CanadaHelps sees 'exponential growth' in donations of securities, reducing some transaction fees

Author Sharlene Gandhi
In September, CanadaHelps moved to a new fee structure that will remove a smaller amount of administrative fees for high-value securities donations.

Why It Matters

Donations of securities, which include stocks, bonds and mutual funds, are a growing mode of giving at CanadaHelps. Driven largely by older and retired donors, this mode of giving also reduces an individual’s capital gains tax burden.

Image Caption: Julie Fiorini, general manager of charity and donor services at CanadaHelps, speaks at a conference in 2024 (CanadaHelps / Facebook)

CanadaHelps has seen “exponential growth” in donors making gifts of securities since before the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“In 2024, we had close to $60 million given through various gifts of securities, whether that was stocks or mutual funds,” said Julie Fiorini, general manager of charity and donor services at CanadaHelps. 

This amount represented more than 13 per cent of all the donations flowing through CanadaHelps in 2024. 

In comparison, CanadaHelps saw just over $11 million in donations of securities flowing through the charitable sector in 2018. 

This trend looks as though it will continue to grow, Fiorini said. In CanadaHelps’ current fiscal year, gifts of securities are charting at a 50 per cent increase from 2024. 

According to Fiorini, this growth is “very much in line with the performance of markets globally.” 

Securities donations tend to also be higher in value, with the average gift valued at $7,815, according to research the fundraising platform published in October. 

“We were hypothesizing that the average securities donor is older, but not necessarily retired,” Fiorini said about a recent donor survey carried out in July. 

“What we found was that 80 per cent of folks […] who have given gifts of securities through CanadaHelps identified as 60-plus, and 77 per cent are retired.

“So we’re looking at folks that are high net-worth. The majority are not working actively, They have interest in reducing their taxable burden but they also have philanthropic motivations,” she said. 

In September, CanadaHelps also changed its fee structure for securities donations. After negotiating with its own broker, CanadaHelps is now offering lower administrative fees per gift of securities, meaning that more of the total donation amount can go to the charity or non-profit. 

“Our fee structure has not changed when it comes to donations between zero and $249,999,” Fiorini said, pointing to CanadaHelps’ tiered fee structure that varies between two and three per cent for donations of securities under $250,000. 

Above that amount, CanadaHelps has decided to introduce flat fees: a fee of $5,000 applies to donations between $250,000 and $499,999; $7,500 for donations between $500,000 and $999,999; and $10,000 for gifts between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000. 

Previously, any donation that amounted to more than $100,000 was subject to a two per cent fee. These flat fees represent a significant decrease in the charges that CanadaHelps takes for administrative purposes.

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  • Sharlene Gandhi is the Future of Good editorial fellow on digital transformation.

    Sharlene has been reporting on responsible business, environmental sustainability and technology in the UK and Canada since 2018. She has worked with various organizations during this time, including the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business at Lancaster University, AIGA Eye on Design, Social Enterprise UK and Nature is a Human Right. Sharlene moved to Toronto in early 2023 to join the Future of Good team, where she has been reporting at the intersections of technology, data and social purpose work. Her reporting has spanned several subject areas, including AI policy, cybersecurity, ethical data collection, and technology partnerships between the private, public and third sectors.

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