Thank YOU for your generosity!
Through your love for our community and trust in The Winnipeg Foundation, you are making a difference.
1JustCity provides services, like daily meals, at drop-in community centres in West Broadway, the West End, and Osborne Village. Photo courtesy of 1JustCity.
We’re excited to share our 2025 Impact Report, with information about The Foundation’s responsive grants – made possible because of you.
Listening and responding to the community This year, your generosity helped The Winnipeg Foundation award 387 responsive grants totaling $16.6 million to charities working in our community. A responsive grant is any grant that charities apply for, including the four types listed below.
Grant trends Our staff analyze grant applications to gain an understanding of our community’s needs and are proud to work alongside our community partners tackling challenges in our city. Children and Youth Program Grants • Projects included a variety of camps; cooking and nutrition programs; mental health supports; and afterschool programs. Community Grants • A lmost 16% of applicants were first-time applicants to The Foundation, reflecting the expanding reach and appeal of the Community Grant program, and increasing need in community. Major Capital Grants • S upport spanned various sectors and focused on a few themes this year, including the following: - Additional supportive housing options for individuals residing in Community Area for Revitalization and Equity (C.A.R.E.). - F or the first time, this program invested in early childhood centres, recognizing their critical role in providing foundational support for children and families. Multi-Year Grants • A pplications were assessed on the overall health of the organization and their diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as truth and reconciliation practices. The Foundation’s focus was for at least 50% of the Multi-Year Grant recipients to be equity-led. Did you know? Unrestricted gifts, like those to community funds and cause funds, directly support The Foundation’s responsive grants like these. Donor Advised fundholders often support projects that have been reviewed through our responsive grant programs.
CHILDREN AND YOUTH PROGRAM GRANTS Support youth-serving organizations or established youth programs.
APPLICATIONS RECEIVED:
AMOUNT REQUESTED:
GRANTS APPROVED:
GRANTS AWARDED: 112
$3.4 MILLION
$1.5 MILLION
170
COMMUNITY GRANTS Support a wide range of charities and projects in our community.
APPLICATIONS RECEIVED:
AMOUNT REQUESTED:
GRANTS APPROVED:
GRANTS AWARDED: 224
$18.0 MILLION
$6.7 MILLION
323
MAJOR CAPITAL GRANTS Support capital campaigns and large capital projects.
APPLICATIONS RECEIVED:
AMOUNT REQUESTED:
GRANTS APPROVED:
GRANTS AWARDED:
$14.6 MILLION
$4.2 MILLION
40
14
MULTI-YEAR GRANTS Provide flexible funding for 4 years to enhance the capacity of charities.
APPLICATIONS RECEIVED:
AMOUNT REQUESTED:
GRANTS APPROVED:
GRANTS AWARDED:
$17.0 MILLION*
$4.3 MILLION*
176
37
*per year for four years
New leadership The Winnipeg Foundation welcomes Lisa Thomson Stifora as our new Vice President of Community Generosity. Lisa joined The Foundation on August 18, 2025 and is eager to meet and work with Foundation donors.
Here are some of the Community Grants you made possible. Thank you for your generosity! Promising Projects
Pembina Trails School Division Educational Support Fund
Finance Engage Sustain
The Canadian Red Cross Society
1Just City
N’Dinawemak
La Tablée des Chefs
$43,200
$25,000
$60,000
$100,000
$60,375
$20,000
Area: Health, Wellness and Recreation Strategic Plan Priorities: Mental health; Sense of Belonging Connecting to the Land:
Area: Environment and Climate Change Strategic Plan Priorities: Sense of Belonging; Mental Health Finance Engage Sustain is collaborating with Youth Climate Labs to address climate anxiety in youth and increase capacity for anti- racist climate action. The project, From Root to Sky, will engage youth aged 18-30 with workshops on art, storytelling, and land-based practices providing safer spaces for Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour youth to foster community and wellbeing.
Area: Health, Wellness and Recreation Strategic Plan Priorities: Mental Health; Sense of Belonging; Trust and
Area: Community Services Strategic Plan Priorities: Addictions; Housing and Homelessness; Hunger and Food Insecurity; Mental Health; Sense of Belonging; Trust and Confidence in Institutions; C.A.R.E. N’Dinawemak will expand its coffee room to increase volunteer capacity, enhance food preparation areas, upgrade appliances, and integrate a life skills workshop. N’Dinawemak is committed to inclusive employment practices, ensuring people with lived experience are actively involved in the project.
Area: Arts, Culture and Heritage Strategic Plan Priorities: Sense of Belonging; Mental Health; Youth in care Pembina Trails School Division works with Makoon Transition , an organization creating safe spaces for families and children who are transitioning out of the child welfare system. The school division will deepen its relationship with Makoon at École R.H.G. Bonnycastle School, Arthur A. Leach School and Fort Richmond Collegiate, providing participants and their families with opportunities to participate in Pow Wow classes, regalia making, and a community Pow Wow.
Area: Literacy, Education and Employment Strategic Plan Priorities: Hunger and Food Insecurity; Sense of Belonging Kitchen Brigades is an after-school program for youth aged 12-17 who wish to build cooking skills. The year-long program is delivered by professional chefs and promotes a sustainable food culture by helping youth gain food autonomy through education.
Confidence in Institutions Without proper support, a transition home after a life-changing hospital stay can lead to fragmented, delayed, or unsafe home care. Working with the University of Manitoba’s Centre on Aging , the Red Cross is researching and designing a pilot of the Hospital to Home (H2H) program for Winnipeg with the goal to assist older adults when they transition home and support their recovery.
Land-based Learning with our Indigenous Guests provides participants with meaningful opportunities to (re)connect with the land from June to October 2025. Activities such as Sweat Lodge Ceremonies, fishing, canoeing, beekeeping and gardening will include the presence of an Elder or teacher along with a healthy meal or Feast.
We are pleased to highlight just a few of these important initiatives - reflective of Foundation granting strategies and how they align with our Strategic Plan priorities. Want to learn more about these or other projects? Please contact our Community Generosity team at communitygenerosity@wpgfdn.org or 204.944.9474.
The Foundation is also committed to supporting the following eight priorities, identified in our current Strategic Plan:
The Winnipeg Foundation’s responsive grants continue to support the following areas: • Arts, Culture & Heritage • Community Services • Environment • Health, Wellness & Recreation • Literacy, Education & Employment
Vital Signs® 2022 Priorities • Addictions
Champion Priorities • Improve the well-being of people living in Community Area for Revitalization and Equity (C.A.R.E.) • Improve the outcomes for youth aging out of care (Youth in care)
• Housing and Homelessness • Hunger and Food Insecurity • Mental Health • Sense of Belonging • Trust and Confidence in Institutions
Photo (above): Students participating in the Kitchen Brigades final competition in June 2025. Photo courtesy of La Tablée des Chefs.
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