AGM 2026 REMARKS

From the President & CEO

In 2025, political disruption and economic uncertainty sharply reshaped the environment in which philanthropy operates in Canada.

Across our conversations with PFC members and partners, one theme came through consistently: foundations were looking for support in navigating complexity, making sense of change, and exercising leadership in a moment that demands it.

PFC’s response was to help members meet that moment with clarity, intention, and connection.

Through regional gatherings, timely briefings, peer exchanges, and sustained dialogue, we convened spaces for funders to understand how global, political, and economic shifts, including those unfolding south of the border, are shaping philanthropy’s legitimacy, operating environment, and long-term contributions in Canada.

In a year when the external environment was moving quickly, those spaces became essential. Members were open about uncertainty. They tested assumptions. They challenged and supported one another.

Connection also took on new weight this year, helping members work through real choices, from trust-based philanthropy and mission-aligned capital, to housing, climate, polarization, and the pressures facing communities across the country.

For many members, this is where PFC’s value really comes through: being part of a community that helps people think more clearly, learn from one another, strengthen their practice, and feel more confident in the work ahead.

PFC plays a field-building role for philanthropy in Canada. That work depends on the network participating not only as learners, but as contributors to the leadership of the field. When members take part, share openly, and bring their experience into the conversation, they help strengthen their own work and the broader philanthropic community.

Our affinity groups reached more than 800 participants and continue to evolve as diverse, member-led communities of practice. Our professional development offerings, from CEO peer exchanges to our governance accelerator for family philanthropy, supported leaders navigating rising expectations and increasing complexity.

At the same time, the network itself continued to grow. At nearly 150 members, PFC is the largest that it has ever been. We welcomed 19 new members in 2025, including a growing number of Indigenous-led and Indigenous-serving foundations. Each new member expands the perspective, reach, and strength of this community.

This work is built on trust. I want to thank our members for their engagement, our partners for their collaboration, and the PFC staff team and board for the care and commitment they bring to this work every day.

Looking ahead, PFC will continue to deepen with care, humility and evidence-based rigor, the quality and relevance of its capacity building, its support to collaboration and its advocacy for a more effective enabling environment for charities and not for profits in Canada. This agenda includes but is much larger than the disbursement quota review.

In doing so, PFC aspires to meet its mission of strengthening Canadian philanthropy in all of its diversity in the pursuit of a more just, equitable and sustainable society. Given what is happening in the world, the mission may sound naive and utopian. But to the contrary, that mission is more needed than ever and PFC carries it out by supporting members in the practical decisions that shape real outcomes for communities.

From the Board Chair

From the Board’s perspective, what stood out in 2025 was not only the degree of change and level of uncertainty, but the opportunity it created.

Expectations of philanthropy are shifting with foundations navigating volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environments, having to respond to emerging issues with agility, and demonstrate their relevance in new and meaningful ways.

In this context, Philanthropic Foundations Canada has emerged with a clearer and more influential role to play.

Over the past year, the Board has seen PFC strengthen its position as a forum where emergent issues are discussed with care and rigour.

This kind of work asks for courage and openness, but it is precisely what enables philanthropy to lead with purpose and impact.

One of the clearest signals of progress has been the quality of engagement across the network. Members are engaging in more candid discussions about issues such as risk tolerance, evolving understandings of fiduciary duty, accountability, and the role of philanthropy in a polarized environment.

This speaks to a level of trust within the network, and to a shared understanding that leadership in this moment requires humility, openness as well as values-based convictions.

The Board has also observed the growing importance of PFC as a point of connection between philanthropy and the broader systems in which it operates. Whether through its policy work, affinity groups, national conference or regional forums, PFC is helping its members amplify their impact and contribute to wider societal conversations.

Membership in PFC reflects a willingness to be part of that broader conversation, in engaging with complexity, in learning alongside peers, and in contributing to the ongoing development of philanthropy in Canada. This is increasingly important as expectations of philanthropy continue to evolve.

On behalf of the Board, I want to express my appreciation to the PFC staff team for the dedication and commitment they bring to their work, and to our members and partners for their continued engagement in deepening their impact. PFC’s strength and relevance are sustained by a vibrant ecosystem of relationships, partnership, and shared purpose.

As we look ahead, the Board has full conviction in PFC’s strategic directions and in its ability to support a network of funders who are navigating disruptive and rapid change with intention and care. The environment will remain complex. The need for thoughtful, connected, and accountable philanthropy will only grow.

The 2026 PFC conference in Winnipeg will be a great opportunity for PFC members and partners to reflect, share and learn from each other, so that collectively we can strengthen the common good. I look forward to seeing you in Winnipeg this September.