Who We Are

Winnipeg Foundation is Canada’s first community foundation. We manage a growing collection of endowment funds that support our city’s charitable sector — forever.

Generosity in action

A gift to Winnipeg Foundation helps build a community where life flourishes for all — supporting local initiatives that will improve lives today and for generations to come.

Our vision, mission and values

A group of people having a discussion by a beautiful community mural.

Our vision is a Winnipeg where community life flourishes for all.

Our mission is to inspire generosity for transformational change and the well-being of our community — forever.

Our values shape our decisions, our partnerships, and our vision for a thriving city for all:

Trust – We ensure transparency and integrity in our work and respect for all people and  the earth in our actions.
Generosity – We approach community and one another with love, empathy and possibility.
Equity – We identify, acknowledge, and help remove systemic barriers so everyone in our community can thrive.
Transformation – We achieve greater outcomes by coming together with curiosity and creativity.
Responsive – We listen and commit to community priorities now and for all future generations.

How an endowment fund grows your generosity forever

When you give to an endowment fund, your gift goes further than a one-time contribution because it continues to grow over time.

At Winnipeg Foundation, we pool charitable gifts into an investment fund. We protect and don’t use the original donations (the principal). Instead, we only use the investment interest to support various community initiatives that help our city flourish. The endowment enables your charitable gifts to grow over time, and support our community for generations to come.

How we support our community

Our granting programs support all areas of our city’s needs through Winnipeg’s vibrant charitable sector. The amount we distribute annually is determined by a spending formula that includes the market value of our endowment fund over the past three years. Our spending rate can fall between 3.5% and 5.5%.

We are proud of the significant contribution we make to our community through your charitable generosity. At the same time, we recognize that we can’t solve all of our community’s challenges on our own. Our strategic plan involves collaboration with others around key community issues.