The Chawkers Foundation’s objectives are to aid charities across Canada working in the fields of environmental research and protection, and of education. The foundation has also prioritized support for long-form non-fiction journalism.

The Chawkers Foundation was created in 1988 with a sole donation from Charles S. Alexander, a resident of Montreal and Les Cantons de l’Est.

The foundation gave priority to front-line social services in 2020. Food bank and shelter grants have been renewed again for 2025 for agencies in Iqaluit, Thunder Bay, Vancouver, Calgary, Montréal and Toronto.

For information about how to apply for project-based funding in our areas of interest, please see our Grants and Applications  page. Chawkers makes grants only to registered Canadian charities.

In 2003, Chawkers committed to providing the funding necessary for launching the Walrus Magazine, with a mandate to promote discourse about matters vital to Canadians. Chawkers continues to support the Walrus Foundation’s writers and artists, and fund training for its young journalists.

We are very pleased to pursue responsible investing: in order to actively align our capital with our mission, the foundation has invested in Solarshare Community Solar Bonds, the MaRS Catalyst Fund , the YMCA’s of Québec Alternative Suspension SIB, and the MaRS Amplify Fund. Through these investments, we will not only continue to fulfill our foundation’s mandate of charitable grants, but also support important new work in clean energy and in innovative educational and health enterprises.

The Foundation’s board of directors meets twice yearly.

CRA Registration # 119222040RR0001.