What IWK Foundation does

IWK Foundation is a registered Canadian charitable foundation established in 1996 and headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is the exclusive fundraising arm for IWK Health Centre, the Maritime Provinces' specialized tertiary care provider for women, children, and youth. The Foundation raises funds from individual donors, corporate partners, and community organizations across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, deploying those proceeds to IWK Health Centre for equipment, research, education, patient-care programs, and capital redevelopment such as the Emergency Department rebuild.

The Foundation operates an event-driven and direct-to-donor fundraising model anchored by two signature annual broadcasts: the IWK Telethon for Children on CTV Atlantic (its largest fundraiser, which raised a record $9.1M in 2026) and the IWK Radiothon with 10 Bell Media radio stations. Complementary programs include Miracle Treat Days (a Dairy Queen partnership), community fundraising campaigns (golf tournaments, fishing derbies, the IWK 250), the Fuel the Care program with Irving Oil, endowed research funds (e.g., Jeremy Ingham Cancer Research Trust), and named scholarships. Underlying technology consists of a Convio/Blackbaud-powered secure online donation platform with Google Analytics for web measurement; no proprietary technology or AI capabilities are part of the offering.

The Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees and led by President & CEO Jennifer Gillivan. Major disclosed donors include the Irving family ($6M toward the Emergency Department, 2022), Thistledown Foundation (a portion of $26M via CCHF, 2021), Dr. Margaret Oulton ($2M for women's health research, 2025), and the Kenneth and Dorothy Rowe Foundation ($1M for emergency simulation, 2022 and 2025). The Foundation is also a member of Children's Miracle Network, a 170-hospital North American fundraising network. Annual funds raised have scaled from approximately $13–15M (2019–2021 disclosures) to higher levels supported by the record 2026 telethon and a steady cadence of multi-million-dollar major gifts.

Name

IWK Foundation

Legal name

IWK Foundation

Website

https://iwkfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IWK Foundation is a Halifax-based registered charity and the exclusive fundraising partner for IWK Health Centre, raising donations across the Maritime Provinces to fund women's and children's healthcare, research, equipment, and capital projects through events, major gifts, and corporate partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Fundraising

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

akta.pro primary industry

Infectious Disease & Immunization Program Funding (HLAJALAH)

Keywords

• Healthcare fundraising services
• Charitable foundation management
• Pediatric hospital philanthropy
• Community giving programs
• Women's health funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Halifax

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: IWK Foundation generates revenue exclusively through charitable donations from individuals, corporations, and community organizations. Major fundraising events include the annual IWK Telethon for Children and IWK Radiothon. Donors contribute through one-time gifts, monthly recurring donations, major gifts, securities, and legacy bequests.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

IWK Foundation is a private charitable foundation that raises and manages donations to fund specialized healthcare for women, children, youth, and families at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax. Core offerings include an online donation platform (one-time, monthly, securities, major gifts, legacy bequests) and signature fundraising programs such as the annual IWK Telethon for Children on CTV, the IWK Radiothon with Bell Media, Miracle Treat Days (Dairy Queen partnership), community fundraising campaigns, and endowed research funds.

Product overview

The IWK Foundation is a fundraising organization for the IWK Health Centre, offering a comprehensive donation platform alongside signature fundraising programs. The core offering consists of an online donation system enabling one-time and monthly contributions, integrated with signature events including the annual IWK Telethon for Children on CTV (the largest fundraiser) and the IWK Radiothon with Bell Media stations. Additional programs include Miracle Treat Days (DQ partnership), community fundraising campaigns, the Fifth Wave podcast on women's health, and scholarship programs. The Foundation processes donations through Convio/Blackbaud and supports various endowed research funds like the Jeremy Ingham Cancer Research Trust.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Miracle Treat Days: A fundraising campaign featuring Dairy Queen Blizzard Treat vouchers.
• IWK Telethon
• IWK Radiothon
• Fuel the Care
• The Fifth Wave Podcast
• IWK 250
• 100 Hours for the Kids
• The Wessex Scholarship
• Robbie and Jean Shaw Scholarship
• John Lindsay Sr. IWK Humanitarian Award

Products and services

• IWK Telethon for Children The IWK Foundation's signature annual televised fundraising event broadcast on CTV Atlantic, featuring patient stories and community fundraising appeals; the largest annual fundraiser for IWK Health Centre. Raised a record-breaking $9,110,219.34 in 2026.
• IWK Radiothon Annual multi-station radio fundraising event conducted across 10 Bell Media-owned radio stations in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, with listeners calling in or donating online to support IWK Health Centre.
• Miracle Treat Days A fundraising campaign in partnership with Dairy Queen where DQ locations sell Blizzard Treat coupons/vouchers, with proceeds supporting IWK Health Centre.
• Community Fundraising Campaigns Various community-organized fundraising events and campaigns including golf tournaments, fishing derbies, and other local initiatives supporting the IWK; provides grassroots giving channels for individuals and groups across the Maritime provinces.

Quantifiable outcome

• Record-breaking $9.1 million raised at 2026 Telethon
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Irving OilcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2020Irving Oil's Fuel the Care program provides travel assistance in the form of fuel cards for Maritime patients and families traveling to IWK for care. In 2020, Irving Oil introduced six designated Fuel the Care fuel pumps where one cent from every litre goes to support IWK.
• Nova Scotia COVID-19 Health Research CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Coalition including Nova Scotia Health Authority, Dalhousie University, Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation, IWK Health Centre, IWK Foundation, QEII Health Sciences Foundation, Dartmouth General Hospital Foundation, and Research Nova Scotia. Made a $1.5 million collective investment in COVID-19 focused research.
• CTV (CTV Atlantic)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerLong-standing broadcast partnership where CTV Atlantic serves as the exclusive broadcast partner for the annual IWK Telethon for Children, reaching millions of viewers across the Maritimes. CTV provides production resources, studio facilities, and extensive media coverage for the signature fundraising event.
• Bell Media Radio StationscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with 10 Bell Media-owned radio stations across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick for the annual IWK Radiothon, collectively raising significant funds through listener donations and community engagement.
• Children's Miracle NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIWK Foundation is part of Children's Miracle Network, a program raising funds for 170 children's hospitals across North America, including 12 in Canada. The partnership provides access to national fundraising campaigns, corporate sponsors, and awareness initiatives.
• Dairy QueenminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMiracle Treat Days partnership where Dairy Queen Blizzard Treat fundraising coupons are sold to support IWK Foundation, with proceeds benefiting IWK Health Centre.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• SickKids Foundation: Fundraising arm of Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, Canada's largest children's hospital foundation. Directly comparable as a Canadian pediatric hospital foundation operating signature events, monthly giving, major gifts, and legacy giving programs for women's and children's health.
• McMaster Children's Hospital Foundation: Fundraising foundation supporting pediatric services at McMaster Children's Hospital in Hamilton. Comparable as a Canadian children's hospital foundation running multi-channel fundraising programs for pediatric specialty care and research.
• CHEO Foundation: Fundraising arm of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa. Comparable as a Canadian provincial children's hospital foundation running signature community events, donor campaigns, and capital campaigns for pediatric services.
• BC Children's Hospital Foundation: Fundraising foundation for BC Children's Hospital in Vancouver. Directly comparable as a Canadian provincial children's hospital foundation running multi-channel donor programs, signature events, and capital campaigns for pediatric care and research.
• Janeway Children's Hospital Foundation: Fundraising foundation for the Janeway Children's Health and Rehabilitation Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland. Closely comparable as another Atlantic Canadian children's hospital foundation with similar scale, signature telethon-style events, and regional donor base.
• Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation: Fundraising foundation for Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary. Comparable as a Canadian regional children's hospital foundation with similar event-based, corporate, and individual giving programs supporting pediatric specialty care.
• Children's Hospital Foundation of Manitoba: Fundraising foundation for Children's Hospital of Manitoba. Comparable as a Canadian provincial children's hospital foundation with signature events, corporate partnerships, and individual giving programs supporting pediatric care.
• Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation: Fundraising foundation supporting pediatric care at the Montreal Children's Hospital. Comparable as a Canadian children's hospital foundation with multi-channel donor programs and signature fundraising events for women's and children's health.

Others

• Children's Miracle Network: North American fundraising network of 170 children's hospitals, of which IWK Foundation is a member. Related as the umbrella organization providing shared corporate partnerships, fundraising campaigns (Miracle Treat Days), and infrastructure that IWK Foundation participates in.

Regional players

• QEII Health Sciences Foundation: Fundraising foundation for the QEII Health Sciences Centre, also based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Comparable as a regional Maritime health foundation operating in the same geographic market and beneficiary base (Nova Scotia Health/IWK ecosystem), though supporting adult rather than pediatric care.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/iwkfoundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/iwkfoundation
• Xx.com/IWKFoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about IWK Foundation