Getting Started
Thank you for taking the first step to get involved with the Royal LePage® Shelter Foundation™! Your support means so much to women and children in your community seeking an end to the violence and abuse in their lives and the chance for a new beginning. To start making a difference, follow these steps:
Contact us to be partnered with your local women’s shelter.
Email shelterfoundation@royallepage.ca to get started. If you have a shelter in mind, please let us know. To ensure that all donations and fundraising proceeds stay in the community in which they were raised, we match Royal LePage offices with their local women’s shelter — specifically, shelters that focus on helping women and children who have experienced intimate partner violence (as opposed to shelters addressing homelessness or other needs).
Royal LePage Canada covers the Shelter Foundation’s administrative costs so 100% of the funds donated to the Shelter Foundation support our cause. You will be given the opportunity to direct all of your fundraising proceeds and personal donations to your local women’s shelter, or you may wish to direct a portion of these funds to support national domestic violence prevention programs.
Reach out to your confirmed shelter partner.
Set up a meeting where you can learn about the services your shelter offers, their most pressing needs, and current wishlist. You can then share how you plan to support the shelter (financial support, donated goods, volunteerism) and what (if any) expectations you have for the shelter in return. Be sure to invite a representative from the shelter to speak at an office meeting. This will put a human face to the cause and motivate your group to get involved and give generously!
Consider forming a Shelter committee.
Leverage the talents and enthusiasm of your most generous and influential agents. Gathering together to discuss your brokerage’s philanthropy and community involvement can also be great for morale and facilitates buy-in from the office as a whole once you start launching Shelter Foundation initiatives.
Decide how you’ll support the cause and set a goal.
Agents can raise money by donating a portion of their commission from each transaction, brokers and staff can make monthly payroll deductions, and as a team your office can hold fundraising events. And don’t forget about the Challenge for Shelter trek, the Shelter Blooms program and our other ways to get involved! If you are considering donations of in-kind items (e.g. holiday gifts, new clothing, or household items to help a woman moving out of the shelter), please always contact your shelter partner directly in advance to determine what their needs and priorities are at the time.
Publicize your support for the shelter to your clients and community.
Showing that you are socially responsible will help build commitment and involvement in this important cause. You can do this by sharing photos of your cheque presentations, inviting representatives from the shelter to your events, sending a press release to your local media to share updates on your involvement/activities, and encouraging agents to talk about the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation with current and prospective clients
Collecting & Remitting Revenue
Please follow these instructions when preparing to collect and remit donations raised at your brokerage.
Encourage agents to sign up online to become Commission Donors.
- Online (preferred): Have the agent fill out an online here that goes directly to the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation team. When we receive new pledge forms through this site, we will forward a copy to the Administrator at that agent’s brokerage/office.
- Paper: Have the agent complete and sign this form and then immediately email a copy to shelterfoundation@royallepage.ca. A copy should also go back to the agent for their records. It’s very helpful for our team to get a head start on creating records in our donor database in advance of funds actually arriving, so please do not delay in sending us these completed forms for new sign ups!
If an agent wishes to change the amount of their Commission Donation at any time, please have them put this in writing for everyone’s records. There is no need to notify the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation team, but it is essential that the amount is adjusted in your own accounting systems.
Deduct the donation at the time the deal is closed and commission paid.
Many of the major real estate accounting packages such as LoneWolf can easily handle a recurring donation deduction and can be used to track the accumulated amounts collected and owing to the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. If you require assistance setting this up, please contact the software supplier or the Shelter Foundation.
Remit Commission Donations on one company cheque on a monthly or quarterly basis.
This means that your shelter partner receives a steady flow of donations over the course of the year and helps the Shelter Foundation team avoid a year end backlog.
Make your cheque payable to Royal LePage Shelter Foundation and include a list of the agents and their contribution amounts
System-generated reports are available if you are using accounting software. Please do not include any personal or sensitive information in your remittances (e.g. client names, property addresses, social insurance numbers). For fundraising event proceeds, please submit these to the Shelter Foundation within 10 business days of the conclusion of the event. Submit any donation cheques made out directly to the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation at the same time. We will issue tax receipts according to our Tax Receipt Policy.
Indicate whether you want the official Shelter Foundation donation cheque mailed back to you for personal delivery or sent directly to the shelter on your behalf.
If you have requested that the official donation cheque be returned to your office, you can expect to receive it within 3 weeks of us receiving the funds. During certain times of year (following national fundraising events or throughout the holiday season and into early January), our processing times may be somewhat longer. We appreciate your patience and ask that you avoid making time-sensitive arrangements to present proceeds to your local women’s shelter. It is always best to schedule a cheque presentation once you have your official Shelter Foundation cheque in hand.
Shelter Foundation policy is to release all funds received to our shelter partners ASAP after processing. If however, you require funds be put on hold for a brief period, please note these instructions in your remittance.
Occasionally, the Shelter Foundation cheque we return to you will be in an amount that is less than what you sent to us. This is because one or more of your agents have opted to split their Commission Donations between your local women’s shelter and intimate partner violence prevention programs.
Make a recurring note in your calendar to ensure you meet an important annual deadline.
The Royal LePage Shelter Foundation issues tax receipts at the end of February for all donations received during the previous calendar year. In order to be eligible for tax receipts in a given calendar year, the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation must receive:
- EFT or wire transfers no later than December 31. To remit proceeds by direct deposit, EFT or wire transfer, please click here.
- Cheques dated (or backdated) to December 31 no later than January 15.
Please mail to:
Royal LePage Shelter Foundation
39 Wynford Drive, Suite 200
Toronto, ON M3C 3K5
Questions about any of the above! Please reach out to us at shelterfoundation@royallepage.ca or contact our team directly:
Lisa Gibbs, Executive Director lisagibbs@royallepage.ca
Boitumelo Jones, Senior Donations Processing Coordinator boitumelojones@royallepage.ca
Carly Neill, Fundraising & Communications Manager, carlyneill@royallepage.ca