Why Foundations Matter

By Hilary Pearson, Alliance Magazine

Why do foundations matter? I have spent decades thinking about this question in a Canadian context.

To try to answer it, I wrote a book about the work of Canadian foundations and their impact today, called From Charity To Change (MQUP, 2022). I interviewed over 30 foundation leaders for their insights about the work they do and how they think foundation philanthropy is evolving.  With a similar intent, my colleague Michael Alberg-Seberich of Wider Sense in Berlin has interviewed many European foundation leaders in the last two years. Together during the recent conference of Philanthropic Foundations Canada in Montreal, we spoke about what we have learned.