Partnerships
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Our Partners
We live in a time of increasing flux. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? We certainly don’t. But we strive to have an open door to changing needs, trends and fresh opportunities. We can’t do it all and we never act alone. Here is a list of some of our partnerships.
Hear about a partnership we've nurtured with the Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council and read below to learn more about who else we're partnering with and how.
Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP)
CAGP is the professional association that brings professional advisors and charities together to advance charitable gift planning. In partnership with CAGP, Toronto Foundation was a founding supporter of Will Power, a national public education effort designed to inspire more Canadians to make a significant impact on the causes they care about, with a gift to charity in their will.
Canadian Philanthropy Commitment on Climate Change
We are signatory to this call on all foundations and other funders in this land to signal their commitment to act on climate change regardless of their respective missions. This is a joint initiative of Community Foundations of Canada, Environment Funders Canada, Philanthropic Foundations Canada, and The Circle on Philanthropy that includes 7 pillars for action.
The Circle on Philanthropy and Aboriginal Peoples in Canada (The Circle)
Toronto Foundation is a proud supporter and partner of the Circle that creates positive change between philanthropy and Indigenous communities through co-learning and relationship building.
Each year we consider how we might partner with the City. We’ve worked with leaders across departments and programs on work including co-granting initiatives such as the Toronto Resilience Strategy, to crisis response work such as the Toronto Strong campaign that supported the victims of the Yonge Street van attack, to co-operating on shared research aims through Toronto’s Vital Signs Report.
Community Foundations of Canada (CFC)
CFC is the national membership organization for the over 200 community foundations in Canada. Through CFC we periodically administer federal funding programs and other central initiatives to support communities from coast to coast to coast. Recently this included: the Community Services Recovery Fund, Canada Healthy Community Initiative, Emergency Community Support Fund, Fund for Gender Equality and Investment Readiness Program.
Equality Fund Initiative (the “Initiative”) involves three partners that entered into a $300M contribution agreement with Global Affairs Canada in 2019: the Equality Fund (EF), which has overall leadership for the Initiative; World University Service of Canada; and Toronto Foundation. The Foundation is the fiduciary partner and responsible for investment of the government contribution using a gender-lens strategy. The Initiative’s objective is to create a sustainable source of funding to support women’s organizations and movements around the world. EF is building its capacity during the first five years, following which the partners’ goal is to transition responsibility for the Initiative to EF.
Estate Planning Council of Toronto
The Council is comprised of professionals from interrelated disciplines such as legal, tax, financial planning, insurance, trust and charitable gift planning, who advise the public on different aspects of estate planning.
Imagine Canada is the voice of the nonprofit sector and advocates for collective action to improve the conditions for nonprofits, charities and social entrepreneurs.
Mending the Chasm Inc. is a leading Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) consulting firm dedicated to fostering inclusive cultures and equitable practices within organizations.
Since 2021 Toronto Foundation has partnered with Mending the Chasm to build our teams' DEI awareness, knowledge, and practice, from launching a culture audit to developing an action plan and our first ever DEI policy to running annual internal DEI surveys.
Mission Related Investing (MRI) Collaborative
The MRI Collaborative is a private group that convenes quarterly as an impact investing community of practice. Administered and coordinated by SVX, Toronto Foundation and the dozen other foundations involved share market trends, hear about potential investing opportunities and share in due diligence.
Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN)
ONN is the membership organization for nonprofits working in the province of Ontario. As there is no parallel municipal body we periodically partner with ONN on projects and issues of concern for the city and its nonprofit sector organizations. One such project is Reimagining Governance, a sector-wide initiative to explore and surface new, creative models for the running of nonprofits that take into account changing needs and contexts including the role of new technologies.
Philanthropic Foundations Canada (PFC)
PFC is a membership organization that builds the capacity of grantmakers through public policy and shared learning. We take advantage of professional development opportunities and collaborate on shared learning events.
Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council (TASCC)
Much of our work towards our commitment to the Declaration of Action on Philanthropy and Aboriginal Peoples in Canada is built on our ongoing partnership with TASSC. As an umbrella organization TASSC brings together 18 Indigenous-led and serving organizations in Toronto for shared knowledge and purpose. Our relationship with TASSC is built on trust and an evolving and growing web of connections and actions designed to increase philanthropic support for Indigenous issues and peoples in the Toronto. In June 2024 we co-hosted the first-ever event to connect local Indigenous leaders with Toronto Foundation donors.
Launched by Environics Institute and Toronto Foundation, along 15 local partners, the 2022 Toronto Social Capital Study examined the experiences of discrimination for racialized Torontonians and how these experiences intersected with factors of individual and community wellbeing.
Lead partners: Environics Institute, Toronto Foundation, Metcalf Foundation, MLSE Foundation, Northcrest, Ontario Trillium Foundation, TAS, United Way Greater Toronto, YMCA of Greater Toronto and Wellesley Institute
Collaborating partners: Atkinson Foundation, CAMH, CivicAction, The Counselling Foundation of Canada, Crosswalk Communities, Laidlaw Foundation and Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy
National survey partner: Community Foundations of Canada
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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.