FAQs

United Way EPledge is an online system that allows you to donate without having to fill in a paper pledge card. Instead of receiving the pledge card in the mail, you will receive an email with a unique link. This will bring you to a page where you may choose various ways of donating.

Donations can be one-time gifts, a monthly pledge for one year (that can be renewed/updated the following year), or a monthly continuous pledge (that will continue until you request that it be changed/opt-out).

Yes, all types of donations are welcome. If you are paying by cash or cheque, please follow the online instructions on where to mail your donation and please include your name and Employee ID so that your donation is registered correctly in the system.

When making donations by cheque or cash, please contact Cara Kirkey at cara.kirkey@ubc.ca.

Yes, you are able to donate to specific charities through United Way, as has been possible in the past. The unique link you receive from United Way EPledge will bring you to a page where you have a number of options. Among them will be the possibility to specify certain charities to receive your donation. See the following FAQ for more precise information on this process.

Note: These types of donations are called designated gifts and there is a $12 fee associated with them. This fee is to cover administrative costs that United Way incurs through this method of donation.

When you access the United Way EPledge system to make a pledge you will have an option to donate to any registered Canadian charity. To find your charity, click on the “Another Registered Canadian Charity Look Up” button. Type in the name of your charity in the pop-up box, do not punctuate or caps lock any of the text. When the search has been completed, choose your charity by clicking on it and enter the amount you wish to designate to it.

If your charity is not found through the search function, you will be brought to a page that displays the message “No Record Found”. On this page, you can then enter information about your charity. Please ensure that you enter as much correct information as possible so that United Way is able to designate your gift to the correct charity.

The email address United Way uses is the email address you supplied to UBC Financial Services. The UBC United Way Campaign Office/United Way obtains this information from the payroll department in September of each year.

Yes, the email you receive from United Way EPledge will have an opt-out option and when you opt-out you will not receive any further emails.

To opt-out you will need to follow the link you are given in the United Way EPledge email, create a password and log in to United Way EPledge. When you log in, under the tab “Donate”, you can select “I do not wish to donate this year.” This process is to ensure that you fully and knowingly opt-out of this program.

No solicitations will be sent to your UBC email address. Only UBC United Way campaign information will be sent to you.

If you do not receive an email because you have not supplied one to payroll, please contact the UBC United Way Campaign office at united.way@ubc.ca. Send us your full name and current e-mail address. You will be entered into the United Way EPledge system and will then receive your personalized email and pledge form. If you do not receive the email for other reasons, please contact the Campaign office at united.way@ubc.ca with your contact details.

In order to change the email address that UBC United Way receives from payroll, please go to www.msp.ubc.ca and log in with your CWL account. Once logged in, click on “E-mail Addresses”, under the “myPersonalInfo” section. The primary email that you enter in this window will be the email that UBC United Way receives.

Note: Payroll only supplies information to UBC United Way once a year, the email you enter during this change will be the one that is received next year by UBC United Way.

Yes. Pledge forms on which you can write your contact details and donation are available. Please contact us for more information.

All donations to United Way through the UBC Campaign are accepted whether they are made by students, staff or faculty. To enter you into the United Way EPledge system, we will need the following information:

Name
UBC Student ID
Email address

Please send all of this information to united.way@ubc.ca. If you do not wish to donate online we can send you a paper form. Email united.way@ubc.ca with your name and address to obtain a paper pledge form.

No, there is an annual turnover—United Way gets a new list of email addresses each year. Your name is removed from the list unless you become a donor. Donors are kept on the list in order to track previous donations.

If you donated through payroll deduction, the amount will appear on your T4 slip. Tax receipts are issued for donations $25 and over unless otherwise requested.

Payroll deductions begin in the New Year following a campaign. T4 slips applying to that tax year are issued the following February. For example, if you pledge a gift in October, payroll deductions begin first payroll in January. T4 slips are generated the following February.

A designation is any gift directed through United Way to any other registered Canadian charity, including member agencies.

The fee is $12 per designation, regardless of the number of designations or type or size of gift.

The $12 designation fee is necessary to cover the costs associated with processing and remitting funds to other charities.

This cost-recovery measure has been in effect since 2006.

The fee allows the United Way to align with other major United Ways across Canada, to recover the costs of administering designations, and to have more dollars available for investment in the Okanagan.

Making a gift will look and feel the same, the only difference will be that United Way will deduct the fee before paying out a designation. The fee applies to all forms of payment (for example, cheque, credit card or payroll).

It has no effect on fundraising costs. The implementation of a designation fee does not affect United Way’s infrastructure—it still costs just as much to raise a dollar and there is no change to overall costs or gross revenues. The fee is a way of recovering these costs and in turn, United Way will have more dollars to invest in the community.

The cost to administer a designation is the same regardless of the amount of the gift. The fee reflects the costs associated with the administration of designations.

No. They are simply recovering their costs. Giving is a personal choice. They hope that donors who believe strongly in a cause will continue to support that cause, whether through United Way or directly. By giving to United Way, donors are helping to keep our community strong. United Way is dealing with the root causes of critical social issues by acting to prevent problems and create lasting solutions for people.

Administering a designation creates a cost regardless of which agency it is directed to.

Yes. The fee does not affect the receipt amount at all. Both receipts and recognition reflect the total gift.