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WHAT WE DO
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Building a city of neighbours
Home to the largest network of Toronto's philanthropists and city builders
Why We Exist
Strong communities don’t just happen. It takes all of us to build the knowledge, resources and connections to create a more fair and just society where everyone can thrive. For over 100 years this has been the work of community foundations—making them hubs for people who want to create change.
We are Toronto’s community foundation.
Our Impact in 2024
In 2024, together with our over 1,000 fundholders, we granted $26.7M to charitable organizations to improve the wellbeing of residents in Toronto and beyond.
What we do
For over 40 years we’ve offered donor-advised funds that generate grants for community organizations in Toronto, across Canada and beyond. But our ambition for more meaningful change goes beyond that. We help philanthropists, charities, government and other partners maximize their resources for impact. With our new strategic plan, we will pull all the levers available to us to increase community wealth, knowledge, and connections.
What we offer:
- Individuals, groups and private foundations: the ability to focus on granting to the causes they care about through connections to community and timely research while offloading fund administration to us;
- Charities: a powerful investment platform to grow earnings and impact too through responsible investing that aligns with their values;
- Government: an experienced fiduciary partner for complex or time-bound funds;
- Grantees: funding and opportunities to connect and co-learn with our vast network of philanthropists;
- And leading research on the city’s urgent needs through Toronto’s Vital Signs.
We are guided by
A Bold Plan to Build a City of Neighbours
We have a big dream: that Toronto becomes a place where everyone has the relationships and resources to thrive. We imagine a city where people know and support one another and where no one is left behind or alone. At its heart, this is the goal of building a city of neighbours.
Our research tells us that a growing number of residents are socially isolated and disengaged and that community organizations are stretching beyond capacity to meet community needs. We also know that there is a huge appetite and a lot of creativity – from the grassroots up – to be part of the solution. For our part, we’ve built out a deliberate plan for people to come together to make our city better.
We’re optimizing three forms of capital in support of the charitable sector.
Hear more from our president and CEO, Sharon Avery:
We’re inviting everyone to join us and look forward to sharing more this fall.
We are honoured to be named Canada's Top Equitable Funder. Read more.
Toronto Foundation is a proud member of Community Foundations of Canada, the national membership organization for more than 200 Community Foundations across Canada.
We're a proud signatory of the Declaration of Action. Learn more about our work with local Indigenous organizations.
You Might Also Be Interested in
Read our annual reports, financial statements, and learn about our staff, board, and policies.
Read the stories to learn more about community organizations doing important work and what our fundholders are up to.
See our research on issues in Toronto and high-impact community organizations focused on creating solutions.
We acknowledge we are on the traditional territories of the Huron-Wendat, the Anishinabek Nation, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. While Indigenous communities in Toronto remain strong, vibrant, and resilient, they need support to address and overcome the impact of colonialism and systemic inequalities. Furthering Indigenous reconciliation and sovereignty are integral to achieving a more fair and just society where everyone can thrive.
We aim to be an ally and to fund local Indigenous organizations.