Just Hand It Over?

There are over 6,000 private foundations in Canada, with collective assets in 2018 of $56.3 billion. If you add public and community foundations, the total exceeds $100 billion. Required by law to pay out at least 5 percent of their funds for charitable purposes each year, foundations are a huge factor in Canadian philanthropy and a financial mainstay for many hospitals, universities, and registered charities (including the one that publishes this magazine).

Many private foundations are very small, but others are quite sizable. Not counting the giant Mastercard Foundation, which dwarfs the rest, 64 percent of the assets and 50 percent of foundation grant making in 2018 were associated with this country’s 149 largest private foundations. That year, they donated $1.34 billion in all, with almost 60 percent going to organizations supporting social services, education, and health.

Hilary M. Pearson, author of From Charity to Change, knows foundations...