According to a recent study conducted by GIV3 and IPSOS, 64% of Canadians feel that their donation dollars should be used by nonprofits or charities within 10 years of donation. More Canadians prefer to see their donations used by the organization within 2-3 years than allowed to accumulate in perpetuity. 

However, once a donation is received by the charitable organization, and the tax credits are issued, the organization is not required to use the funds in a timely manner. The current minimum Disbursement Quota in Canada is  3.5%, meaning only 3.5% of the donations must be used each year for charitable purposes, and the remainder can be held in investments to grow. Read the full report here.