Frequently Asked Questions

• The Dynamic Charitable Giving Fund is a donor-advised fund program developed by Dynamic Funds with the Canadian Wealth Charitable Trust (the “Foundation”) that facilitates philanthropy without the administrative responsibilities and up-front costs of a private foundation

• A Dynamic Charitable Giving Fund Account (an “Account”) is established by an individual or entity by completing the necessary forms and making an irrevocable donation of at least $10 000 to the Foundation
• The individual or entity that establishes the Account is designated as the “Donor”
• The net donated proceeds are deposited into the Donor’s Account and subsequently invested in the selected eligible Dynamic fund managed by Dynamic
• Once an Account has been opened, additional contributions can be made at any time, subsequent to the program’s $1,000 minimum
• Grant payments are made to the recommended charities listed for an Account on an annual basis

The Donor:

• Can be an individual, corporation, trust or an estate
• Makes recommendations for the Account, including Account name, selection of an eligible Dynamic fund and choosing which eligible charities are to receive annual grant payments
• Can assign an Account Holder Delegate, Successor and/or Joint Account Holder, as required

The Financial Advisor:

• Is required to set-up an Account and provide ongoing Account and investment support
• Provides assistance to the Donor by opening the Account, completing all forms, recommending the appropriate eligible Dynamic fund and interacting with the Foundation

The Foundation (The Canadian Wealth Charitable Trust):

• Is an independent, non-profit registered charity under the Income Tax Act (Canada) which is designated as a public foundation with CRA and the Quebec Ministry of Revenue
• Manages charitable giving funds, also known as donor-advised funds, and is dedicated to providing Donors with a program that gives them an opportunity to increase and sustain their charitable donations.
• Is governed by a Board of Trustees, of which a majority is independent of Dynamic and its affiliates, which has sole discretion and ultimate authority over each Account in the program

Dynamic Funds:

• In addition to fulfilling all administrative tasks and updates relating to the Accounts, including information verification, reporting and communication with both Donors and financial advisors, Dynamic also acts as investment manager for the Foundation

• Only the Donor has the authority to make recommendations for the Account unless otherwise specified in writing to the Foundation
• The Donor maintains advisory status for the Account, hence the expression “donor-advised funds”, while the Foundation’s Board of Trustees maintains sole discretion over each Account managed within the program.  Although the Board has ultimate authority and sole discretion over each Account, it will generally strive to act on the recommendations of the Donor or parties properly authorized.
• The assets in the Account are the property of the Foundation as donations made to any charity must be made irrevocably in order to receive a tax receipt for such a donation

• Donors can provide a name for their Account by using the Account Application Form
• The name of the Account can include either a family name (e.g. the John Smith Foundation) or the name of another individual or entity which the Donor wishes to include or honour (e.g., the Margaret Smith Memorial Fund) 
• The Account name could also be based on a specific charitable focus, for example, “The Leger Family Fund for Breast Cancer”

• Yes.  Anonymity of the Donor and the Account can be selected on the Account Application Form

• Yes.  Multiple beneficial charities may be recommended for each Account. Donors can use the Grant Recommendation Change Form (or Account Application) to list, in order of preference, which charities are to receive annual grant payments and the percentages to be allocated to each
• The Annual Grant Amount will determine the number of recommended charities that will receive grant payments, which must meet the minimum requirement of $300 per eligible charity.

• Yes.  For each Account, the Donor (or duly authorized representative) can select wha percentage each eligible charity is to receive from the Annual Grant Amount available in a given year.  These instructions can be changed at any time provided the Foundation receives no less than two weeks notice before the Account’s scheduled Grant Payment Date 
• The allocation (%) of grant payments assigned to each charity can be designated on the Account Application Form or the Grant Recommendation Change Form
• Grants Payments begin the calendar year after an initial donation is made
• The Foundation currently allows an unlimited number of grants from an Account per year, provided the total of these amounts fall within the Annual Grant Amounts specified by the Foundation for a given year and meet the minimum requirement of $300 per charity
• If the minimum grant requirement of $300 is not met for all recommended charities, the order of the selected charities will determine the recipients of grant payments and the remainder will be allocated to the recipients according to original allocation assignments

As an example, should one Account have four eligible charities listed to receive equal grant payments (25% each) but the Annual Grant Amount for the Account in a given year totals $900, the Foundation will only disburse grants for the first three eligible charities listed ($300 x 3). 

For the same Account where the Annual Grant Amount totals $1,100, the Foundation will divide the amounts amongst the top three charities listed as an equal distribution would fail to meet the $300 minimum required per eligible charity ($1,100 ÷ 4 = $275).
 
Should the Account only have three eligible charities listed with an Annual Grant Amount of $1,200 available, the Foundation will disburse $400 per charity ($400 x 3).

• No.  The grant recommendations listed on the Account Application Form will remain in effect until the Donor (or duly authorized representative) requests otherwise.  These are referred to as Standing Grant Recommendations in the Program Guide.
• Changes can be made by submitting a Grant Recommendation Change Form and must be received by the Foundation no later than two weeks prior to the annual grant payment date selected for the Account

• The Foundation uses the “disbursement quota” guidelines provided in the Tax Act to  determine the amount that must be granted to charities through disbursements.  This amount is allotted to each of the Accounts administered in the program.
• Currently, the Foundation expects that the Annual Grant Amount for an Account will be approximately 3-5% of the value of that Account from the previous year-end
• Grants will be issued by the Foundation to eligible charities on a quarterly basis, on or about March 1, June 1, September 1 and December 1,  Donors may choose when they would like to have their grants processed and paid from one of the four available dates

• Cash, Dynamic funds, other firms’ mutual funds, life insurance, segregated funds and liquid securities (stocks and bonds) may be used for making a donation.  The Foundation must accept a donation before a tax receipt is issued and reserves the right to refuse any donation as required.
• For more efficient tax benefits, donations of securities should be transferred to the Foundation in-kind
• Donations of life insurance by way of transfer of ownership must be irrevocably transferred to the Foundation

• No.  Donations made to the Foundation are irrevocable under all circumstances.  Once donated, the property becomes the exclusive property of the Foundation

• Donor’s must make an initial irrevocable donation of at least $10,000
• The minimum amount for each subsequent donations is $1,000
• A life insurance donation by way of transfer of ownership from a living Donor will only be accepted if the net cash surrender value for the policy is worth at least $10 000 or a combination of other donations are made to meet the program’s $10,000 minimum. 
• For a life insurance donation where the Foundation is listed as the beneficiary of the policy, a tax receipt will be issued upon the death of the policyholder once proceeds have been received. 

• The Donor will only be notified when the Account value falls below $7,000 and will be given the opportunity to make an additional donation to meet the program’s minimum balance.  If a further donation is not made or the Account value remains below $7000 for longer than 30 days, the Foundation has the right to close the Account and transfer the net assets to the selected charities based on the Account’s standing grant recommendations

• Yes, however, the tax benefits of such contributions will be attributed to the entity (“Third Party”) making the contribution

• Yes.  A Donor may appoint another person (Account Holder Delegate) to make recommendations for their Account during their lifetime. The authority granted to the Account Holder Delegate may be rescinded at any time by the Donor upon written notice to the Foundation
• This right is terminated by the death or incapacity of the Donor, at which time the Joint Account Holder, or, if none, the Successor assumes responsibility for the Account

• A succession option must be recommended when an Account is being set up with the Foundation
• If the Account is a Joint Account, the Successor may only assume responsibility after the death or incapacity of both the Donor and Joint Account Holder
• If the Donor has appointed an Account Holder Delegate, the authority of the Account Holder Delegate is automatically terminated by the death or incapacity of the Donor

• The Foundation will endeavour to use the Account’s standing grant recommendations as a basis for distributing Annual Grant Amounts or for the closing of an Account should it fail to meet the minimum requirements
• If the minimum requirements are not satisfied or the Account does not have standing grant recommendations, such Accounts may have their assets transferred to the Trustees’ Philanthropy Fund and be closed

The following investments are eligible (only one may be chosen per Account):

• Dynamic Dividend Income Fund (Charitable)
• Dynamic Focus+ Balanced Fund (Charitable)
• Dynamic Global Value Balanced Fund (Charitable)
• Dynamic Value Balanced Fund (Charitable)
• Dynamic Power Balanced Fund (Charitable)

• Yes.  Investment recommendation changes can be made using the Account Application Form

• The Donor will receive a Tax Receipt following their initial donation and any subsequent donations made to their Account.  A Third Party Donor will receive a tax receipt for subsequent donations but is not necessarily able to make recommendations for the Account unless named by the Donor as the Account Holder Delegate
• Tax Receipts will not be issued for grant payments or any appreciation of capital within the program

• For initial donations, a welcome letter will be sent to both the financial advisor and the Donor, with a tax receipt sent to the Donor
• For subsequent donations, a thank you letter with a tax receipt will be sent to the subsequent Donor/Third Party Donor.
• The Donor and their financial advisor will receive a statement semi-annually detailing their Account’s market value and activity
• Among other information, the semi-annual statement will list the beneficial charities on the Account