Equality Matters

Increase Your Impact, Reduce Your Taxes

As the weather finally turns warmer with sunny days just around the corner, we thought it would be a good time to share with you some information on strategic ways to plan your charitable giving through larger gifts that help you maximize your impact, while providing tax benefits.

When you make a transformational gift to Crossroads, you are changing what’s possible for vulnerable women and girls. Your gift will accelerate development forward in this critical time when the impacts of COVID-19 and climate change in sub-Saharan Africa have greatly increased the challenges of vulnerable women and girls, including a rise in child marriages, human trafficking and severe cases of food insecurity.

Crossroads has over 60 years of proven experience in empowering vulnerable communities. We know firsthand that sustainable development starts with empowering women and girls. This year, our goal is to raise $1.5 million, which is only possible with your support. A transformational gift is a powerful way to have a meaningful and life-changing impact on thousands of lives. Your gift helps us create more program outcomes that result in a wonderful ripple effect. For instance, our Girls’ Empowerment programming has successfully reduced by 33% the number of child marriages and teen pregnancies in the communities we serve in West Africa, thanks to gifts from generous donors like you!

A plan for your charitable contribution will help you maximize your impact. The ideal giving strategy for you depends on your age, the quantity and type of asset you would like to donate, and how much control you want over the gift.

At Crossroads, we believe in working together with our funders, partners and supporters so that we achieve our mission to overcome poverty and advance the rights of women and girls. You can help us make this possible today through a transformational gift.

Here are some strategies for transformational giving:

Corporate Gifts

Corporate gifts play an important role in supporting our empowerment programs, advancing gender equality and alleviate poverty for marginalized communities. A philanthropic partnership with Crossroads provides businesses with the opportunity to support girls’ education and leadership or women’s economic empowerment. You can donate online to make a corporate gift here.

Make a gift in your Will

Many of our supporters have joined our ONE WORLD legacy giving circle as a way to show their commitment to Crossroads. You can make a legacy commitment to help create sustaining support for our mission to continue to thrive by naming your loved ones and Crossroads as beneficiaries in your estate plan. A gift in your Will is a tax-smart way to support Crossroads – you benefit by getting a reduced tax burden for your loved ones while supporting our mission. To learn more about legacy giving and to access our free will-writing service please visit: Legacy Giving. 

Make a gift of Stocks

When you gift stocks and other securities directly to Crossroads, you make an outsized impact without taking money directly out of your bank account. Plus, you benefit by not needing to pay tax on the capital gains for appreciated assets, while receiving a tax receipt for the donated amount. Corporate donors get an added benefit as the dollar amount of gains is a tax-free withdrawal from their capital dividend account. To learn more about gifts for securities, please read here.

Gifts of Life Insurance

With a gift of life insurance, you can make periodic premium payments that turn into a major gift, or you can donate after your lifetime through legacy giving. Click here to learn more.

Gifts of Registered Assets

Donors with tax-deferred retirement accounts can also use charitable deductions to offset the tax liability on the amount they withdraw. You can assign Crossroads as one of your RRSP/RRIF beneficiaries, or even donate during your lifetime from your registered account directly without needing to pay withholding tax. Click here to learn more.

Endowment Funds

An endowment fund is a principal sum, permanently set aside and invested for you by Crossroads, with only the income used for charitable purposes. The gifted capital remains intact, and income generated by the capital is used for the purpose you, as the donor, agreed on with us. Donors with the philanthropic capacity to make endowed gifts often do so by setting up a Donor Advised Fund, also known as a family foundation charity structure and in this way, they can support Crossroads with a major gift or a gift in their Will, creating a collaborative family mission and values exercise. Click here to learn more about endowment funds.


While all these charitable giving tax strategies have benefits, it may not be easy for you to recognize the best option for you. We advise you to consult with your trusted financial and legal advisors.

Thank you for considering a transformational gift to Crossroads International. No matter how you choose to give, every dollar matters. Together with supporters like you, we are building vital resources needed to fund priority initiatives. Everything we do depends on donors like you. With your generosity, we can reach more women and girls, enabling them to attain their full potential. THANK YOU for your support!

If you would like to make a transformational gift today, please go here or contact Wanjiro Ndungo, Senior Manager, Philanthropy and Public Engagement at: wanjiro@cintl.org or call 416-967-1611.

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