Catherine Donnelly Foundation (CDF)

Background

The Catherine Donnelly Foundation is a Canadian foundation that was established in 2003 with the human and financial resources of its predecessor Sisters of Service, a left-of-center Catholic religious order. The organization began grantmaking in 2005 to advance equal outcomes, reconcile with Canadian Indigenous populations, and dismantle structures and power relations of European culture. ¹

The CDF uses its assets to engage in shareholder activism; the group pledged to invest 10 percent of its assets in impact investment and pledged full divestment from the fossil fuel industry, human-rights abusers, and gun manufacturers. ²

Activities

Activities and initiatives of the Catherine Donnelly Foundation center around housing and homelessness, climate outcomes, and civic engagement for social change. ⁴

The CDF has provided CAD $9.7 million (approximately $7.0 million USD) 1via 235 grants through the end of 2024 to programs designed to prevent and eliminate homelessness. Examples include the provision of seed funding and ongoing support for A Way Home, a national coalition on youth homelessness, land trusts, tenant rights, and nonprofit Indigenous housing models. The CDF also uses its impact investing to fund organizations like the Raven Indigenous Impact Fund. ⁵

The CDF has provided over CAD $10.1 million (approximately $7.3 million USD) via 215 grants through the Fall of 2024 to promote climate change policies, equal outcomes, and participate in a long-term partnership with the Ecojustice Canada Society to advance the right to a healthy environment. ⁶

Righting Relations: Adult Education for Social Change is the CDF’s community-led initiative designed to build organizational strength to work for “radical social change” in Indigenous, immigrant, refugee, and low-income communities. The CDF, through the Fall of 2024, had provided 244 grants totaling CAD $9.2 million (approximately $6.6 million USD) in the promotion of democracy and a more inclusive society. ^{7  8}

Donors

The Catherine Donnelly Foundation is primarily funded by its return on investments, with limited outside funding. Donations of note include A CAD $5 million (approximately $3.6 million USD) grant from the Daly Foundation in 2021 and multiple donations from 2019 to 2021 totaling CAD $440,000 (approximately $318,000 USD) from The Home Depot Canada Foundation. ³

Grants and Impact Investments

By 2025, the Catherine Donnelly Foundation has made CAD $33 million (approximately $23.8 million USD) in grants to over 400 projects and partners, including CAD $5.07 million (approximately $3.6 million USD) to roughly 115 organizations in 2025. Long-term impact investments of CAD $7 million (approximately $5.1 million) were also initiated in 2025. ^{9  3}

The CDF in 2023 and 2024 made a total of CAD $75,000 (approximately $54,000) in grants to the left-of-center Environmental Defence, a group that has campaigned against oil pipelines and nuclear power expansion. ^{10  10  11}

People

The Catherine Donnelly Foundation was named for Catherine Donnelly, who founded the Sisters of Service, a Catholic religious order dedicated to caring for newcomers to Canada. Members of the order taught in public schools, operated hospitals, and provided immigration services. ¹²

The CDF’s executive director as of August 1, 2026, was Claire Barcik, who was previously the executive director of CRC – Regent Park Community Food Centre. Barcik’s salary is reportedly CAD $160,000 to $199,999 (approximately $116,000 to $144,000 USD) annually. The CDF’s board chair is Richard Morgan, who is also the vice president of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Canada. ^{13  3  14}