Remarks prepared for PFC's Annual General Meeting 2025

Remarks by Board Chair: Simon Mallett
Remarks by President & CEO : Jean-Marc Mangin

These remarks were drafted for delivery to the members attending via videoconference on Monday June 9, 2025, at around 12:30 p.m. (Eastern time).

* Paragraphs with asterisks were spoken in French

Remarks by Board Chair: Simon Mallett

Hello everyone. On behalf of the board of directors, welcome to PFC’s 2025 Annual General Meeting.

* My name is Simon Mallett. I am Executive Director of the Rozsa Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in Calgary that supports and advocates for the Arts in Alberta.

The Rozsa Foundation operates where the Bow River meets the Elbow River, a place traditionally known as Moh’kins’tsis to the Blackfoot, now also known as Calgary.

In the spirit of truth, respect, and reciprocity, we honour and acknowledge that this is the traditional territory of the Treaty 7 people; the Blackfoot Confederacy, comprising the Siksika, Piikani, and Kainai First Nations, the Iyarhe Nakoda, which includes the Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Goodstoney First Nations, and the Tsuut’ina Nation.

This territory is also homeland to the historic Northwest Métis and to the Otipemisiwak Métis Government, and we are based in Alberta District 6.

I am also the outgoing chair of the board of directors at PFC.

As I conclude my term I would like to share a few reflections from the last year.

2024 not only marked a milestone in PFC’s history, as Philanthropic Foundations Canada’s 25th anniversary, but it was also a year that demonstrated the strength of our sector’s leadership, learning, and collective resolve.

What began in 1999 as a small network of 18 foundations has grown into a diverse and dynamic collective of Canada’s leading grantmakers, united by a shared commitment to advancing the common good.

In 2024, we celebrated our anniversary by convening our largest National Conference to date in Ottawa. The team is thrilled to be building on this energy as they plan for PFC’s next national gathering in September 2026 in Winnipeg.

2024 also saw extensive member consultations, where we heard your aspirations and challenges. We responded with renewed focus on capacity-building, collaboration, and research and policy, with a refreshed strategic framework for 2025–2028 towards deepening our sector’s capacity to navigate complexity, polarization, and change.

As we look ahead, PFC remains committed to supporting our members and partners in building a more just, equitable, and sustainable future for all.

Our network continues to grow and evolve, and one of the things I’m most proud of from my time on the board has been the diversification of our network, including the recent welcoming of a number of Indigenous-led and Indigenous-serving foundations into our membership.

As we welcome our incoming chair, Ina Gutium, Vice-President, Operations at Ontario Trillium Foundation, I do so with immense confidence in the future of PFC.

The organization is well-positioned to continue fostering collaboration, advancing equity, and supporting our sector through times of uncertainty and change.

I’d also like to thank the PFC staff team, who are dedicated, incredibly hard-working, and steadfast in their support of the philanthropic sector and advancing the common good.

On behalf of the entire board, and PFC’s membership, I want to recognize and thank our current staff: Abra, Andre V, Andre W, Aviv, Benoit, Erin, Jean-Marc, Michele, and Sara.

* I’d now like to invite Jean-Marc to share a few more highlights from 2024.

Remarks by President & CEO : Jean-Marc Mangin

* Thank you, Simon, for your comments and for your appreciation of all the work done by the team I have the privilege of supporting.

* I’d also like to share my thoughts on the past year at PFC and in the philanthropic sector in general.

In 2024, we brought together the people who power philanthropy under the theme of Together-Ensemble.

From our record-setting national conference to the growing momentum of our peer-led Affinity Groups – including new groups for Foundation CEOS, those that are Quebec-based, People of Colour, the Arts and Family philanthropy – we saw how vital it is to create space for connection, reflection, and shared learning.

Our initiatives – whether through candid conversations among foundation leaders or the emergence of new communities of practice – are helping to shape a more resilient and responsive philanthropic sector.

2024’s achievements – from the groundbreaking Landscape Report to our dialogue initiative on polarization – reflect the power of coming together with purpose.

* Volatility, conflict and anxiety in today`s world play a major role in the work of our members, and in response, FPC has redoubled its efforts to help our community understand and act on multiple crises.

* This work is ongoing now – and FPC will continue to share the best practices and collaborative opportunities that emerge from our vast national network.

This work is indeed at the core of PFC’s mission, which was reconfirmed by our member consultation and the Board in 2024: Strengthening philanthropy – in all of its diversity – in its pursuit of a more just, equitable, and sustainable future for all.

* I encourage you to learn more about your network’s results by reading our annual report, now available on our website.

Thank you for your interest.