. 

Gifts of Securities

• Completion of Donation: The submission of this form indicates your intent to donate securities but does not complete the transaction. You must instruct your broker/and or financial institution to process the transfer to OSC.
• Trade Confirmation Requirement: To issue an official charitable tax receipt, we must match your intention form with the securities received in our account. If we are unable to identify your transfer, you will be required to provide a broker’s trade confirmation, including the transaction date, number of shares, proof of transfer and transaction ID. Without this information, we cannot verify or receipt the donation.
• No Backdating: Donations are receipted based on the date securities are sold (24 hours of receiving them) received.  All receipts will be issued for the year in which they are received. Backdating will not be permitted.

We recommend keeping a copy of your broker or advisor documentation, as it can help ensure your gift is processed smoothly and without delay.