Donating just one dollar a day, or $365 a year, to United Way's Community Fund provides real impact.  For example, $365 provides 73 children with a breakfast, lunch or snack at their school through Halton Food for Thought.  This allows students to learn more effectively and develop better social and behavioural skills in the classroom.

A Leadership gift is a donation of $1,000 or more. The program encourages individuals to take an active role in philanthropy, recognize them for their generosity and then encourage others to follow suit.

What's more, your support at the Leadership level has maximum impact.  For example, a donation of $1,500 per year provides a Big Sister or Big Brother for a child at risk that will allow them to develop new skills.  According to research, those that have had a Big Sister or Big Brother are less likely to begin using illegal drugs and/or alcohol.

Celebrating its 10th year, The Sprott Leadership Matching Challenge matches dollar for dollar new and increased leadership gifts given directly to United Way of Oakville (not including those gifts designated to other United Ways of registered charities). For example:

• Make a first time contribution to United Way of Oakville for $1,000 and The Sprott leadership Matching Challenge will match the entire gift. Your $1,000, plus the match becomes $2,000 for United Way of Oakville.
• Increase your Leadership contribution to United Way of Oakville from $5,000 to $7,500 and the increase ($2,500) will be matched for a total gift of $10,000.

Did you know that you are no longer required to pay capital gains tax on gifts of publicly traded securities to registered charities? In fact, you could realize significant tax savings when making this type of gift to United Way of Oakville.

If an individual sells appreciated securities during their lifetime, or if these securities are owned at the time of death, income tax must be paid on 50% of the capital gains on those securities. Donating securities to United Way of Oakville provides an opportunity for donors to eliminate the tax liability that would otherwise eventually have to be paid and still benefit from the charitable donation tax credit.

Making a gift of this kind is easy. If you have any questions, or would like to make a donation of securities please contact Aideen Hennessy, Director of Finance & Administration or call (905) 845-5571 ext. 226.