A Message To Our Colleagues and Partners of the Tri-board 2026
The Concordia Foundation:
Generosity At A Crossroads
Generosity Isn’t Disappearing — It’s Being Redefined
Across Canada, generosity is not disappearing, but it is changing. We are seeing the signs and the trends as they creep up on us.
Fewer people are giving and volunteering, even as needs grow. Charitable dollars are increasingly coming from a smaller, aging group of donors who have carried organizations like ours with extraordinary commitment for decades.
As we look forward. The question isn’t whether Concordia is strong today. It’s whether we are building what will sustain us ten and fifteen years from now.
Concordia is fortunate. We benefit from loyal, generous supporters who believe deeply in us. And, what it means to our community. That is a strength—and one we must steward carefully. Nationally, the trend is clear: participation is declining at all levels. We still enjoy retention rates of over 27% and are determined to make this a priority in our stewardship strategy.
Sector leaders, including Imagine Canada, tell us we have roughly a decade before today’s core donor base begins to age out in significant ways.
At the same time, younger generations aren’t disengaged—they’re differently engaged. They care deeply about health, equity, and community, but their first connection is often through experience, values, and purpose—not financial capacity.
As a board, our responsibility is to look ahead and ask the harder questions: Who will carry this mission forward? Are we intentionally cultivating future generations of supporters and leaders?
There are no right answers today—but there are important signals we need to pay attention to. We aim to get ahead of this curve and act differently now.
We are already responding. We’ve engaged new voices, including Rachel Bartel and others of her generation, to help us understand what authentic engagement looks like now—and how expectations are changing for committees, boards, and leadership.
We’ve also engaged the 15 young researchers supported through our Clinical Research program, inviting them into workshops and roundtables to help translate their work into human impact and partner with the Foundation in telling that story.
Building on over 50 years of impact, we see a healthy and hopeful future for the Concordia community.
That future requires a shift in how we think about fundraising.
We don’t believe in donor fatigue. We believe in donor joy.
When we make an ask, we’re not taking something away—we’re giving agency.
Donors see a world they want to improve. We give them a tool to act. They want to leave a legacy. We invite them into the story.
People don’t give because they’re pressured. They give because it feels meaningful. Our role is to be the bridge between good intentions and the impact people crave— and we are proud of that bridge.
What This Means for Boards
You are not being asked to fundraise. You are being asked to lead—and to serve as ambassadors.
Effective boards don’t focus on transactions. They focus on relationships. Your strength lies in opening doors, sharing belief in the mission, and connecting people to purpose.
When board members lean into their natural strengths:
Participation increases
Engagement deepens
Fundraising becomes more relational and mission-driven
The Concordia Foundation Inc. is a registered charitable public foundation in Canada with charitable registration number 13036 3336 RR0001. It operates as the philanthropic arm of the Concordia Campus, supporting Concordia Hospital, Concordia Place, Concordia Village, Concordia Arthroplasty Research and related community services.
It was incorporated under the Corporations Act of Manitoba as a public foundation in 1983 as the official fundraising entity for the hospital and campus community.
The Concordia Foundation was first incorporated as a registered charity in 1975. This earlier date reflects charitable registration status rather than corporate formation under provincial law.
In 2006 the name was changed to reflect the community aspect of the Foundation’s service to “The Concordia Foundation Inc. “
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Gerry Harms,
Priorities for 2026-2028
Funders will be paying attention not just to “what” we do, but how we work with communities and other partners. Foundations in Canada are prioritizing flexibility, equity, investment innovation, authentic and personal engagement, and collaborative systems. Donors pay close attention to how they feel about us in our relationship with them. The Concordia Foundation is embracing this future.
The Centennial Year in 2028 will be an ideal time to announce and launch the next century's goals and priorities.
1 Trust-Based, Flexible, and Community-Centred Funding
There’s a strong shift away from traditional transactional grant making toward trust-based relationships (unrestricted or multi-year funding, fewer reporting burdens and deeper partnership with grantees). This trend is being championed by sector leaders and funder networks across Canada.
Imagine Canada Standards designation will be a key priority as we re-embark on our journey toward this designation.
Mutual exchange and collaboration with each other, our community partners will be central to the foundation's strategic planning.
Aligning Grants and Investments for Greater Impact
Continue to explore mission-aligned investment with our grants — to maximize social and environmental return.
Research agendas from groups like Philanthropic Foundations Canada emphasize understanding people and practices in foundations, including talent, leadership, board effectiveness, governance, and organizational culture — all critical for resilience.
Professional Development for Board Development of Strengths and Staff Development of Strengths.
Other Foundations are actively responding to social challenges: polarization, rising demand for healthcare, and under-resourced public systems. This is pushing all Grantmakers to be more strategic about long-term outcomes, systems-change approaches, and collaboration. What we do today affects what happens 15 years from now.
Donor Advised Funds: New Frontier For Philanthropic Giving
There are about 230–250 registered charities/ foundations in Canada that host DAF programs these are the organizations that set up and manage donor advised funds such as Abundance Canada, The Winnipeg Foundation GIFTPACT, Value Partners Charitable Foundation (Lawton Partners) and others.
It is estimated that 10% of philanthropic giving in Canada is from DAFs.
Over 122,000+ individual DAFs existed in Canada as of 2024.
We have a prospect database of these groups with a strategy of cultivating.
DAF Distribution by Region (2021 Data)
Ontario & Québec: ~50% of DAF clients are located in these two provinces combined.
**Western Canada (BC, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan): ~40% of DAF clients across these provinces.
Atlantic Canada (Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island): ~9% of DAF clients.
Legacy and planned giving (gifts in wills, Life insurance giving, securities and mutual funds, etc.) are gaining traction and are expected to play a bigger role in long-term funding sustainability for charities and foundations alike. (foundationmag.ca) At Concordia we are seeing a growing number of donations and pledges of this type as people are planning their giving in this way.
Donor Advised Funds and Family Foundations are growing across Canada as well as at Concordia. We are discovering a growing number donors in our donor base who are switching from their annual gift to donor-advised or legacy funding.
Major Gift Cultivation as we increase interest in multi-year pledges for specific programs and projects.
Donor Advised Funds and Family Foundations. (making decisions differently) Grants from corporate and other foundations. Current donors and their families.
Donor Engagement.
Stewardship and Retention (specialty-focused attention to the donors we have in our care )
Cultivating new donors who put their trust in us, such as patients and community members who have been touched by the work of Concordia. We estimate that 99% of the active donors have been touched personally in some way by Concordia and have a personal relationship with us in so many ways.