If you would like to update your name, address, phone number or you would like to update your credit card or banking information for your monthly gift, please complete our online form or contact us by telephone at 416-813-6166.
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.
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.
Please visit The Hospital for Sick Children website for information on volunteering.
Absolutely! You can provide a physical or emailed form to the Volunteer Engagement Team at the end of your volunteer shift.
Yes, the Volunteer Engagement Team will provide any necessary training and/or an orientation leading up to your volunteer date.
Complete the online Event Volunteer Form or the Office Volunteer Form depending on your interest. You will begin to receive emails with available volunteer opportunities. Apply for any roles you're interested in and you will be contacted if selected.
Yes, all event and office volunteers must be at least 14 years old to participate. Please note that some roles require volunteers to be of legal age (19+).
Once you decide to become a monthly donor, the fundraiser will fill out your contact information on their tablet which will be sent to our partner, Globalfaces Direct. The canvassers will call the verification call centre and hand the phone to the donor to speak to the agent and collect payment details in order to process the donation. They will confirm your intent to become a monthly donor. When completed, you should receive a text message from the canvasser thanking you for your donation followed by a confirmation email. The whole process should take approximately 15 minutes.
As a new monthly donor, you’ll receive:
- An email confirming your donation and introducing you to your welcome buddies
- A package in the mail and a phone call officially welcoming you to the SickKids monthly donor community
- Patient stories and updates about the hospital and the impact of your life-changing donations from SickKids patients and their friends
- A consolidated tax receipt for your contributions in the current tax year at the end of February
- A thank you text message from the fundraiser
- An email confirming your donation and introducing your SickKids welcome buddies
- A package in the mail and a phone call officially welcoming you to the SickKids monthly donor community
- A consolidated receipt for your contributions in the current tax year at the end of February of the following year
- Patient stories and updates about the hospital and the impact of your life-changing donations
- Additionally, you can receive a postcard featuring a patient and turtle for those who choose $30/month and a bookmark with the canvasser name and ID number on the back
No, we will not auto-cancel your donations. However, if you want to cancel your monthly donations, simply contact our Monthly Donor Specialists at any point in time at 416-813-1216 and they can help you process the request.
To minimize administrative costs, paper tax receipts are issued for donations of $20 or greater. For online donations, e-tax receipts do not have a minimum donation.
SickKids utilizes the expertise of a third party to help us reach our fundraising goals. We partner with Globalfaces and Public Outreach to conduct our face-to-face programs. In keeping with Imagine Canada’s Standards Program and best practices for fundraising, our fundraisers are compensated through an hourly wage with no commission. They receive comprehensive training which allows them to speak on behalf of SickKids about our work and fundraising programs.
You can make a donation in the following ways:
Online
Online Donation Page
Phone: 416-813-6166 or 1-800-651-5825
Cash/In Person Donations
Visit us at our SickKids Foundation office:
SickKids Foundation
525 University Avenue, 14th Floor
Toronto, ON M5G 2L3
Hours of Operation
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Visit Us at the Hospital (A secure drop-off box is available)
The Hospital for Sick Children (located in the Hospital Atrium): 555 University Avenue Toronto, ON M5G 1X8
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 transforming the future of children's health care. There are two payment options: credit card or withdrawals from your chequing account. The generosity of monthly donors is helping us heal the future. Join us today.
SickKids Foundation will accept gifts restricted to a specific purpose at The Hospital for Sick Children provided the Hospital can reasonably utilize the gift. The Foundation applies a fee to all restricted donations of 10 per cent. This fee provides the Foundation with increased capacity to raise and grant funds for paediatric health priorities, as we strive to advance children’s health in Canada and around the world. The fee also allows the Foundation to cover its administrative costs such as stewardship, granting, and reporting. If changed circumstances should at some future time make it, in the view of SickKids Foundation acting reasonably, impractical to continue to apply the gift to the designated purpose, SickKids Foundation may redesignate the purpose of the gift using its best efforts to adhere as closely as possible to the original intent of the gift. Any redesignation by the Foundation will be informed by input from the donor.
No. SickKids fundraisers are compensated hourly. SickKids adheres to the Imagine Canada guidelines. Visit Imagine Canada to learn more about their standards.
Please visit our Go Fundraise website to learn more.
Gifts in kind to SickKids Foundation can help to raise funds at events such as through live and silent auctions. In some instances, Gifts in kind to SickKids Foundation are provided to the Hospital. Beneficial items include sporting event or concert tickets as well as gift certificates. Gift in kind donations are subject to several Foundation policies - please contact donations.coordinator@sickkids.ca for more information.
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.
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.
A “receipt” refers to any document issued by the Foundation to confirm that it received something from another party. A “charitable receipt” is for income tax purposes and allows donors to reduce their income tax. “Gift confirmations” are issued by the Foundation to donors to confirm a gift where a “charitable receipt” is not warranted.
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.
Please see the document titled “Friends of The Hospital for Sick Children – Donor Information” for more detailed information about Friends of The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Inc.
You can review detailed financial information such as Friends’ annual IRS Form 990 by visiting GuideStar.
Friends of The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Inc. is often referred to as simply Friends. It is an independent American charity that accepts gifts from U.S.-based individual or corporate donors who wish to support The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto. Friends and SickKids Foundation (a Canadian not-for-profit children’s charity that raises funds on behalf of The Hospital for Sick Children) are completely independent of each other, each with its own independent board of directors.
Please visit the Donate Good and Services page for more information.
Please email volunteers@sickkidsfoundation.com.
Definitely! The more the merrier. We require all volunteers to complete the volunteer application form. If you’d like to volunteer together for the same event or activity, please be sure to let us know, so we can place you as a group. We will try our best to accommodate these requests, but can’t always guarantee this due to limited availability.
It really depends on you, and the role you have been assigned. Think about how much time you want to devote to your volunteer activities, and what will be manageable. You can always start off with a few hours here and there, then build towards more hours and responsibility.
Many Foundation volunteer opportunities do not require that you have any previous experience, unless otherwise indicated.
A decision will be based on your interests, availability, ability to perform the tasks required, available opportunities, and successful completion of our volunteer engagement intake/screening process. Some volunteer roles require more screening, and others less. It depends on what you’re interested in doing. Completing a volunteer application form does not guarantee you a volunteer role.
Visit our Current Opportunities section for more information.
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.
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.
The most successful time of day for door-to-door fundraising is when people are likely to be home. Our fundraisers work from 1:00 pm to 8:30 pm, Monday to Friday and weekends during certain times of year.
If you want to cancel, upgrade, hold, or change the amount you donate, please email donor.inquiries@sickkidsfoundation.com or call 1-800-661-1083.
All information collected to become a monthly donor is used directly for tax receipting purposes and to update our donors on how their donations are making an impact. All information will remain confidential and will not be shared with any other organization. We do not share, sell or rent donor lists. Your contact preference can be changed at any time simply by calling us at 1-800-661-1083.
SickKids partners with Globalfaces Direct, one of Canada’s largest face-to-face fundraising services. In keeping with Imagine Canada’s Standards Program and best practices for fundraising, our fundraisers are compensated through an hourly wage with no commission.
Our fundraisers are not volunteers. They are compensated with an hourly wage. SickKids Foundation adheres to the Imagine Canada guidelines for compensation in the not-for-profit sector and is an accredited member of their standards program. To learn more about Imagine Canada and their standards, please visit imaginecanada.ca.
Face-to-face fundraising represents our most successful way of growing our monthly donor community. Monthly donations, regardless of size, are crucial because it helps us to build long-term relationships with our donors. Giving monthly lets our donors spread out their giving over the course of the year, and provides SickKids with a strong foundation of support that we can count on every month. It also allows us to save on paper and processing, which increases efficiency and sustainability.
SickKids monthly donor sign-up process has evolved into a touchless experience without compromising the ease and benefits of becoming a new monthly donor. Here’s what we’ve done to ensure the health and safety of our communities and fundraisers:
- Only fully vaccinated fundraisers represent SickKids in the community
- Fundraisers are required to wear masks upon request or when speaking to masked shoppers
- Donor information is entered by the fundraiser on a tablet
- Welcome packages are mailed
SickKids monthly donor sign-up process has evolved into a touchless experience without compromising the ease and benefits of becoming a new monthly donor. Here’s what we’ve done to ensure the health and safety of our communities and fundraisers:
- Only fully vaccinated fundraisers represent SickKids in the community
- Fundraisers are equipped with personal protective masks and practise physical distancing
- Donor information is entered by the fundraiser on tablet
- Verification call is conducted onsite through speaker phone or donor's phone
- Welcome packages are mailed
During this time, your support of SickKids Foundation has never been more important.
SickKids has been closely monitoring the developments related to the COVID-19 situation. Health and safety for all is the top priority and we want to ensure our community is protected.
As a result, we have temporarily suspended all mall fundraising activities.
Yes. You will receive a tax receipt for one-time donations of $20 or more. Tax receipts for monthly donations are sent in February.
Fundraisers are adhering to public health guidelines to ensure everyone is safe while continuing to fundraise to reach our ambitious goal and build a much-needed new SickKids.
- maintain a 6-ft /2 metre distance while engaging with the public
- wear masks or face shields
- will use disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizers after every interaction
- will remain a safe distance when speaking to anyone
- will not share materials or documents to ensure the entire process is touchless
- will not work if they are experiencing any symptoms associated with the virus
- welcome packages will be mailed
SickKids Foundation adheres to the Imagine Canada guidelines for compensation in the not-for-profit sector and is an accredited member of their standards program. Our fundraisers are compensated with an hourly wage. To learn more about Imagine Canada and their standards, please visit imaginecanada.ca.
For safety reasons, we do not allow our fundraisers to accept or carry cash donations. If you are interested in making a donation, please do so using our online donation form.
SickKids is located in 2-3 malls each week across the GTA and Golden Horseshoe area. We also fundraise at Toronto events throughout the year, and some private sites.
New donors are mailed a Welcome Package and should receive it within two weeks. Any donation that involves a minimum of $30/month, allows SickKids to give a turtle to a child at the Hospital. If you provide your email, you will receive a confirmation email, updates on how your donation is helping, and our e-newsletters throughout the year.
SickKids provides each fundraiser with the following:
- ID badge with photo, full name and fundraiser ID #. (Trainees are given a “Professional Fundraiser Trainee” badge with no photo, full name or fundraiser ID #).
- SickKids branded lanyard
- SickKids branded iPad bag containing a tablet
- SickKids Patient Postcards (for monthly donations of $30 or more)
- SickKids Laminate with information about our fundraising
- SickKids Welcome Packages
- SickKids Bookmarks
- Weather permitting, SickKids branded winter jacket (optional), SickKids summer golf shirt (optional), toques and branded winter gloves.
If further verification is required, you may contact SickKids Foundation at 1-800-661-1083 or donor.services@sickkidsfoundation.com.
Yes, after a monthly donation is made, we call to verify and confirm your commitment to becoming a monthly donor. We want to make sure you’re comfortable with the details of your new monthly investment.
Each week our map is updated with the towns/cities where canvassers are located. There may be locations not listed on the map due to last minute changes. Please check back tomorrow if you do not see your location on the map.
Yes, a Welcome Package with a donor bead bracelet, welcoming you to SickKids will be mailed within 2 weeks
Running a year-round telemarketing fundraising program requires an extensive amount of resources and expertise. Our telemarketing partner, Causeworx, helps us raise much-needed dollars for the highest priority needs of the Foundation. Causeworx has been a trusted partner of SickKids since 2012.
The funds raised through our mall canvassing program goes towards the highest priority needs of SickKids, which includes urgent measures to combat COVID-19 as well as supporting the building of a new SickKids.
During this time of crisis for all Canadian hospitals, your support of SickKids Foundation has never been more important.
SickKids has been closely monitoring the developments related to the COVID-19 situation. Health and safety for all is the top priority and we want to ensure our community is protected.
As a result, we have temporarily suspended all door-to-door, mall and venue fundraising activities.
During this time of crisis for all Canadian hospitals, your support of SickKids Foundation has never been more important.
SickKids has been closely monitoring the developments related to the COVID-19 situation. Health and safety for all is the top priority and we want to ensure our community is protected.
As a result, we have temporarily suspended all door-to-door, mall and venue fundraising activities.
SickKids Foundation adheres to the Imagine Canada guidelines for compensation in the not-for-profit sector and is an accredited member of their standards program. Our fundraisers are compensated with an hourly wage. To learn more about Imagine Canada and their standards, please visit imaginecanada.ca/
Our canvassers are equipped with PCI compliant, iPhone 4 handheld devices. It captures credit card information through a secure browser over a Virtual Private Network. The information is not stored on the device nor is it shared with anyone. It’s a safe and accurate way to acquire credit card information necessary for processing donations, and reduces administrative costs and human error.
Health and safety for all is the top priority and we want to ensure our community is protected.
Any time our SickKids fundraisers speak to the public, they are closely following public health guidelines which means staying 2 metres away, wearing a mask, using hand sanitizers frequently and not sharing any materials or devices during the sign up process.
The fundraisers have been trained on how to engage with the public safely while speaking to the importance of raising much needed funds to build a new, safer SickKids.
Once you decide to become a monthly donor, the fundraiser will ask for your contact information, donation amount and payment method and enter it on their tablet. After the information is collected, it is sent to a secure server and removed from the tablet. No donor information is stored on the tablet. At the completion of the sign-up process, an email will be sent immediately confirming your donation and welcoming you to the SickKids monthly donor community. Within a few days, a representative from Public Outreach will call to thank you for your monthly donation.
The funds raised through our door-to-door canvassing program goes towards the highest priority needs of SickKids, which includes urgent measures to combat COVID-19 as well as supporting the building of a new SickKids.
Once you let us know that you’re leaving a gift in your will to SickKids, we’ll invite you to join the J.P. Bickell Society. You’ll be recognized on the SickKids Donor Hall of Honour in the Hospital’s main corridor, either with your name or in honour of a loved one. You can also choose to remain anonymous, while retaining the many benefits of the Society, including a subscription to our newsletter SickKids Legacies and invitations to exclusive SickKids events like the J.P. Bickell annual luncheon. If you are interested in becoming a J. P. Bickell Society member, please contact us at 416.813.8271 or legacy.giving@sickkidsfoundation.com.
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Speak to your lawyer about drafting or revising your will, an essential step to protect your family’s future and ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes.
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Add the appropriate wording in your will to leave a gift to SickKids, with which our team can help you.
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Let us know about your bequest, so we can show our appreciation and ensure your intentions are properly understood and honoured.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadian government has provided individual Canadians until June 1st 2020, to file their 2019 tax return.
For details on how this impacts you, please visit the Canada.ca website.
Please contact Jessica John, Director, Leadership & Legacy Giving at:
Phone: 1.800.661.1083 or 416-813-6166
Email: jessica.john@sickkidsfoundation.com
Mail:
SickKids Foundation
Attn: Jessica John, Leadership & Legacy Giving Team
525 University Ave, Suite 835
Toronto, ON M5G 2L3
SickKids is a vital provincial—and national—service. Rebuilding the hospital is just as vital. Because it’s such a large, important capital project, costs must be shared by a combination of government, hospital, and donor support.
The Ontario government grant will support design and construction costs of a new SickKids.
In March 2018, the Ontario government under Premier Kathleen Wynne announced up to $2.4 billion for a new SickKids. Three months later, before the pledge could be fulfilled, Wynne’s government lost the provincial election. Premier Doug Ford’s recent funding commitment replaces Wynne’s pledge.
Unfortunately SickKids turtles are not for sale. SickKids turtles are only given to patients at the Hospital.
No, SickKids does not participate in street fundraising. Many other charities raise money through street fundraising. SickKids, however, is not one of them.
You can contact SickKids at 1-800-661-1083 or 416-813-6166.
SickKids fundraisers are compensated hourly. SickKids adheres to the Imagine Canada guidelines. To learn more about Imagine Canada and their standards, please visit their website.
As a new monthly donor you’ll receive:
- An email confirming your donation and introducing our patient Everett, your SickKids welcome buddy
- A package in the mail and a phone call officially welcoming you to the SickKids monthly donor community
- A consolidated receipt for your contributions in the current tax year at the end of February of the following year
- Patient stories and updates about the hospital and the impact of your life-changing donations from Everett and his friends
Our Tele-Fundraisers are compensated through an hourly wage with no commission.
You can contact our donor service team at 1-800-661-1083 or donor.inquiries@sickkidsfoundation.com. Or you can reach Elizabeth Goddard at elizabeth.goddard@sickkidsfoundation.com 416-200-1748
It is completely safe to provide information over the phone. Our agents follow PCI-compliant procedures to ensure your information remains confidential and safe.
There are many reasons why SickKids would be calling. If you’ve made a donation, you could be receiving a thank you or welcome call. We have other fundraising initiatives such as matching gift campaigns, monthly giving, legacy giving, gifts of security that our donors might be interested in.
Please call our monthly Donor Specialist at 416-813-1216 to assist you.
No, we will not auto-cancel your donations. However, if you want to cancel your monthly donation, simply contact our Monthly Donor Specialists at any point in time at 416-813-1216 and they can help you process the request.
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.
For any new health-care build, provincial funding formulas require that the hospital contribute at least 25% of the total project costs. For SickKids, that works out to $600 million, regardless of how much the government contributes. To reach this goal, we must rely on the generous support of donors.
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.
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.
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. 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.
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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.
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."
If you’d like your gift to be designated for a specific purpose (e.g. Labatt Family Heart Centre), contact our team so we can help with the wording to ensure that your gift goes where you want it to.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.
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.
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.
Absolutely. You can become a donor by using our online donation form, or by visiting us at:
SickKids Foundation
525 University Avenue
Suite 835
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 2L3
To review the last several years of financial statements, please visit our Publications and Financials section.
We are looking for donors who will stay with SickKids for a minimum of one year. Monthly donations can be downgraded, upgraded or cancelled at any time.
Please fill out our Change of Address Form or call 416-813-6166 ext. 1216.
No, all data is encrypted in a compliant environment according to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.
