Grant and Funding Programs Offered by Mennonite Foundation of Canada

Abundance Canada is a registered public foundation with the Canada Revenue Agency that specializes in helping donors and charities turn generosity into long-term impact. Since opening its doors in 1974 (originally as Mennonite Foundation of Canada), it has facilitated hundreds of millions of dollars in grants from its donors to qualified donees. The organization is authorized to receive charitable gifts, issue official tax receipts and distribute funds to registered charities, positioning it as a significant grantmaker in the Canadian philanthropic landscape.

At the core of Abundance Canada’s work are donor-advised funds structured through customized Generosity Plans®. Donors contribute cash, securities, life insurance, registered accounts, bequests and other assets into accounts managed by the foundation. Abundance Canada then invests these assets in line with its responsible investing policy, provides consolidated reporting to donors, and executes grant recommendations to the charities and causes they wish to support, on timelines that can span the short, medium and long term.

This model allows donors to separate the timing of their tax-effective gift from the timing of grants to recipient charities, and to involve family members in ongoing philanthropy in a way similar to a private foundation, but with centralized administration and governance.

Beyond serving individual donors, Abundance Canada operates the Charity Partnership Program (CPP) for Canadian registered charities seeking sustainable financial tools. Through this initiative, charities can establish a Charity Partnership Fund—an endowment-like fund pooled in Abundance Canada’s Consolidated Trust Fund (CTF). The CTF is professionally managed and designed to offer diversified, liquid, and responsibly invested growth.

Charity partners use these funds to build steady cash flow, run capital campaigns, or create rainy-day reserves, while retaining full discretion over disbursement recommendations. The program gives charities access to sophisticated gift planning support, donor engagement resources and exposure to Abundance Canada’s broad network of donor-advised fund holders.

Abundance Canada integrates environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria into its investment policies. It seeks to invest in companies that respect human rights, support peace, promote social betterment and demonstrate responsible management practices, while avoiding sectors such as weapons, pornography, gambling, and certain addictive products. The foundation publishes audited financial statements and is accredited by Imagine Canada for standards of accountability, transparency and governance.

The organization primarily serves individual donors, families, professional advisors and a wide range of Canadian registered charities. Through its combination of donor-advised grants, strategic generosity planning and pooled charity investment vehicles, Abundance Canada helps channel philanthropic capital efficiently toward community well-being, social services, education, faith-based initiatives and other charitable sectors across Canada.