From coast to coast to coast, community foundations are lighting the way, turning uncertainty into action and isolation into belonging.
Families are stretched by the rising cost of living. Communities are navigating climate emergencies. These times are asking more of all of us, and in that ask lies an invitation. An invitation to lead with imagination, to deepen community ties, and to create systems that respond with both urgency and care. Community foundations are stepping into that invitation, every day.
Throughout 2024, one thing has remained clear: community foundations continue to accept this invitation. To listen. To lead. To build boldly and locally toward a future where everyone belongs.
Belonging has long been at the centre of this movement. It’s been the compass through years of celebration, crisis, learning, and rebuilding. And today, it continues to guide us as a practice and a promise to community.
Throughout 2024, we witnessed community foundations stand shoulder to shoulder with their communities, supporting local leadership and building spaces of care, connection, and resilience.
- In Nova Scotia, where Indigenous women shaped a healing space that includes a sweat lodge, drumming circle, and play area for children.
- In British Columbia, where a youth-led mural under a bridge became a beacon of culture and environmental learning.
- In Yukon, where a rebuilt pump track and new shelter gave young people a safe, welcoming place to gather and ride.
- In Quebec, where a food systems collective used social finance to grow community-owned food hubs.
- In Manitoba, where green building retrofits are creating jobs and reducing energy bills.
- In rural Ontario, where a social enterprise helped Black girls embrace their beauty and power.
- In Alberta, where social entrepreneurs—many of them women—are scaling ideas that build wealth and wellbeing in their communities.
In every one of these places, the network of over 200 community foundations are helping to build neighbourhoods, communities, and a country that quietly but powerfully says to everyone: You belong here.
At CFC, we are proud to stand alongside your leadership. You inspire us. You push us forward. And your everyday actions, whether gentle or bold, remind us of what’s possible when communities come together.
We don’t take that for granted. And we don’t take this moment lightly. In times of uncertainty, there is power in being clear about what we stand for. To choose collaboration. To choose care. To choose action.
Together, with you, we’re not just imagining a more just and connected future; we’re building it one relationship, one investment, one community at a time.
In collaboration,
Andrea Dicks, President
Andrew Chunilall, CEO
