Meet the securities donors

Dave Simpson

Dave Simpson’s connection to UCalgary began before he set foot in a classroom. His grandfather worked as a finishing carpenter during the university’s early development in the 1950s. Decades later, Dave, BComm’95, would meet his wife, Narda, BEd’97, while studying on campus.

“UCalgary was the cornerstone of our early 20s,” he says. “It shaped who we are today.”

Dave and Narda stay connected to UCalgary now by contributing to the Haskayne School of Business and other programs that reflect their shared interests, while Dave also gives his time as a volunteer.

They also make annual gifts of securities — investments such as publicly traded shares — an option Dave says many donors simply don’t know about.

A senior investment advisor with RBC Dominion Securities, Dave knows the process well, describing it as “almost as easy as giving cash.” Donors complete UCalgary’s securities donation form, identify the shares they want to transfer and designate where they would like their gift to go.

Dave points to a key benefit: if shares have appreciated and are worth more than when the donor purchased them, selling the shares would normally mean paying tax on some of that increase. Donating securities directly to UCalgary eliminates the capital gains tax, so more of the shares’ value goes directly toward the area the donor wants to support.

For Dave, though, the real value of philanthropy lies beyond financial efficiency. He believes a full life comes from creating “memory dividends” with family and friends, and from the privilege of using what you have to help others.

UCalgary is woven through many of Dave and Narda’s memories. Today, their support adds another chapter.

“We believe strongly in paying it forward,” Dave says, “ensuring that future generations have the same transformative experiences and opportunities that UCalgary provided to both of us.” 

 

Mary Bell

or 44 years, Dr. Mary Bell owned her own equine practice in southern Ontario: a career spent caring for horses, sharing her expertise and serving her community.  

Then, in 2019, she moved west to Alberta for what she calls “a sort of retirement,” working as a horse show official at national and international competitions.

By then, Bell had friends on faculty at UCalgary’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM) and met students of the program at Spruce Meadows. What resonated with her was UCVM’s experiential approach: hands-on learning that builds students’ skills while meeting real needs beyond the classroom.  

She sees that model reflected in people like Dr. Jean-Yin Tan and Dr. Ashley Whitehead, whose work in equine medicine and veterinary education Bell finds “inspiring.”  

“In Ontario, I could give back in service,” Bell says. “Here, I can give back in funds.”

She often makes her donation during UCalgary Giving Day, the university’s annual fundraising campaign that sees gifts matched for up to double the impact. And it’s not limited to cash donations — gifts of securities are also eligible for the match.  

For Bell, the appeal is simple: it “amplifies the volume of the gift” through a process she describes as “very easy.”

Her support advances what matters most to her: equine research and the kind of hands-on veterinary education she deeply believes in.

“I hope my support helps more horses receive preventative care they might otherwise go without, while giving future veterinarians meaningful experience along the way,” Bell says.

After a career spent giving back through her own expertise, Bell is carrying that commitment forward, supporting the veterinarians coming next, the animals they’ll treat and the people who will count on them.  

 

Anil Kholsa

When Anil Khosla arrived at UCalgary in 1970 to pursue graduate studies in mechanical engineering, he found guidance and opportunity that would shape both his education and the career that followed. Over the next four years, he earned his master’s and PhD with research funding that helped make his studies possible.

“The department gave me teaching opportunities, and professors Joseph DeKrasinski, John Kentfield and Mansa Singh were mentors who helped guide me through my research and education,” says Khosla, MSc’71, PhD’74. “I have a very special relationship with this department.”

Khosla also already understood the difference educational support can make. Growing up in Patiala, India, he watched his parents help girls in their community pursue schooling.  

His giving carries both stories forward: the generosity he grew up witnessing and the support that helped shape his own path through university.

When he learned that women pursuing doctoral studies in mechanical engineering at UCalgary could use additional support, he thought of his mother and created the Leela Khosla, Patiala, India Doctoral Scholarship in Mechanical Engineering in her name.  

That family connection runs through Anil’s other gifts, too.

“My first bursary was established in 2012,” Khosla recalls. “The Anil and Giljit Khosla, Rachna and Sona Bursary Endowment carries the names of my family, including my granddaughters.”

Alongside these awards, gifts of securities are another way Khosla gives back, with gifts directed to engineering and other areas across UCalgary. He values the tax advantages of giving through securities as a way to make those contributions go further.

“Needs are greater now,” he says.

And he wants to help students today, as well as into the future: extending the kind of support that shaped his own path and, he hopes, helping equip a new generation to contribute to Canada’s engineering, manufacturing and technology communities. 

 

About gifts of publicly traded securities

A gift of securities — such as shares, bonds, warrants, stocks, mutual funds and segregated fund units — is one of the most cost-effective ways to support UCalgary. Learn more