If the disbursement quota (DQ) conversation begins and ends with a percentage, we are asking too small a question.

The real question is how the DQ is working in practice, across different kinds of foundations and very different community realities.

The DQ shapes how foundations plan. It influences how community foundations balance today’s urgent needs with tomorrow’s responsibilities. And, depending on the size, structure, fund agreements, investment realities, and local context of a foundation, it can land very differently.

That is why we’re launching the DQ Readiness Roundtables.

As the federal five-year review of the disbursement quota approaches in 2027, we want CFC and the community foundation network to be ready. Ready with evidence. With nuance. With real examples. With a clear understanding of how the DQ is working in practice across communities.

Because too much of the public conversation around the DQ can become a debate about a number, should it be higher? Lower? Graduated differently?  Those are important questions. But they are not the whole story.

Financial data matters. But financial data alone does not show government what it means to have an impact in the community and manage donor restrictions,  investment returns, local granting needs, small-foundation sustainability, and community expectations all at the same time.

Community foundations live in that complexity every day.

Some foundations are managing relatively large asset pools with lean teams. Some are working with older donor agreements that were written for a different time. Some are trying to respond to urgent local needs while preserving permanent community capital. Some are navigating investment realities that do not politely align with annual regulatory requirements. And some are asking a very fair question: Is the current DQ model actually helping communities in the way it was intended to?

The DQ Readiness Roundtables create space for community foundations to share what they are seeing, what they are managing, and what they believe government needs to understand. It is also about testing ideas. Should the model have more graduations? Should thresholds change? Should impact investing be considered differently? Should the rules better reflect restricted funds, trust law, or small-foundation sustainability?

We are launching this Roundtable series because there are lots of questions to unpack and community foundations have something important to say. The network reaches more than 90 percent of Canadians and stewards billions in community capital. That gives us a responsibility to show up thoughtfully, practically, and with the full diversity of the network reflected in our approach.

Over the coming months, CFC will gather survey data, host conversations, test policy ideas, and report back on what we hear. We want community foundations to see themselves in this work. And we want government to hear a clear, credible picture of how the DQ is working in real communities.

This is about readiness, yes.

But it is also about voice.

The DQ review should be grounded in the experience of the people and communities closest to its impacts. So join us, let’s help shape what comes next.