The Winnipeg Foundation distributes a record $73 million in 2020; celebrates its centennial in 2021

Sponsoring the Centennial River Trail at The Forks helps The Foundation mark its 100th birthday

For immediate release: During the year in which we experienced great upheaval due to the global pandemic, The Winnipeg Foundation aimed to provide stability and support to our charitable sector and distributed $73 million to approximately 1,000 organizations. This support is possible because of generous donors who have chosen to give through The Winnipeg Foundation. This generosity, combined with responsive leadership and prudent investment strategies, ensures The Winnipeg Foundation is in a strong position as it enters its second century in 2021.

“Because of the generosity of citizens, The Winnipeg Foundation has been bringing foresight and impact to its work during its first 100 years,” says Doneta Brotchie, Winnipeg Foundation Board Chair. “In 2020, we are proud to have worked together to support our charitable sector with distributions totaling $73 million.”

While centennial celebrations have been adapted due to the pandemic, The Foundation still has exciting opportunities available for Winnipeggers. The Centennial River Trail at The Forks – officially opened earlier today by Foundation CEO Richard L. Frost – pays homage to milestones in The Foundation’s history, while giving people the chance to win a $1,000 grant in support of their favourite Manitoba charity. See details here.

Stories of The Foundation’s activities during the past 100 years are available on a special website, wpgfdn.org/100, as well as in a keepsake edition of The Foundation’s magazine, Working Together. Copies are available by contacting The Foundation at info@nullwpgfdn.org. Additional activities are planned throughout the year, dependent on the pandemic. Details will be available at wpgfdn.org/100

“The Winnipeg Foundation is bolstered by 100 years of working with, investing in, and learning from the community,” Brotchie says. “As we enter into our second century, we have an opportunity to set a course for the next 100 years of grantmaking. In this vein, the importance of the first grant of our centennial year comes into focus: it will represent not only a milestone for our organization, but an encouraging way forward for the community. As we continue to actively weave our commitment to truth and reconciliation through our grantmaking, it is fitting that this be reflected in the first grant of 2021. The Clan Mothers Turtle Lodge’s Healing Village is the recipient of a $100,000 grant – the first of our centennial year.”

Established by a collective of Indigenous women in 2015, Clan Mothers Turtle Lodge works to establish healing and restorative programs for Indigenous women who have been victims of systemic, multi-generational trauma, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking. The Village currently being developed will be situated on a 130-acre parcel of land just north of Winnipeg.

“The entire charitable sector is vital to our community’s quality of life, and it is struggling because of COVID-19,” says Richard L. Frost, Winnipeg Foundation CEO. “Things will be different when we emerge from the pandemic, but no one knows exactly what that means or when it will happen. No matter what, we can trust The Foundation’s vision, ‘A Winnipeg where community life flourishes for all,’ will guide us.”

The Foundation was created by William Forbes Alloway in 1921 with a gift of $100,000. The Foundation’s second gift – three gold coins, valued at $15 – was not received until 1924. This gift was well worth the wait; it demonstrated it is not the amount, but rather the act of giving that matters, and solidified that we achieve more when we work together.

In 2020, The Foundation received 9,311 gifts – the most in its history. Gifts to The Foundation are pooled and invested in endowment funds, and a percentage of the annual interest earned is granted back to the community. Thanks to this generosity, The Foundation has an endowment, made up of thousands of individual funds, valued at $1.4 billion. The Foundation’s Annual Highlights are available on its website.

The Winnipeg Foundation is For Good. Forever. We help people give back to our shared community by connecting generous donors with Causes they care about For Good. We’re are an endowment-based public foundation, so gifts are pooled and invested, and the annual earnings are distributed back to the community Forever. Formed in 1921, we are proud to be the first community foundation in Canada.

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Media inquiries/questions:

LuAnn Lovlin, CFRE
Director of Communications & Marketing, The Winnipeg Foundation
Email LuAnn
C: 204-781-9336


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