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Milestones: A Brief History of Canada's Community Foundations

1921

The Winnipeg Foundation, Canada's first community foundation is established.

1945

Vancouver Foundation is established. Today, Vancouver Foundation is Canada's largest community foundation.

1952

Canada's first donor advised fund is established by Whitford J. Van Dusen, one of the founders of Vancouver Foundation and its first Chairman. The W.J. Van Dusen Forestry Fund had two goals: to provide academic support to forestry students and to provide unrestricted funding for the foundation's priorities. The endowment fund gives its donor all the benefits of a private foundation, with none of the administrative burdens. The fund was established with a gift of $60,000 and, through additional capital contributions and appreciation, has granted more than $500,000.

1954

Ontario and the Atlantic Provinces join the community foundation movement. Hamilton and Fredericton establish the first community foundations in Ontario and New Brunswick, respectively.

1955

The Calgary Foundation becomes the first community foundation in Alberta. Today, it is among the largest in Canada and is one of more than 12 community foundations in Alberta.

1969

Regina establishes the South Saskatchewan Community Foundation, the first foundation of its kind in Saskatchewan. Today community foundations also serve Saskatoon, North Battleford and district, Langenburg, and Prince Albert and the surrounding area.

1990

The Community Foundation of Ottawa hosts the first national conference for Canada's community foundations. The meeting is convened by John Crowe, Governor of the Bank of Canada.

1992

Community Foundations of Canada (CFC) is officially founded to provide a national network for the growing movement. It begins with 28 members and total assets of almost half a billion dollars. It holds its first annual general meeting in Winnipeg on May 25, 1992. The Lawson Foundation, J.W. McConnell Foundation, and Charles Stewart Mott Foundation are all early funders of the fledging organization.

1994

Québec joins the community foundation movement with the establishment of the Fondation communautaire du grand Québec. Today there are six community foundations in Québec, including one in Montréal and another serving Gaspésie-Les Îles.

1998

Community Foundations of Canada's 77 members reach a combined $1 billion in assets.

Vancouver Foundation founds Canada's first Youth in Philanthropy program. Today, more than 55 Canadian community foundations have a Youth in Philanthropy program run by local young people who build endowments to provide grants to youth causes.

1999

Community Foundations of Canada launches Our Millennium. The national grassroots project is an ambitious undertaking that invites Canadians to give a gift to their community to mark the new millennium. More than 4.6 million Canadians from 800 communities participated.

The Ontario government and CFC launch The Ontario Endowment for Children and Youth in Recreation Program. The program involves 29 community foundations across the province in building endowment funds directed towards the needs of children and youth. The government matches every dollar raised by community foundations. Over a two-year period they create $10 million in permanent funds for 29 communities.

2000

Thanks to the high-tech boom, community foundations celebrate a record-breaking year, receiving $185 million in donations. Two particularly generous donations hit the front pages: $12 million from two former software engineers (The Kitchener-Waterloo Community Foundation) and $40 million from the aunt of the founder of Red Hat Inc. (Hamilton Community Foundation).

The T. R. Meighen Foundation, a private family foundation with a long history of charitable giving in New Brunswick, launches a three-year, $2-million program to support the province's community foundations. Community Advancement New Brunswick (CANB) leads to: a 41% increase in community foundation endowment funds, more than 450 grants to hundreds of community organizations, and the creation of a new foundation serving communities in the Acadian Peninsula

Community Foundations of Canada spearheads the creation of WINGS-CF, a global network of community foundation support organizations. The network helps organizations link with peers in other countries including Poland, Russia, the Philippines, Latvia, the United States, India, Mexico, South Africa, Australia and Germany.

2001

Just three weeks before Christmas, Randall Moffat, former president of Moffat Communications, announces a $100 million gift to The Winnipeg Foundation - the largest ever given to a Canadian community foundation.

2003

Community Foundations of Canada and Bank of Montreal Financial Group launch Supporting Your Community, the first national philanthropic program of its kind in Canada. The program invites BMO clients to create a charitable fund at their local community foundation.

2004

Canada's community foundations celebrate a year of record-breaking growth, receiving $210 million in new gifts and reaching more than $2 billion in total assets. There are now 146 community foundations from coast to coast to coast, providing $95 million in grants to thousands of charities

Community Foundations of Canada and the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation start working together to increase local environmental action, helping community foundations: attract environmental endowment funds, increase the amount and effectiveness of their grants to organizations working on environmental issues, and convene organizations and individuals concerned about local environmental issues. The program involves 21 community foundations, raises more than $5 million in permanent environmental endowment funds and provides $2.6 million in grants in its first few years.

2005

Community Foundations of Canada joins forces with the Law Commission of Canada to launch the Community Scholar in Law Reform Project. Supported by the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation, the research project will determine how Canadian law and social policy may be impeding immigrant settlement.

Community foundations are asked by the courts to distribute the consumer portion of a class action settlement as fairly and as widely as possible across the country. Food-related charities receive $300,000 through community foundations from coast to coast as a result.

2006

The federal budget eliminates the capital gains tax on gifts of appreciated securities to public foundations and other charities. The move is applauded by CFC and the philanthropic sector. In 2007, the move is extended to private foundations as well.

CFC and the Law Commission of Canada release Unsettled: Legal and Policy Barriers for Newcomers to Canada, a research study that concludes Canadian social policy is undermining the success of newcomers to this country, making it harder for immigrants to settle here, even though they are more educated and more skilled than their predecessors. The study attracts extraordinary attention from government, stakeholders and media.

Canada's community foundations launch Vital Signs®, a new national project aimed at measuring the vitality of their communities on an annual basis. Yearly report cards will track and grade each community's quality of life in key areas such as the economy, health, housing, learning and the environment. The project is based on Toronto's Vital Signs® an extremely successful indicator report developed by Toronto Community Foundation and first published in 2001. Victoria, Vancouver, Ottawa and Montreal participate in 2006 with more communities slated to produce local reports in 2007.

2007

The Globe and Mail reports on community foundations distributing the consumer compensation from a second class action lawsuit. Foundations from across the country disburse $190,000 to charities dealing with transportation issues.

Community Foundations of Canada launches a partnership with 1% for the Planet (1% FTP), an alliance of 500 companies from more than 20 countries that commit at least one per cent of their revenue each year to supporting environmental causes. Community foundations will actively promote 1% FTP across the country, holding informational meetings with business leaders and working one-on-one with businesses that want to have a positive impact on the environment.

CFC celebrates its 15^th anniversary. The community foundation movement is now one of Canada's largest grantmakers, distributing $137 million in 2006 to charities across the country.

2008

The Lake Winnipeg Watershed Initiative brings together CFC, community foundations and other funders to develop a strategic framework for coordinated action in the world's 10th largest freshwater lake.

Fifteen communities participate in Vital Signs and Canada's Vital Signs is published as an insert in The Globe and Mail.

CFC hosts its biggest, and most international, conference to date. CFC Conference 2008 - Our Communities. Our World. attracts more than 700 participants from 27 countries to Montreal.

CFC launches a new national vision. Our movement's 'All for community' focus is brought to life through a new look, logo and website.

2009

Community Foundations of Canada is asked to manage and host the Transatlantic Community Foundation Network, a multinational network representing community philanthropy in 17 countries in Europe and North America.

The Ontario Land Trust Alliance and Community Foundations of Canada launch 'Care for the Land You Love,' a province-wide campaign to raise awareness and funds for the ongoing stewardship of preserved lands in Ontario.

CFC's releases its first Vital Signs National Public Opinion Survey in partnership with Environics Research Group, focusing on how Canadians view the quality of life in their communities.

CFC releases several important new resources for philanthropists and philanthropic organizations, including www.responsible-investment.ca and Building Community Vitality: A Leadership Toolkit. The first offers a range of resources for foundations interested in exploring responsible investing options and the second helps philanthropic organizations of all kinds to deepen their work on pressing local issues.

2010

CFC applauds the federal government's move to eliminate some of the administrative burden placed on charities and to reform Canada Revenue Agency's disbursement quota, issues that CFC had worked on with government closely.

CFC releases a report that shows community foundations continued to support local charities at the height of the downturn, contributing more than $140 million to thousands of organizations when they needed it the most.

Vital Signs 2010 captures front-page local and national media attention across the country, drawing attention to the employment deficit among newcomers, among other pressing issues. Opportunities for Canadians to act are featured in the Vital Signs Giving Guide, published in The Globe and Mail.

2011

CFC announces in May that the community foundation movement has reached $3 billion in collective assets. Canada's community foundations received $259 million in new gifts in 2010, up from $194 million the year previous, to meet that figure. It is one of the biggest supporters of local charities in Canada, contributing more than $149 million in 2010 alone.

Later that same month, the organization hosts CFC 2011 Conference, drawing 600 attendees from Canada and around the world. Held May 12 to 14 in Vancouver, event highlights include
guest speakers former U.S. President Bill Clinton, African human-rights advocate Naomi Tutu, and His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, CFC's new patron.

The conference also marks a change in command at Community Foundations of Canada with longtime leader Monica Patten taking her leave to pursue other interests. Ian Bird becomes CFC's new President and CEO, bringing with him years of experience in bringing individuals and organizations – particularly in the community sports sector – together to achieve collective impact.

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