$100 million! That is the new asset total just released by Niagara Community Foundation (NCF).
This announcement comes on the heels of the organization’s 25th anniversary and moves the organization into the top three largest foundations in Niagara.
Crossing the $100 million mark is a testament to the incredible generosity of Niagara residents. In 2017, NCF received the largest donation (to date) in Niagara’s history of $19 million from the David S. Howes Foundation. The Howes gift set the organization on a new trajectory, growing its asset pool to $50 million. Now, just shy of ten years after that historic donation, NCF has doubled its asset total and quadrupled its grant investment into the charitable sector.
“The growth of NCF is an incredible achievement for Niagara,” says executive director Bryan Rose. “Over the last ten years, we have seen donors come to us with gifts of all shapes and sizes and collectively, they have doubled our growth. This $100 million is thanks to the 400+ fundholders who believed in Niagara’s charitable sector and invested their donations with NCF.”
NCF attributes the growth of the organization to two factors — an increase in the number of fundholders, as well as a strong financial market. The combination of these two areas has propelled NCF into the $100 million tier as a foundation, alongside peers, Niagara Health Foundation and Brock University.
As a community foundation, donations are pooled in an income earning endowment fund. The returns are reinvested into the community through grants; the larger the endowment pool the greater the investment into Niagara’s charitable sector. In 2025, NCF was able to grant over $5 million to registered charities in Niagara (in 2017 annual grants totaled just over $1M), bringing the historic grant total over $36 million!
NCF is part of a larger collection of over 200 community foundations across Canada. Reaching the $100 million threshold puts NCF into the top 15 community foundations in Canada. The largest Canadian community foundation is the Winnipeg Foundation boasting over $2 billion in assets.
Founded in 2000, Niagara Community Foundation has raised over $100 million and has granted in excess of $36 million to charities working in the arts, heritage, environment, social services, health, education and community development sectors. NCF connects donor to causes and communities to resources, turning intent into impact.
