Grant and Funding Programs Offered by The Camp Tanamakoon Charitable Foundation Inc

The Camp Tanamakoon Charitable Foundation Inc is a Canadian charitable foundation created by Kim and Marilyn Smith, longtime owners and directors of Camp Tanamakoon, a traditional girls’ camp in Algonquin Park. Incorporated and granted charitable status in 1999, the foundation was originally established to make annual donations to women’s and children’s charities, with a focus on smaller and less visible groups supporting children facing unique life challenges.

Over time, the foundation’s mission evolved toward directly operating and funding Camp Maple Leaf, a not-for-profit sleepover camp that gives children of Canadian military families and other children with distinctive medical, social or family challenges a camp to call their own. The foundation uses donor contributions, sponsorships and an endowment fund to underwrite camp operations and subsidize access so that financial barriers do not prevent participation.

Although it now primarily supports Camp Maple Leaf, the organization explicitly notes that from its beginning the foundation has been donating to small women’s and children’s charities. This positions it as a discretionary grantmaker that can direct funds both to its own camp programs and, where appropriate, to external charities aligned with its mandate to support vulnerable children and families.

Through Camp Maple Leaf, the foundation focuses on children of serving and veteran Canadian Armed Forces members, children of first responders living with operational stress injuries, bereaved children, and young people living with conditions such as skin disorders, Tourette syndrome, dwarfism, alopecia, facial or limb differences, or a parent with cancer. It operates or partners with camps in Ontario, Atlantic Canada and Western Canada, aiming to expand to multiple locations so that families from across the country can access programs closer to home.

The foundation’s strategy includes week-long sessions for children, shorter family camps, leadership development opportunities for returning campers, and partnerships with medical and community organizations. Its strategic plan outlines goals to serve thousands of campers annually and to build a sustainable national network of sites while maintaining a small shared-services home office to manage finance, governance, fundraising and program quality.

The Camp Tanamakoon Charitable Foundation operates under the legal name Camp Tanamakoon Charitable Foundation Inc and does business as Camp Maple Leaf. It is governed by a board of directors and emphasizes responsible stewardship of donated resources and the natural environment. Public documents such as a strategic plan, gratitude report, donor lists and impact reports describe how philanthropic support is used to create inclusive camp experiences and to honor the service of military families and first responders.

By combining hands-on program delivery with its roots in charitable giving to women’s and children’s organizations, the foundation occupies a dual role: it is both an operator of specialized camps and a philanthropic vehicle that channels donations from individuals, corporations, foundations and service clubs into concrete benefits for children with unique life challenges across Canada.