FAQs

We know many of you rely on the mail to send us your donations so we have set up enhanced ways for you to drop off your gift.  You can visit the Foundation offices at 525 University Avenue, Suite 1400 – someone will be present to accept your gifts from 9am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday.  Alternatively, you may drop off your donation to the secure Donation Box at SickKids Hospital, located just inside the Elizabeth Street entrance. Donations can always be made online.

We remain so grateful for the support - in all forms - from our generous donors.

Your tax receipt for the current tax year will be sent out in February of the following year. You will receive your tax receipt via email or mail (depending on your preferences) by the end of February.

Our overall Foundation cost per dollar in Fiscal Year 2023/24 (and also the previous year) was 29.6 per cent, which includes fundraising programs and admin costs. You can find more information regarding our cost per dollar on this page here.

SickKids fundraisers can be easily identified by their identification badges (which they should present upon request). They will also be wearing SickKids branded items such as vests, polo shirts and tablet bags. Our fundraisers carry touchless tablets to efficiently collect your contact information only and will never accept cheques or cash at the door.

SickKids is grateful for all donations we receive. For safety reasons, we do not accept cash. Monthly donations offer the most flexibility, providing a reliable source of ongoing revenue. One-time donations cannot be processed at the door however the canvasser can email a link to make a secure online donation or you can donate online here. If you prefer to make a single yearly donation which renews every twelve month, that option is now available at the door.

Legacy gifts are a very important source of revenue for SickKids. Historically they have contributed significantly to our ability to deliver lifesaving treatment and research, including a bequest from Toronto philanthropist J.P. Bickell that helped establish our Research Institute, where scientists created Pablum, discovered the cystic fibrosis gene, and continue to crack the code of childhood cancers and heart disease. Bequests continue to play a crucial role in advancing the SickKids vision: Healthier Children and A Better World. A charitable bequest also gives you the comfort of knowing your assets are available today, while enabling you to leave a larger gift than might be possible in your lifetime. It’s also one of the most efficient ways to give: a gift in your will can reduce, or even eliminate, the tax burden on your beneficiaries, since your estate will receive a tax receipt for your gift.

A will is the easiest, most effective way to ensure your assets are distributed according to your wishes, and to provide for the people and causes you care most about. A properly planned will can reduce or even eliminate the taxes on your estate. A will is a gift you make today for tomorrow. 

The name you should include in your will is “The Hospital for Sick Children Foundation”. The Foundation is responsible for raising money and performing estate administration on behalf of the Hospital.

Other than a gift in your will, you can help SickKids by:

• Designating SickKids as the beneficiary and/or owner of a new or existing life insurance policy
• Naming SickKids as the beneficiary of your pension plan, RRSP, RRIF, or TFSA
• Setting up a charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust
• Making a gift of property, such as real estate, jewelry, or art
• Cemetery plots
• Gift of assets - i.e securities

There are many ways to include a charity in your will, but these are the two most common:

Residual Bequest:

Commonly designated as all or a percentage of the estate’s residue, a residual bequest is made from the balance of an estate after all debts, bills and taxes have been paid and all specific and general gifts have been distributed.

Legacy Bequest (also known as specific bequest):

A legacy bequest is a gift of a specific dollar amount or asset, such as a house, car, stocks, or securities.

No, SickKids fundraisers are compensated hourly. SickKids adheres to the Imagine Canada guidelines. Visit Imagine Canada to learn more about their standards.

We encourage you to first consider an unrestricted donation, which gives us the flexibility to deploy funds in the areas of greatest need—and greatest promise. (We can’t predict where we will need funds down the road, nor can we know what research, projects, or funding will be underway when a gift is realized.) However, if you do decide to designate your gift to a specific area, let us know so we can help with the wording and ensure that your gift goes where you want it to.

No, all data is encrypted in a compliant environment according to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.

Please call our monthly Donor Specialist at 416-813-1216 to assist you.

To review the last several years of financial statements, please visit our Publications and Financials section.

Please fill out our Change of Address Form or call 416-813-6166 ext. 1216.

You can contact SickKids at 1-800-661-1083 or 416-813-6166. 

No, SickKids does not participate in street fundraising. Many other charities raise money through street fundraising. SickKids, however, is not one of them. 

Yes. You will receive a tax receipt for one-time donations of $20 or more. Tax receipts for monthly donations are sent in February. 

No. This information is kept strictly confidential unless the donor instructs us otherwise. 

Through careful planning, it is possible to eliminate taxes owed by your estate. Instead of paying taxes, you can choose to make a significant gift to help SickKids, without compromising your family's financial security.

Should you have questions or require more information, please contact: 

Leadership & Legacy Giving Team:

Email: legacy.giving@sickkidsfoundation.com

Phone: 416-813-8271 or 1-800-661-1083 ext. 8271 

Or complete our online request form.  

Yes, upon request. When a donation is made, we send a card to the family or individual who is being honoured, acknowledging your generous donation. Visit our Card page for more information. If you would like to send a card but forgot to please call (416) 813-6166.

By becoming a monthly donor, you are making a thoughtful and lasting investment in SickKids. This program allows you to donate on a monthly basis and shows your continuous dedication towards improving our children's health. There are two payment options - credit card or withdrawals from your chequing account. The generosity of friends like you that is what funds the fight at SickKids. Your loyalty enables our winning tradition. Become a monthly donor today. 

Download our annual reports from our Publications and Financials section.

Yes. Named endowment funds can be established during a donor’s lifetime and can be funded in part or completely through future giving. These endowments are considered gifts in perpetuity, and it’s possible for your family to continue contributing to, and receiving updates about, these funds. SickKids acknowledges cumulative lifetime and future gifts for the recognition, which can include naming, an inscription on our Donor Wall, and other forms of recognition. 

Please visit our Go Fundraise website to learn more. 

Gifts in kind to SickKids Foundation can help to raise funds through prize draws, live and silent auctions, SickKids auctions on eBay, and in many other ways. Beneficial items for fundraising purposes include electronics, new teddy bears, toys and games, sporting event or concert tickets, gift certificates, and SickKids-branded materials. Read our Gift in kind Guidelines for more information. 

SickKids is both a local children’s hospital and a global leader in paediatric health-care. We treat broken arms and appendicitis, rare brain cancers and fetal heart defects. Our patients come from across the city, province and country, and even the world for treatments not available in their home community. For children and families in medical crisis, we are a beacon of hope. We’ve always been on the frontlines in the fight for child health, but today our biggest battle is against the limits of an old building. At a time when patient volume and disease complexity are increasing, SickKids stands at a critical crossroads, severely limited in our ability to provide state-of-the-art care in an antiquated building.

Please visit our page on International Giving or contact: Jane Cornelio at 416-813-7680 or jane.cornelio@sickkids.ca.

Please visit the Donate Good and Services page for more information.

Please visit The Hospital for Sick Children website for information on volunteering. 

SickKids treats everything from broken arms and appendicitis to rare brain cancers and congenital heart defects. Every year, some 100,000 patients come to us from across the province, country and even the world for specialized care, while our scientists are making important medical discoveries every day. Our research breakthroughs also have implications in the adult world including expanding knowledge on diseases such as dementia and brain tumours.

For all our triumphs—clinical and research—legacy gifts have been instrumental, helping create our storied Research Institute, where scientists discovered the cystic fibrosis gene, and continue to crack the code of childhood cancers and heart disease. Legacy gifts have enabled SickKids to become a world-class leader for intensive care, organ transplants, and complex heart surgeries. It’s because of our donors that we’ve grown from a community hospital to a global leader in child health.

Specific wording depends on the type of gift and its designation, but here are some examples:

Residual Bequest

“My estate trustees shall pay ______(all or %) of the residue of my estate to The Hospital for Sick Children Foundation, Toronto, ON, for the purpose of supporting its highest priority needs.”

Legacy Bequest

“My estate trustees shall pay the sum of $ ______ (or transfer assets with an equal value) to The Hospital for Sick Children Foundation, Toronto, ON, for the purpose of supporting its highest priority needs."

Direct contributions from U.S. resident donors to Canadian charities, such as SickKids Foundation, are generally not tax deductible in the United States.  However, Friends of The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Inc. (“Friends”), is an independent American charity that has provided support to SickKids Foundation. Friends is a registered U.S. Charity with 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Services. Friends provides U.S. tax receipts to individuals or corporate donors. You can make a donation online to Friends at Network For Good by clicking here. If you wish to donate directly to Friends by cheque, securities or real property, please review our FAQ sheet here about different ways to donate

SickKids, with the assistance of Friends, has a tradition of caring for children from all over the world. We collaborate with healthcare organizations in more than 75 countries, helping to build sustainable, integrated programs dedicated to child health. Thousands of patients come to SickKids from outside of Ontario, including from across Canada and U.S. and around the world, each year. You can help by building a legacy to support a vision of improving children’s health worldwide. 

No. Gifts come in all shapes and sizes, and we’re grateful for every dollar. Even 1% of your estate can make a huge difference in improving the lives of sick children and their families.

Yes. Not only would we like to thank you, but we want to ensure that your gift is properly recognized, and that your intentions are understood and honoured. We can also provide the right wording, particularly if you’re designating your gift to a specific area. We understand that leaving a gift in your will is one of the most personally significant gifts you can make, and we will respect your wishes with regards to how much recognition or anonymity you would like.


Letting us know of your future gift is not legally binding in any way, but it does help the Hospital plan for the future when we know we have community support into the future to continue investing in child health care.