Common Questions about Donations

A:  Your gift transforms lives in our community!

With each donation, 77% goes straight back into UGM’s transformative programs and services and just under 23% goes towards administration and development. This is well within CRA guidelines for Canadian Charities.

All donations will be used for Board-approved programs and projects. When any need or project goal has been met or cannot be completed for any reason, the remaining contributions will be used where most needed. 

You can view our most recent Annual Report and Financial Statements or read inspiring Stories of Hope to learn more and see the impact your gift is making. 

A: Come for a tour of UGM to see the impact of your support. We offer 45 minute tours of our building in Vancouver at 601 E Hastings Street. We'll share stories of hope that you make possible, and give a fuller understanding of the life-changing services we're so grateful to run by showing you some of the spaces where we hold our programs!

Sign up for a tour on our online booking page.

A: For your convenience, you can manage your donation through our Donor Portal. Enter the email address you used to start your monthly gift and you will receive a unique login link in your email. 

This feature is currently only available for monthly gifts via credit card. For other payment methods, please contact monthlygiving@ugm.ca or 604.215.5440 ext 484 for assistance.

A: Thank you for your donation! Once you’ve made an online donation, you should receive an email confirmation from Union Gospel Mission with the gift amount and your name and address within a few minutes. Be sure to check your junk mail.

If you do not receive an email confirmation, please contact us at 604.215.5440 ext 464 or donors@ugm.ca. 
 

A: If you would like to cancel a donation or are having any other problems making a donation, please contact us at 604.215.5440 ext 464 or email donors@ugm.ca.
 

A: We recently updated our donation platform to allow for other efficiencies and functions to better serve donors like you.  If you are running into any issues, please contact our donor relations team at 604.215.5440 ext 464 or donors@ugm.ca to let our team know how we can improve your experience.

A: You can make your gift go further by covering the processing fees for your donation. When you pay this small transaction fee, you’ll be helping to make a bigger impact in overcoming poverty, homelessness and addiction one life at a time.

A: We request phone numbers for online donations so we can communicate more effectively with our donors, particularly in case there are processing or tax receipt issues related to their donation. If you would prefer not to provide this information, you can call UGM directly to make a donation at 604.891.5682 or toll free to 1.888.347.4673 outside of Metro Vancouver. We do not require phone number if you call in make a gift. 

A: To update your mailing address, please call our Donor Relations team at 604.215.5440 ext 464 or email donors@ugm.ca with your new address and contact information.

A: Thank you for being a part of our Hearts for the City Monthly Donor family! For your convenience, UGM now has a donor portal for our monthly donors to easily update their gift information. This feature is currently only available if your monthly gift payment method is credit card. You can make changes or updates to an existing monthly gift by visiting our donor portal at https://donors.ugm.ca/login. Simply enter the email address you have on file with UGM to get a secure login link in your email inbox.

If your monthly gift payment method is through your bank account, please contact our Monthly Giving team at 604.215.5440 ext 484 or email monthlygiving@ugm.ca to make changes or updates.

A: Because your partnership is an important part of our mission, we send mail and emails to keep you updated on our current needs, new programs and stories of lives changed. We also sometimes send unaddressed or addressed mail to invite people to join our donor family.

If you would like to reduce or change the amount of mail or email you receive from us, give us a call at 604.215.5440 ext 464 or email donors@ugm.ca. You can also click the update my email preferences or unsubscribe link at the bottom of an email sent by UGM to reduce the frequency of emails.

Because some of our mailings are pre-printed, updates to mailing preferences can take 8-10 weeks to come into effect. 

A: By default, tax receipts are sent by mail. One-time donation receipts will be mailed out within 2-3 weeks of your gift to the address provided.

If you have chosen to receive your tax receipts via email, one time donation e-receipts should be sent to your email within 3-5 business days of your gift. Please make sure donors@ugm.ca is marked as safe from your spam inbox to receive these emails.

Our Hearts for the City monthly donors receive consolidated tax receipts for all the gifts they have made within a calendar year, which are issued before the end of February of the following year.

If you prefer one receipt per year for all donations, our team can make that change for you! Please contact 604.215.5440 ext 464 or donors@ugm.ca to update your preferences. 

(Note: Consolidated e-receipts are only available for gifts made on or after January 1, 2023)

A: Yes!  We are now able to email you your tax receipts. When making a donation online, please make sure to check off the box that says “I would like to receive my donation receipt by email”. The email that you use to submit the online donation is the email that your e-receipt will be emailed to. Otherwise, you can contact our donor relations team at 604.215.5440 ext 464 or donors@ugm.ca and they can help you do so. 

A: Yes, you can!  Please contact our donor relations team at 604.215.5440 ext 464 or donors@ugm.ca and they can help you get that set up. You will need to provide an email for our gift processing team to send the e-receipts to.

A: It depends! UGM follows Canada Revenue Agency guidelines and regulations around issuing tax receipts, which require the charity to determine the fair market value of an item. Due to the difficultly of determining a fair market value for used goods, UGM generally does not provide tax receipts for used items. 

New items may be eligible for a tax receipt.

To check if your donation is eligible for a tax receipt, please contact our Donor Relations team at 604.215.5440 ext 358 or email annualgiving@ugm.ca. 

A: We understand that some couples may wish to have both names on the tax receipt.

UGM's receipting system doesn't allow for two names on donation receipts, because each individual has a separate record. We are able to total a household's giving for annual tax receipts but unfortunately, only one name can be on the tax receipt. 

According to the Canada Revenue Agency, when a taxpayer has a spouse or common law partner, a donation made by one of them in the current taxation year or any of the preceding 5 taxation years can normally be claimed by either spouse.

A: No. The official donation receipt has to be in the name of the true donor - the individual or organization that made the donation to the charity. For example, a cheque or credit card clearly shows the name of the individual or organization making the gift.

A: Thank you so much! Yes we accept donations by mail or in person as well.

To mail a donation, either send a cheque to the address below, or to give by credit card through the mail, fill out a donation form with credit card information and mail your donation to:

PO Box 2546, Vancouver BC V7B 3W8

Please do not send cash through the mail.

Donations can also be dropped off in person at UGM's Vancouver location at 601 E. Hastings St
 

A: Thank you for celebrating your loved one in such a meaningful way. To make a donation in honour or memory of someone, you can select the checkbox for “This donation is made in tribute to someone, or to commemorate the occasion of an event” when making an online donation.

You will receive an email after your donation prompting you to add the name of the honouree, and their address or email if you would like a card sent to them.

You can also make a tribute donation over the phone at 778.851.0165. If you’re calling from outside of Metro Vancouver, please call toll free to 1.888.347.4673.

The tax receipt for the donation will be addressed and mailed to you.

A: Thank you for your generosity! A gift of publicly-traded securities, such as stocks, bonds or mutual funds, can be made to Union Gospel Mission by following the directions on the Gifts of Shares & Securities page.

A: Yes we do! See our Donations of Items page for more information on our most urgent needs and drop off locations. 

A: Yes we do! UGM partners with the Charity Car Program and Donate-a-Car Canada to accept donations of used vehicles. Contact one of our car donation partners to arrange a free towing or drop off of your vehicle. For donations through Charity Car Program, donors will receive a tax receipt issued by UGM. For donations through Donate-a-Car Canada, tax receipts will be issued by Canada Helps, and the funds from the sale will be transferred to UGM.