Recognizing Your Gift

The success of Queen’s is highly dependent on the generosity of our donors. With your support, we work toward our mission to achieve excellence in research and scholarship and to create a transformative learning experience for our students.

Lifetime Circles of Distinction

The Circles of Distinction at Queen's University were created in May 2002 to acknowledge donors with cumulative lifetime gifts totalling $100,000 or more.

Circles of Distinction

Giving Circle Lifetime Cumulative Giving
Gaels Circle $100,000 to $499,999
1841 Circle $500,000 to $999,999
Tricolour Circle $1 million to $4,999,999
Kingston Circle $5 million to $9,999,999
Ceilidh Circle $10 million to $19,999,999
Founders Circle $20 million or more

Queen's Benefactor Wall

On permanent display in the loggia of the Joseph S. Stauffer Library, the Queen's University Benefactor Wall celebrates in a public and permanent way our most generous lifetime benefactors - individuals, estates, foundations, and companies - whose cumulative giving of $100,000 or more have been recorded as received by the University. The wall is updated each fall annually. We invite you to stop by on your next visit to campus.

Queen's Benefactors Wall

Royal Legacy Society

The Royal Legacy Society recognizes those alumni and friends who have thoughtfully remembered the University through a bequest or another future gift commitment. If you have already remembered Queen’s with a future gift, please contact our Gift Planning Team so that we can appropriately honour your intention. Royal Legacy donors are recognized on our donor wall in the 1923 Reading Room in Douglas Library.

By informing us of your wishes:

  • We will help to ensure that your gift can be accepted by the university and used as you have intended.
  • We can advise you on any special considerations or issues related to your gift plan that may need to be addressed so that your gift is eligible for a charitable tax receipt.
  • Most importantly, joining the Royal Legacy Society allows us to thank you and celebrate your generous gift plans for Queen’s.

As a member of the Royal Legacy Society, you are recognized for making a gift that will reach beyond your lifetime. As a thank you, you will receive: 

  • A certificate of appreciation signed by the Principal and Vice-Chancellor
  • Invitations to special campus and regional events
  • Financial planning newsletters and publications
  • Recognition as a benefactor in Queen’s publications and on displays, with your permission 

If you have already made plans to remember Queen's with a future gift, please let us know by either contacting the Gift Planning Team directly by email or 1-800-267-7837.

You may also choose to download and complete the Royal Legacy Society form (PDF, 1.3MB) and mail it to our Gift Planning Team at the address below. 

Gift Planning
Queen’s University
Old Medical Building
Kingston, ON K7L 3N6
Canada

For information on how you can make a planned gift to Queen’s, please contact our Gift Planning Office.

Royal Legacy Society Events

Enjoy Royal Legacy Society virtual events in our Media Hub. You'll find exclusive access to Queen's Researchers, faculty, and learn about ongoing initiatives.

2023 Tea Talk: Dr. Amber Simpson, Director of the Centre for Health Innovation presented "Transforming human health with data" and explored the groundbreaking power of artificial intelligence and novel computational strategies for interrupting disease and improving our health.

Watch 2023 Tea Talk

2022 Tea Talk: Dr. Shelley Arnott and Dr. Stephen Lougheed, researchers from Queen’s Department of Biology, discussed the threat increased water salination poses to freshwater ecosystems and the benefits of using environmental DNA as a method of tracking invasive species.

Watch 2022 Tea Talk

2021 Tea Talk: Dr. Lynne Postovit, Professor and Head of Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences joined the Royal Legacy Society to provide a glimpse into the exciting human health discovery and education work that is happening at Queen’s.

Watch 2021 Tea Talk

Donor Bill of Rights

Queen's University upholds the Donor Bill of Rights and pledges that donors will:

  • Be informed of Queen's mission, of the way Queen's intends to use donated resources, and of Queen's capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes

  • Be informed of the identity of those serving on Queen's governing board, and expect the board to exercise prudent judgement in its stewardship responsibilities

  • Have access to Queen's most recent financial statements

  • Be assured your gifts will be used by Queen's for the purposes for which they were given

  • Receive appropriate acknowledgment and recognition from Queen's

  • Be assured that information about your donations to Queen's is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law

  • Be assured that Queen's relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to you will be professional in nature

  • Be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of Queen's or hired solicitors

  • Have the opportunity to delete your name from mailing lists that Queen's may intend to share

  • Be able to ask questions when making a donation to Queen's and receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers

Philanthropy is based upon voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in [our] organization, we declare that all donors have these rights.

Condensed from "A Donor Bill of Rights" as prepared by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) et al.