Our Purpose
When Garfield and Reta Weston created our family’s foundation in the late 1950s, the purpose was simple: to give back to the country that had given them so much. Since then, that defining purpose has remained constant; because the funds have been generated through the work and success of the Canadian businesses, they should be distributed in Canada for the benefit of Canadians.
Six decades later, as the result of a two-year strategic review, the Foundation has determined two focus areas: Healthy Aging and Healthy Ecosystems. We are taking a spark, shepherd, scale approach to ensure the best ideas have the best chance of success. When it comes to grant-making, our philosophy is straight-forward—we fund research and initiatives that we believe will have actual, measurable impacts on the well-being of Canadians.
Our Mission
The Weston Family Foundation invests in innovation and learning in Health and Landscapes to deliver measurable impacts to the well-being of Canadians.
Our Funding Facts
$474M Total funds donated
$33M 2020 total funding
3,976 Total grants awarded
13 Provinces and territories funded
Our Guiding Principles
We invest in Learning
- Grounding our initiatives in science, using evidence to inform our work and assess impact
- Learning from our successes and failures, always willing to assess and improve the work we do
- Building and sharing knowledge to empower individuals and communities
We Deliver Measurable Impacts
- Setting ambitious goals to which we are accountable
- Focusing on outcomes in order to maximize our impacts
- Committing to openness and transparency, collaborating where useful to achieve our goals
We Support Innovation
- Recognizing our ability to take risks, respond flexibly and take a long-term perspective
- Sparking and shepherding new ideas that tackle large and complex issues
- Scaling solutions with potential to achieve catalytic breakthroughs
A History of Giving
Look back at highlights of more than six decades of giving from the Weston Family Foundation
Our History page is coming soon.