St. Clair O’Connor Community Foundation is a charitable foundation associated with St. Clair O’Connor Community (SCOC), an intergenerational, faith-informed non-profit in East York, Toronto. The foundation’s purpose is to support initiatives that foster life-affirming living arrangements, programs and activities, enabling older persons to participate meaningfully in inclusive intergenerational communities.
Role of the Foundation in the funding ecosystem
The foundation channels donations from individuals, families, congregations and community partners into concrete support for SCOC’s mission. Rather than operating as a service provider itself, it underpins housing, care and community-life initiatives through philanthropic funding. This includes backing programs that help older adults age in place, engage socially, and build relationships across generations in a congregated housing setting.
Funding priorities and guiding values
The foundation’s giving is framed by a set of articulated values:
- Dignity – affirming the worth and importance of every person, regardless of age or health status.
- Person-centered – favouring small, personalized programs for people who may have diminished capacity to decide where they live or how they spend their time.
- Collaboration – working in partnership with SCOC, local churches, neighbours and other community actors to achieve impact.
- Innovation – encouraging flexible, adaptable and creative approaches to community living and senior care.
- Community – strengthening ties with SCOC residents, Danforth Mennonite Church, Toronto United Mennonite Church, East York neighbours and wider Mennonite communities.
Initiatives that align with these principles and contribute to life-affirming, intergenerational community life are the natural focus of the foundation’s support.
Publics served and geographic scope
The foundation’s work is tightly connected to the St. Clair O’Connor Community campus and its surrounding neighbourhood. Beneficiaries are primarily older adults, families and community members who participate in SCOC programs such as long-term care, life enrichment activities and community events. Given SCOC’s roots in Mennonite congregations, the foundation also maintains links to Mennonite communities across the Greater Toronto Area.
Governance, donations and contact
The foundation operates alongside SCOC’s non-profit structure and invites donations to sustain and expand its impact. Donors can give via the SCOC website, and the foundation can be contacted directly at info@scocfoundation.org for inquiries about its role or the initiatives it supports. While the website does not detail formal grant application processes, it clearly positions the foundation as a vehicle through which philanthropic funds are gathered and directed toward programs and activities that advance SCOC’s vision of inclusive, intergenerational community.