Grant and Funding Programs Offered by Colin and Belle MacDonald Charitable Foundation

The Colin and Belle MacDonald Charitable Foundation is a Canadian family foundation created in honour of Colin and Belle MacDonald and their lifelong commitment to helping others. Building on the values of generosity and community support taught within the MacDonald family, the foundation channels private philanthropic capital to registered charities that serve underprivileged families and at-risk youth. Rather than running front-line programs itself, it works through partner organizations with strong local roots and specialized expertise.

The foundation’s mission is to empower the charities it partners with to act as champions for children, youth and families, helping them live happier, healthier, safer and more productive lives. Its funding has supported major initiatives in healthcare, cancer care, children’s hospitals, mental health, and inclusive community services, as illustrated by high-profile gifts reported in Canadian media.

The foundation focuses on improving outcomes for young people and their families, particularly where there are barriers linked to poverty, health, or limited access to opportunity. Typical beneficiaries include children’s hospitals and health foundations, youth mental health services, and community-based organizations providing care, education and support. Featured partners on the site include the QEII Foundation, the IWK Foundation, Bonnie Lea Farm, Ronald McDonald House Charities Atlantic and Kids Help Phone, indicating a strong emphasis on health, housing support for families, and crisis or counselling services for youth.

Through significant donations, such as multi-million-dollar commitments to cancer care and child and youth mental health, the foundation helps its partners expand services, invest in infrastructure and innovation, and reach more vulnerable families across their regions.

While the website does not outline a formal open-call grant program or detailed application process, the language of “current & past partners” and references to specific funded projects make clear that the organization functions as a grantmaking foundation. Funding appears to be discretionary and relationship-based, with the MacDonald family engaging directly with charities whose missions align with their parents’ vision of helping children and youth, particularly through education, health care, and community support.

The foundation is guided by core values of responsibility, opportunity, integrity and partnership. It emphasizes giving back to the communities where the family lives and works, ensuring fairness and honesty in its actions, and collaborating closely with partner charities. The story shared on the About Us page highlights how the founders’ modest beginnings, strong family ties and belief in “helping the kids” continue to shape governance and funding priorities. This personal legacy underpins the foundation’s ongoing philanthropic role in Canada’s charitable and healthcare sectors.