Kenora & Lake of the Woods Community Foundation
Attention all Registered Charities: The Community Foundation’s Community Needs Fall Granting Cycle will begin on August 18, 2025, with the opening of the Grant Portal. All Grant Applications are due on September 15, 2025. The Grant Application portal will close Monday evening September 15, at midnight. Please click on this link to access the grant application.
They are involved in every aspect of our work, from endowment fund development, to evaluating grant applications, to creating our financial policies and designing and supporting our fundraising activities. At the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Community Foundation, our volunteers mean the world to us and we want to take this opportunity to recognize and thank them for all their efforts in building up the charitable sector in the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Region.
Moffat Family Fund and Dream Fund: Grant Applications due February 28, 2025
Community Needs Fund: Grant Applications due September 15, 2025
To apply for a grant:
2025 marks the 21st year that youth and families in the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Region have received financial support from a $100 million endowment fund established by the Moffat Family, at the Winnipeg Foundation. At the time, it was the largest gift ever made to a community foundation in Canadian history. In 2017, the family made an additional gift of $50 million to its fund. Over the years, the generosity of the Moffat Family Fund has supported a variety of initiatives including early childhood education, supports for indigenous youth and families, literacy projects, nutrition programs, parenting programs, family resource centres and truth and reconciliation programs.
To date, through the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Community Foundation, over $1.43 million in grants have been distributed to local charities including: Triple Play, Minto Early On Child and Family Centre, the Canadian Ski Patrol, Sunday Smiles, the Kenora Public Library, Women’s Shelter Saakaate House, the Township of Sioux Narrows – Nestor Falls and many others. The primary goal of the fund is to “support and advance the economic, social, physical and intellectual well being of children and families”. Kenora is very fortunate to be one of twelve communities across Canada, in addition to Winnipeg, to be receiving this support. The Community Foundation and all recipient charities, would like to express our sincere appreciation and gratitude to the Moffat Family for continuing to fulfill their vision of “ a Canadian society where all individuals have equal opportunity to develop their potential”.
The Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation aims to strengthen the communities we serve by continuously striving towards three key objectives:
Endowment building, broad and effective grant making and community leadership
Highlights from the 2025-2028 Strategic Plan include:
Establishing an Indigenous Advisory Committee to support healing and reconciliation, promote engagement and participation in philanthropy, and share supports and resources. Community Foundation Board Member, Stefanie Bryant, will chair our Indigenous Advisory Committee, providing input and guidance in this work.
Engaging in a Vital Signs Community Needs Survey to determine priorities in community needs. Board President, Shannon Robinson and Chair of the Granting Committee highlights the importance of implementing multi-year granting processes to support charities/groups of eligible organizations responding to areas of significant community need.
Building the Community Foundation Endowment Fund to $13 million by 2028, thereby increasing our granting capacity. Since 2004, your Community Foundation has granted over $6 million to local charities and organizations. Fund Development Committee Chair, Kyle Attanasio and Committee members set priority actions focusing on donor stewardship and growing the endowment fund by $450K in 2025.
The Board of Directors and staff of the Community Foundation look forward to hosting multiple events throughout 2025-2028, including a Breakfast for Professional Advisors, a Will & Estate Planning Session, a summer Granting Celebration, bringing donors and grant recipients together, and our two favorite fundraisers, an Evening of Holiday Philanthropy at the Annual Festival of Trees Charity Fundraiser and a Golfing for Philanthropy Event. Our staff, Executive Director, Lynn McAughey, Community Engagement Coordinator, Darlene MacGillivray and Administrative Coordinator, Shelley Hinds look forward to meeting with our community stakeholders and sharing stories about the impact of your Community Foundation, its donors and grantees.
Summer Granting Ceremony distributes $505,000 to charities in the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Region
Generous donors, worthy grant recipients, dedicated volunteers, current and past community leaders and members of the public, came together on the evening of June 27th at the Clarion Lakeside Inn, to celebrate the charitable sector in the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Region.
While it was our first public granting ceremony in over five years, attendance was strong, and the words of thanks were heartfelt. Representatives from the charities described to the audience how the granting dollars would help grow the various sectors of our community, including; arts and culture, health and wellness, social welfare, the environment and the community at large. The event was inspirational and ended with a call to action: to join the Community Foundation as a volunteer or start an endowment fund which will benefit our community and region forever. It’s as simple as contacting the Community Foundation and making an appointment to review the endowment fund options. Consider making a lasting gift to your community today.
The Community Foundation’s 6th Annual Golfing for Philanthropy Charity Fundraiser exceeds expectations and garners $59,000 in sponsorships with twenty-seven teams participating!
The work of the Community Foundation in growing the charitable sector in the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Region, has been strengthened with the success of the 6th Annual Golfing for Philanthropy Charitable Fundraiser, held on June 12th at the Kenora Golf and Country Club. Each participating team had the honour of posing with the Community Foundation’s banner announcing $6 Million in grants have been distributed to charities in the Kenora and LOW Region over the past 20 years. Kenora GM presented the charity fundraiser, while Donny B, Tbaytel, Clearmarket Market and Kenora Home Hardware Building Centre, joined as Premium Sponsors. The tournament also benefitted from the dedicated efforts of over twenty volunteers, while all participants enjoyed a delicious BBQ lunch provided by the Rotary Club of Kenora.
The tournament was won by the Dingwall Ford team comprised of Bill Dingwall, Doug Novak, Cam Dingwall and Mike Dingwall. Second place went to our presenting sponsor Kenora GM with golfers Brendan Morris, Jordan Kantola, Jason Kantola and Jonathan Moss. Third place was won by the cleverly worded team, known as “Two Putt Shakur,” with Matt Johnson, Travis Young, Jaye Bergman and Peter Foucher.
The Community Foundation recognizes and thanks all our generous tournament sponsors, prize sponsors, spirited teams and dedicated volunteers for joining us in, Building Forever Together.
Kenora’s Loonie Bear has been beautifully restored to his past glory, in time for the first Matiowski Farmer’s Market of the 2025 season. Loonie has been a delight to children and their families on the Kenora Harbourfront for the past nineteen years!
Loonie was a generous gift to the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation from Andrew B. Paterson and family in 2006, in honor of our children and our beautiful lake region. Loonie was one of the sixty-two bears which formed Cancer Care Manitoba’s “Bears on Broadway” project in Winnipeg in 2005. Mr. Paterson was the chairperson of the Cancer Care Foundation at the time and wanted to share a bear with us in Kenora. He covered Loonie’s delivery and set up costs and installed a special “bear bank” on Loonie’s backside. This was to encourage all of us to give a “Loonie for the love of the Lake”. Thank you again to Andrew Paterson and family for this generous gift. We also recognize and thank acclaimed Manitoba artist Hubert Theroux for completing Loonie’s restoration.
Since 2006, the Community Foundation has led vibrant groups of students at Beaver Brae Secondary School and Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in understanding community needs and making impactful grants to local charities. The program is known as “Youth in Philanthropy” (YIP) and this year, $3,500 in grants were awarded to seven organizations.
“This is a true Kenora success story – youth learning about their community and the importance of giving and contributing where they live. This program empowers youth as decision makers and leaders within our communities. We are so proud of these students who have demonstrated their personal commitment to charities and are actively contributing to help those in need”, said KLWCF Executive Director, Lynn McAughey.
This year’s program was also made possible through the hard work of teacher leaders: Ms. Jocelyn Dockerty at Beaver Brae and Chaplain Dean Woodbeck at STA, and the annual financial support of Northern Credit Union. Community Foundation board members, recipient charities and members of Northern Credit Union were on hand, as the YIP students proudly announced the following grants:
We are very pleased to present our 2022-2023 Annual Report to the Community. Our mission is dedicated to helping improve community living and the quality of life for citizens and visitors to the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Region.
