Donor support & FAQs 

For one-time donations
If you donate online, you’ll receive a confirmation by email within one hour of making the gift. Donations made online are processed right away and your tax receipt is attached as a PDF.

If your gift is a one-time donation sent to us by mail, the donations are processed within a few weeks of receiving the gift. We usually allow one to two weeks for mail to reach us.

For all monthly donations
We will issue your consolidated tax receipt for all monthly donations in February after the previous tax year has closed. Paper tax receipts will be mailed and e-receipts emailed by Feb. 15 at the latest.

Stocks and securities
If you make a contribution in the form of stocks and securities, your gift will come to us without your contact information. To make sure we can thank you and document your donation, please send an email with your name, address and the details of your stock gift to securities@msf.ca.

If you are unable to locate your electronic tax receipt, please don’t hesitate to contact our donor relations team by phone at 1-800-928-8685 or by email at donorrelations@toronto.msf.org, including your full name and address. If you have moved, please provide both your old address and your new address. Our operating hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST, Monday to Friday. 

You can give a tribute donation in memory of someone, or to commemorate a holiday, birthday, wedding or other special occasion. To make a gift in honour or in memory, please access this donation page . 

Sending an e-card: Enter the recipient’s email address (up to three different emails addresses separated with a comma or a new line). If you want to receive a copy of the e-card, enter your own email address. Select the type of e-card you would like to send. Enter a subject line for your e-card. Finally, enter a personal message. Please note the message has a limit of 255 characters. You can then preview your e-card. You will need to allow pop up on your browser to preview the e-card. 

Sending a print card: Select your print card then enter the name and address of the recipient. You can enter a personal message. Please note the message has a limit of 255 characters. 

To finalize your gift, you will need to enter your contact information as well as your credit card information. 

You’ll receive both a confirmation and an official printed acknowledgement including tax receipt by email within one hour of making the gift.

There are many ways you can give, other than a single or monthly donation. Whether it’s creating your own fundraising event, being sponsored to take part in your favourite activity, donating in your will or in honour of someone else, there are countless ways to help – on your own or by engaging your friends, family and community. You choose and control the type, scale and complexity of your event, in line with your skills, interests and what is do-able for you. 

If you would like to give via your workplace, to give Aeroplan Miles, etc., please visit our All ways to give page. 

If you are looking to leave a gift in your will to MSF, please visit our Legacy Giving page.

To update your banking or credit card information, please contact us by phone at 1-800-928-8685. Our operating hours are from  8 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST, Monday to Friday. For security reasons, we ask that donors do not send credit card numbers by email. 

To modify the amount of your gift, to put your donation on hold or to cancel it, or to update your contact information, please contact us by phone at the number above or by email at donorrelations@toronto.msf.org. 

We understand some people would prefer limited mailings — whether it be quarterly, once a year, or none at all. Just let us know what your preference is by sending an email including your name and address to donorrelations@toronto.msf.org or calling us at 1-800-928-8685. Our operating hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST, Monday to Friday. 

Please note it is possible you may receive a final piece of mail from us, as our mailings are prepared quite a bit advance.

No, we do not share our mailing list with other organizations that solicit donations or sell any products. MSF stopped the practice of trading names with other charities in 2020, and it is now our policy not to share or trade any donor information with other organizations. To read more about the measures we take to protect your data, please read our Privacy Notice. 

If you have any questions please contact our Donor Services team at donorrelations@toronto.msf.org call us at 1-800-928-8685 or write to our mailing address at Doctors Without Borders, 551 Adelaide St. W, Toron.to, ON, M5V 0N8. Our operating hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST, Monday to Friday. 

While MSF no longer shares donor contact information, if you feel that you are in general getting too much unsolicited mail, and you would like to better ensure your name not be traded by any organization, you may wish to contact the Canadian Marketing Association. They keep a master “Do Not Contact” list most non-profit organizations consult before sending out any unsolicited mail.

At all times, MSF directs at least 80 per cent of our revenue to fund our program activities. A minimum of 80 cents from every dollar is spent supporting operations, which provide medical assistance to people facing crises around the world, and on advocacy and awareness-raising activities in Canada and elsewhere. 

For more information, go to our website page: Donor Accountability. 

We don’t accept in-kind gifts such as medical equipment, drugs, food or other materials for our operations. 

Here’s why: a huge part of what makes Doctors Without Borders so effective in our medical work is our ability to respond rapidly. After decades of experience, we’ve developed specialized, pre-packaged kits ready to go at a moment’s notice. These tried-and-true materials can get into the hands of our teams much more efficiently than if we had to manage screening, sorting and packing different types of supplies. 

Some more viable options for the items you have could be to check with your local community centres, shelters, hospices, hospitals or senior’s homes, as they can often make use of extra supplies. Alternatively, “Not Just Tourists” is a non-profit organization that facilitates smaller donations overseas.

You can easily identify Doctors Without Borders fundraisers by their photo ID badge and Doctors Without Borders vest or shirt. They will often have a laminated brochure, or a binder with our logo and information. 

Please visit our web page about canvassing and telefundraising to learn more.

You can visit our volunteer page for more information about current job openings.

You can easily identify Doctors Without Borders fundraisers by their photo ID badge, MSF branded lanyard and Doctors Without Borders vest or shirt. They will often have a laminated brochure or a binder with our logo and information. 

Doctors Without Borders canvassers will be working with handheld devices (smartphones or tablets), which allows them to securely process credit card transactions and capture bank information on the spot, reducing administrative costs and our use of paper forms. 

Our fundraisers are involved in street and door-to-door canvassing. Sometimes you may meet our teams at a mall as well. 

For additional information about our face-to-face activities, please visit the following page: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.ca/canvassing-and-telefundraising 

Doctors Without Borders goes where people’s medical needs are greatest. We learn about crises that need our attention from MSF teams already working with the people affected, and from local governments, the international community, humanitarian organizations, and local and national nongovernmental organizations. We assess each situation based on if there is an emergency need, if there are other organizations or governments involved that meet people’s humanitarian needs, and if MSF can respond or fill gaps. 

Unless otherwise specified, contributions to MSF are directed to our general fund, which is what we draw upon to deliver critical healthcare where it’s needed around the world. Regular monthly or annual general donations — gifts that aren’t restricted to use in a specific context — are one of the best ways to support our work. Not only do such unrestricted and predictable funds allow us to plan ahead and effectively implement the millions of medical interventions we conduct every year, they also allow us to respond quickly to unexpected crises and emergencies. 

Some emergencies are so severe we require additional support in order to maintain our response: The COVID-19 crisis was an example of this, as was the Ebola crisis in West Africa in 2014. On these occasions, MSF launched specific fundraising appeals. In such cases, accepting designated funding allows us to scale up the resources necessary for a particularly overwhelming emergency without drawing resources away from other essential MSF programs around the world. 

These are determined on a case-by-case basis, in response to needs and capacities. We won’t ask for additional support in a particular emergency until we can determine whether there is a need for our work. If designated support has not been explicitly requested, it is always best to visit our website or contact us directly to find out if we are accepting donations for a specific crisis before making a restricted gift.