The Oakville Community Foundation is for people, businesses & organizations who love Oakville and want to see it thrive. We are a community of philanthropists that has granted over $80 million to charities and into the community since 1994. We bring the community together to research urgent needs and fund lasting solutions to the biggest challenges facing Oakville.
Do you want to learn more?
What is the Oakville Community Foundation?
The Oakville Community Foundation brings people, businesses and organizations together for the love of community. As a public charitable organization, we have granted over $80 million to charities and into the community since 1994.
Where does the Oakville Community Foundation operate?
The Foundation is located in the Town of Oakville on the shores of Lake Ontario. Our expertise lies in supporting solutions to local issues, however we are able to grant to registered charities across the country.
What does the Oakville Community Foundation do?
The Foundation invests and stewards more than $100 million in charitable assets, encourages community generosity and builds community wellbeing. We bring the community together to research urgent needs and fund lasting solutions to the biggest challenges facing Oakville.
Where can I see the work of the Oakville Community Foundation?
You can see our impact in the local trails, public gardens, trees, affordable housing, charitable organizations and social infrastructure throughout the community. Annually, The Foundation runs the GIVEOakville campaign, raising $5 million for local charities since 2019, and the Community Education Awards Hub, offering post-secondary students $500,000 in awards.
What are the biggest challenges facing Oakville?
What are the solutions?
The GIVEOakville Fund provides broad support for 75 charities serving Oakville and is open year-round to support the annual fall campaign.
The GIVEOakville campaign is the premier annual charity fundraising program in Oakville from mid-November to early December. The OCF tops up funds to charities that are under their fundraising goal during the campaign.
Since 2019, over $5 million has been raised to support our local charitable infrastructure.
The Oakville Community Asset Fund lends money to charities and projects supporting Oakville’s social infrastructure, like charity capital builds, affordable housing and other infrastructure projects. A number of local charity builds have been halted, delayed or cancelled due to inadequate financing.
This Fund leverages OCF’s 8 years of impact investing expertise in local charities like Food For Life, Halton Children’s Aid Society’s Bridging the Gap Home and microloans to ReImagine Ontario and Oak Park Neighbourhood Centre.
After due diligence, loans would be available below commercial rates for charities. Funds are then reinvested as loans are paid back and continue to cycle through the community forever to continue to build more social assets.
This Fund features two streams:
The Community Education Awards Hub has already provided $2 million in scholarships and bursaries to local students since 2020. Donors can support the Oakville Youth Education Awards for graduating Oakville high school students heading off to post-secondary education, reviewed by an OCF selection committee, or create their own bespoke awards and application.
Under development. In 2027 we plan to offer grants for a variety of youth/young adult-based initiatives in Oakville. Building on The Foundation’s leadership in youth programming and research, The Foundation is preparing a report on Young Adult Mental Health and Community Well-being research to address this age group’s biggest needs: mental health, job market access, belonging and affordability. Applications will be requested from charities that are youth/young adult-led or collaborations and will be reviewed by youth/young adult advisors associated with the OCF.
