Grant and Funding Programs Offered by St. Francis Valley Healthcare Foundation

St. Francis Valley Healthcare Foundation is a community-based registered charity incorporated in 2001 and located in Barry’s Bay, Ontario. The Foundation exists to raise and steward philanthropic funds to support three key health partners in the Madawaska Valley: St. Francis Memorial Hospital (including the Rainbow Valley Community Health Centre), Valley Manor long-term care home, and the Madawaska Valley Hospice Palliative Care program. Because government funding does not cover most medical equipment, these institutions rely on the Foundation and its donors to acquire the tools, technology and supplementary services needed to provide high-quality care close to home.

The Foundation does not operate a formal open-call grant program. Instead, it provides targeted financial support to its designated healthcare partners, aligning purchases with their long-term service and equipment plans. Donor contributions are used to fund a wide range of medical and care-related items such as hospital stretchers, baby isolettes, workstations on wheels, wheelchairs, Broda chairs, lifts, slings, mattresses, comfort chairs, walkers and training for hospice volunteers. Through campaigns like the Growing TogethER Emergency Department Redevelopment Campaign and annual initiatives such as the Tree of Lights, the Foundation channels community giving into capital upgrades, equipment purchases and program enhancements.

Gifts can be directed to specific facilities or to the Foundation’s area of greatest need. Undesignated donations give the Foundation flexibility to allocate resources where and when they are most needed across the hospital, long-term care home and hospice program. Allocation decisions are made in partnership with the partner organizations and are informed by documented equipment wish lists, strategic priorities and emerging clinical needs.

The primary beneficiaries of the Foundation’s funding are patients, residents and families served by St. Francis Memorial Hospital, Valley Manor and Madawaska Valley Hospice Palliative Care. By funding critical diagnostic, treatment and comfort equipment, the Foundation helps maintain access to safe, modern healthcare services in a rural area. Public communications under the “Your Impact” and “Where Your Money Goes” sections highlight specific items purchased each fiscal year, reinforcing transparency and demonstrating the concrete impact of donor and community support.

The Foundation is overseen by a volunteer board of directors and a small professional staff team that includes an executive director and fundraising and communications personnel. It publishes annual reports and financial statements, maintains a Donor Bill of Rights, and invites community members to engage through monthly giving, memorial gifts, planned giving, securities donations and third-party fundraising events. These practices underscore its role as a trusted local funding body within the regional healthcare ecosystem.