The Calgary Foundation provides grants which must benefit Calgary and area communities for grassroots community initiatives and other purposes. Its mission is to inspire philanthropy, support the charitable sector, and build a permanent endowment for the current and future needs of people living within these boundaries. The organization was incorporated provincially in 1955, as the Calgary Community Foundation, and is a registered charity. It launched with an endowment of $100,000, from twenty donors each pledging $5,000, and its first grants totalling $1,500. The first Board Chair was Author and Historian Grant MacEwan (1902 to 1986) who was a Calgary Alderman, Mayor of Calgary, MLA and Party Leader, then Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. He was invested with the Order of Canada in 1975. Daryl K. “Doc” Seaman was described as a hero, icon, pioneer, philanthropist, visionary, and legend. Donor legacies, such as the Grant MacEwan Nature Protection Fund, the Daryl K. Seaman Canadian Hockey Fund, and MacEwan Family Charity Fund, made larger-scale grants possible. By its 70th anniversary, support for community priorities increased with grants to an estimated 1,313 groups. The organization remains focused on reducing poverty, stronger relations with Indigenous communities, creative living, boosting mental health, and a sustainable future. Today the organization carries on its mandate, with scholarships, awards like the Brenda Strathern Writing Prize, and bursaries. Major grants significantly benefit large-scale initiatives with transformational impact to broadly enrich the community. The Community Grants Program aims to strengthen the charitable sector and engage communities. Strategic Opportunity Grants provide support to small charities. Grassroots Grants like Stepping Stones and Neighbour Grants are smaller amounts. Since 1990, The Sherling Animal Welfare Fund pays for capital projects, animal or public education programs, or services for animals brought to a shelter.
