In order to fulfill its mission and maintain its position as the country’s leading theatre training institution, the National Theatre School relies on the generosity and sustained support of the hundreds of generous individuals, foundations and corporations that make a tangible and direct contribution to its growth and well-being.
Annual Giving
Annual Giving provides the School with current and readily available funds. Annual donations are spent relatively quickly and have no particular end date. As a donor, you may choose how your gift will be directed. These funds are essential, giving the School the flexibility it needs to enhance its students’ stage performances or to optimize its outreach into the community, for instance.
Major Gifts
Major Gifts can be made either through the creation of an endowment or direct funding. This type of giving is particularly important for the School, as it enables it to sustain its programs, bolster student aid, and update facilities. Your donation can be used to create a permanent endowment, provide direct funding over a specific number of years, or a combination of these options.
Endowment gifts are invested to pay out a yearly amount thus creating a steady stream of income. When an endowment is increased, thanks to donations, its purchasing power is preserved. Directly funded gifts, on the other hand, are spent immediately or over a defined period and end once the funds are used.
Your directly funded gift will have a higher immediate impact than an equivalent gift in endowment and its impact ends once spent; whereas a contribution to an endowment has a lower immediate impact, but its impact lasts in perpetuity.
Planned Giving
Planned Giving is about planning to make a donation to the National Theatre School as part of your future estate planning. Planned gifts can be made from accumulated assets, current income, or an estate, and offer tax benefits to you, your family and heirs as well.
Examples of Planned Gifts include:
A bequest, the most common type of planned gift. It is a gift left to the School through your will by specific amount or by percentage. Your estate can use the charitable donation receipt to create a tax credit.
Gifts of publicly traded securities are an interesting option if you hold stocks that have increased in value, because one-half of the taxable gain in qualifying gifts of securities is exempt from taxation. This important incentive allows you to take advantage of the special capital gains tax rates and receive immediate tax savings while supporting a favourite charity.
Gifts of life insurance allow you to make significant gifts with relatively little impact on your current financial situation. You can make the NTS the owner and beneficiary of a policy you no longer need and receive a donation receipt for the cash value of the paid-up policy. Alternatively, you can purchase a new policy, naming the NTS as owner and beneficiary, and receive a tax receipt for the annual premiums paid.
Because tax savings and estate planning are important, we encourage you to consult a professional advisor, such as a lawyer or accountant, when preparing to make a gift of this nature.
A planned gift is invested in an endowment fund and the subsequent investment income provides stable and secure funding to ensure the NTS maintains its place as one of the top arts training institutions in Canada. The gift secures a vibrant future for the School, while providing immediate or deferred tax benefits to the donor.
Community Foundations
The National Theatre School is continually searching for innovative giving and income growth opportunities. In order to benefit from recent government endowment incentive subsidies, the School, with the support of its private donors, has established named funds at the following Community Foundations: the Foundation of Greater Montreal, the Edmonton Community Foundation, the Toronto Community Foundation, the Vancouver Foundation, and the Community Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador.
