The Chawkers Foundation was created in 1988 with a sole donation from Charles and Joey Alexander, residents of Montréal and Les Cantons de l’Est. They had a simple vision of helping good people do good work, and they had interests in, among others, the environment and education.
Our Purpose
To advance innovative educational and environmental work that directly benefits Canadians and creates lasting personal, environmental and social change
To support strong independent journalism to strengthen the quality and breadth of Canadian discourse and knowledge
To strengthen groups that create impactful programming in these areas
To create communities and networks that share and connect programs among supporters, participants and diverse audiences
To support programs in all regions of Canada
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.
Our Funding Streams
Project grants in education, environmental work, and journalism.
Grants for front-line agencies, including shelters and food banks.
Unrestricted multi-year funding for groups working in education, the environment, or journalism.
Director-initiated grants
The Walrus Foundation
Board of Directors
2024-2025
Aimée Ippersiel, Toronto
Bruce Bennett, Toronto
Claire Lanctôt, Stanbridge East, Quebec
Duncan Alexander (President, Treasurer), Abercorn, Quebec
Jerry Lazare (Secretary), Toronto
John Rich, Vancouver
Sarah Palmer (Vice-President), Calgary
Will Ferguson, Calgary
Staff
Jim O’Reilly (Executive Director), Toronto
You can email us at information@thechawkersfoundation.org