The Winnipeg Foundation is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

and

community foundation Community foundations (CFs) are instruments of civil society designed to pool donations into a coordinated investment and grant making facility dedicated primarily to the social improvement of a given place. Community foundations are a global pheno ...

based in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, Canada. Established in 1921, it is the oldest community foundation in Canada. The Foundation is dedicated primarily to the social improvement of Winnipeg. It pools and permanently invests gifts from donors to support the local charitable sector, through

grants Grant or Grants may refer to: People * Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters ** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the U ...

in a broad range of areas, including; community service, education and employment, health, environment, heritage, arts and culture, and recreation. In 2021, the Winnipeg Foundation made $84.9 million in grants to charitable organizations in Winnipeg. In 2020, it received over $187 million in gifts and distributed $73 million to approximately 1,000 charitable organizations.

History

The Winnipeg Foundation was founded in 1921 with a gift of $100,000 from local businessman and banker, William Forbes Alloway. Founding board members included Justice Robert Maxwell Dennistoun, Chief Justice Thomas Graham Mathers, Archdeacon R.B. McElheran, and

Hugh John MacDonald Sir Hugh John Macdonald, (March 13, 1850 – March 29, 1929) was the only surviving son of the first prime minister of Canada, John A. Macdonald. He too was a politician, serving as a member of the House of Commons of Canada and a federal cabi ...

. In 2001, the Foundation experienced an unprecedented gift when it received a $100 million donation—at the time it was the largest gift ever made to a Canadian community foundation - from Randall Moffat and his family. Moffat is the former president of

Moffat Communications Moffat Communications was a Canadian cable and broadcasting company. Privately owned by the Moffat family, the company was based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It first went public on the stock market in 1972. In an interview with the Free Press reporter ...

. In 2003, The Winnipeg Foundation made its largest grant to date ($6 million) to the

Canadian Museum for Human Rights The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR; ) is a Canadian Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation and List of national museums, national museum located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, adjacent to The Forks, Winnipeg, The Forks. The purpose of the ...

. In 2012, the Foundation surpassed $300 million in total cumulative grants. In 2014, the Foundation made $22.9 million in grants to 860 charitable organizations. In 2020, it received over $187 million in gifts and distributed $73 million to approximately 1,000 charitable organizations.

References

External links

The Winnipeg Foundation

Canada Revenue Agency registered charity information database: The Winnipeg Foundation
1921 establishments in Manitoba Charities based in Canada Foundations based in Canada Organizations based in Winnipeg Community foundations {{Manitoba-stub