Donner Canadian Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Donner Canadian Foundation’s grantmaking focuses on climate change and clean energy, conservation, human rights and global health.
IP TAKE: A separate entity from the W.H. Donner Foundation, this funder works mainly with organizations in Canada but also supports global causes through collaborations in developing nations. Nonprofits working in the foundation’s areas of interest are invited to submit a short description of their work and goals for review. Note that this foundation doesn’t have the capacity to respond to letters or emails beyond general inquiries. An accessible funder in its space, Donner Canada is a supportive environmental giver.
PROFILE: The Donner Canadian Foundation was established in 1950 by William H. Donner, an American businessman and steel industry executive. In its early years, the foundation’s focus was public policy research. Today its grantmaking focuses on climate change, conservation, human rights and global development. Climate change and environmental funding prioritizes the provinces of Canada, and its global development and human rights grants go mainly to Canadian nonprofits that collaborate with organizations in developing countries. The foundation also awards the annual Donner Book Prize, which “encourages and celebrates excellence in public policy writing by Canadians,” and a semi-annual lecture series on public policy. A separate entity from the U.S.-based W.H. Donner Foundation, Donner Canada maintains a sparse website, offering little information about its grantmaking initiatives.
Grants for Environmental and Wildlife Conservation
Environmental conservation is Donner’s largest area of giving. The foundation does not outline specific goals for its grantmaking, but many of its grantees take a holistic approach to the conservation of lands, water, wildlife and ecosystems while generating community support for local conservation projects. The foundation provides ongoing support to the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, which has used funding to support initiatives for the conservation of marine ecosystems. Another grantee, the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, received a grant for its project to support grizzly bear populations in the Canadian and U.S Rocky Mountains. A collaboration between the Ktunaxa Nation and the Nature Conservancy of Canada effectively prevented the development of what would have been North America’s largest ski resort on sacred lands near Jumbo Mountain in British Columbia. And the World Wildlife Fund received support for an Innuit-led conservation program and research on marine eco-tourism.
Grants for Climate Change and Clean Energy
The Donner Canada Foundation supports the clean energy economy in Canada, but lacks a clear strategy here. Grantees include the Clean Economy Fund, a collaborative initiative that supports systemic change toward green energy, and Ecotrust Canada, which used funding to support its Northeast Superior Forest Carbon Project.
Grants for Global Health
Donner’s global health grants mainly support Canada-based organizations that operate internationally. One grantee, the Canadian Network for International Surgery, aims to help “low-income countries” improve health and healthcare safety through healthcare conferences and courses. Grants have also gone to Doctors Without Borders Canada, Orbis Canada’s Bangladesh Childhood Blindness Project and a collaborative health education project between Toronto’s General and Western Hospital and healthcare providers in Addis Ababa.
Grants for Human Rights
The foundation has also supported broad international human rights initiatives. Past grantees include the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking and the Stephen Lewis Foundation, which used funding to support its program for survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Important Grant Details:
In a recent year, the Donner Canadian Foundation awarded just under $4 million in grants ranging from $1,000 to $265,000. The foundation’s average grant size is about $25,000, and most grants are awarded to Canadian organizations. The foundation provides lists of recent grantees on its website.
The Donner Canadian Foundation does not respond to unsolicited letters of inquiry or applications for funding. It does, however, maintain a database of information about nonprofits, and invites organizations working in its areas of interest to submit a two- to three-page description of their work and goals. General inquiries may be directed to foundation staff members via email or telephone at 416-920-5577.
PEOPLE:
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