The Thomas Sill Foundation has a special relationship with rural and northern Manitoba. In our core area of providing cash grants those awards made in rural and northern Manitoba have represented a significant percentage of annual allocations. This makes the Foundation rare among its peers.

Further evidence of our support for rural and northern Manitobans is Community Foundations of Manitoba. Since 1993, we have awarded almost $2 million in a challenge grant program to help establish or enhance the following foundations:

Morden Area Foundation
Thompson Community Foundation
Altona Community Foundation
Selkirk & District Community Foundation
Community Foundation of Portage & District
Dauphin & District Community Foundation
Winkler Community Foundation
Carman Area Community Foundation
Southwest Manitoba Regional Community Foundation
Westshore Community Foundation
Interlake Community Foundation
Brokenhead River Community Foundation
Beautiful Plains Community Foundation
Steinbach Community Foundation
Brandon Area Foundation
Northern Neighbours Foundation
Roblin Community Foundation
Community Foundation of Swan Valley

Insofar as Manitoba has a special relationship with Northwestern Ontario, the Thomas Sill Foundation has also supported the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation.

These “partners in philanthropy” have provided their citizens with access to over $18 million in new endowment funds. Income from the funds will advance the quality of life in rural Manitoba in perpetuity.

In addition, the Thomas Sill Foundation has established a project which will help any community foundation in rural and northern Manitoba, that is a member of the Community Foundations of Canada, to develop a website. This program has been funded with $50,000. Current participants include:

Morden Area Foundation
Plum Coulee Community Foundation
Community Foundation of Portage & District
Carman Area Community Foundation
Winkler Community Foundation
Virden Area Foundation
Beautiful Plains Community Foundation
North Norfolk – MacGregor Foundation
Selkirk & District Community Foundation
Carberry & Area Community Foundation
Dauphin & District Community Foundation
Westshore Community Foundation
Killarney Foundation
Northern Neighbours Foundation

Manitoba, with only 4% of Canada’s population, has 39 members of the Community Foundations of Canada. This represents 25% of the membership.