The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation is a private philanthropic organization funding programs that support Canadians in building a more inclusive, sustainable and resilient society.
Please note that this site is currently in development; new features, content and resources will be added over the coming weeks and months.
In the meantime, we encourage you to explore our site, share in our learning and contribute your voice.
Maintaining clear records of our recent granting history is an important part of the Foundation’s commitment to accessibility and knowledge-sharing.
We invite you to explore our grants database. As a public record of our evolving efforts to support Canadians in building a more resilient society, this database is a living document.
Your feedback and suggestions are welcome!
Social inclusion lies at the heart of what it is to be a citizen. It is not simply to be accepted, but to be recognised for the qualities, skills and values each person represents. It is to belong and to contribute, to be fully a citizen with rights and obligations.
Sustainability is a core concern of every activity the Foundation funds. Often invoked in relation to maintaining the natural systems supporting life, sustainability also refers to social systems, to balancing preservation of the valuable and known with the emergence of the new and disruptive. From the Foundation’s perspective, sustainability can be defined as living as though we planned on staying here.
Resilience links social and ecological systems, people and nature. Increasing resilience means investing in our collective capacity to face challenges at multiple levels. It can be addressed locally at the levels of the individual, family or community, nationally, and even globally. The Foundation works to support innovative approaches to this challenge.
You can’t find new answers just by asking the old questions. Studies show that most innovation takes place “at the margins”, where people are struggling to find workable solutions to deeply rooted problems. For the Foundation, social innovation is the process of applying new approaches, perceptions or programs to meet social needs.
Browse remarks from President and CEO Tim Brodhead.
Learn more about seeking Foundation support.
See what we're working on right now.
Explore how we hope to change our systems for the better.
In 2010, the Foundation will resume new granting, by invitation and through the publication of requests for proposals through this website.
In the meantime, kindly note that we are not accepting unsolicited applications for funding and that our online application form remains inactive until further notice.