Donations to the Society
The photograph on the left shows Shay Locomotive #3 simmering under live steam with Bytown Railway Society rolling stock tucked in behind her on August 21, 2011 at the Canada Science and Technology Museum campus. The Operating Crew is comprised of Society Volunteers.
The little fellow in front with his arms extended is typical of the unbridled enthusiasm from some our youngest passengers.
Heritage Railway Equipment Restoration, live steam Operating Crews, these are two key elements of our volunteer's substantial and ongoing contributions to the Society's mission. If you are interested in financially supporting our work, we encourage you to consider making a donation.
We have created two categories which you can designate your donation to:
- General - Your donation is used where the Society feels the greatest need.
- Equipment Maintenance/Restoration - Your donation is used for equipment maintenance/restoration where the Society feels the greatest need. Some examples of current equipment work is as follows:
- Canadian National 4977 Passenger Car Repairs. You can read all about the 4977 restoration work here.
There are a few options for your consideration.
Cash Donations
Cash donations can be made in one of three ways:
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On-line Donations made through Paypal (Option 1 above) will receive a tax receipt directly from PayPal. Electronic charitable donation receipts for donations made directly to the Society (Option 3 above) will be provided by our Treasurer via email.
Donate Securities and Mutual Funds
The Canada Revenue Agency does not apply capital gains tax on donations of publicly traded securities. Capitals gains are the increase in the value of your securities over the price you paid at purchase.
When you sell your shares for cash, you’re responsible for the tax due on the gain, even if you plan to donate the proceeds from the sale. If you pay the tax out of those proceeds, there’s less money left to donate. The charity receives a smaller donation and you have a smaller donation to claim for your charitable tax credit at the end of the year.
But when you donate your securities directly to the society, those capital gains aren’t subject to tax. This means the society receives a larger gift, and you’ll benefit from a tax receipt for the full value of your eligible securities or mutual funds.
If you're interested in donating Securities to the society, please contract our Treasurer using our Contact Us page. Please note, it typically takes 3–5 business days to sell and settle a trade from the date that we receive the securities or mutual fund from your broker or financial institution. If your security is not liquid (i.e. paper certificates) and they are not traded on a daily market, processing times are longer and can vary by security type. In such cases, we will contact you to share expected timelines.