The Ottawa Hospital Foundation

What The Ottawa Hospital Foundation does

The Ottawa Hospital Foundation is a Canadian registered charity established in 2000 to raise philanthropic funds for The Ottawa Hospital and the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. It operates as the primary fundraising vehicle for one of Canada's Top 40 research hospitals and the most advanced trauma centre in Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec, and Nunavut, deploying a multi-channel development model that includes one-time and monthly online donations (processed via Convio/Blackbaud), tribute gifts, planned giving, corporate sponsorships, signature events such as the President's Breakfast and Foundation Gala, and the Staff Lottery. Its flagship initiative, the Campaign to Create Tomorrow launched in 2022 with a $500 million goal — the largest in Ottawa's history — supports a $2.8 billion new Civic Campus; as of mid-2025, the campaign had raised over $336 million (73% of goal) and continues to attract transformational gifts, including a $20M donation from the Singhal family.

The Foundation's value proposition is anchored in the hospital's clinical and research excellence, including world-first clinical trials in biotherapeutics, fluorescence-guided tumor surgery (5-ALA), hypovolemic phlebotomy techniques, and the first-in-Canada trial of Microsoft's Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX) Copilot for ambient clinical documentation. Engagement products include the President's Council (major donor recognition), the Gratitude Award Program (tribute giving), Pulse Podcast, Impact Reports, and the Next Gen/Young Leaders program. Governance is provided by a Board of Directors chaired by Janet McKeage, with Tim Kluke serving as President & CEO; the Foundation employs 11–50 staff and runs a bilingual (English/French) operation with full digital, social, and event-based donor outreach.

Its business model is donor-funded philanthropy rather than commercial revenue: gifts are tax-receipted, there are no products or services sold, and donor segments span individual major-givers, corporate partners, community organizations (including the Auxiliary), and event sponsors. The 2025-2028 Strategic Plan priorities — completing the Create Tomorrow campaign, elevating hospital profile, deepening donor connections, advancing AI-enabled engagement, and empowering the team — define the near-term operating agenda.

Name

The Ottawa Hospital Foundation

Legal name

The Ottawa Hospital Foundation

Website

https://ohfoundation.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Ottawa Hospital Foundation is a Canadian registered charity that raises philanthropic funds for The Ottawa Hospital and its Research Institute, operating the $500 million Campaign to Create Tomorrow and serving donors across Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec, and Nunavut.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Fundraising

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Hospitals (8060)

akta.pro primary industry

Hospitals, Clinics & Charitable Healthcare Providers (BPAGACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB), Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL), Faith-Based & Nonprofit Hospital Systems (HLAFAAAE)

Keywords

• Hospital fundraising
• Healthcare philanthropy
• Charitable donations
• Planned giving
• Donor stewardship

Headquarters

HQ city

Ottawa

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: The foundation generates revenue through individual donations (one-time, monthly, recurring), corporate giving programs, event fundraising, sponsorship, staff lottery, and legacy giving through wills.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Ottawa Hospital Foundation is a registered charitable foundation that raises, manages, and stewards philanthropic funds in support of The Ottawa Hospital's patient care, research, and equipment needs. It offers donors a range of giving vehicles including one-time and recurring donations, tribute and memorial gifts, planned giving, and signature programs such as the President's Council and Staff Lottery.

Product overview

The Ottawa Hospital Foundation operates as a unified fundraising platform supporting The Ottawa Hospital and its Research Institute. The core offering centers on the Campaign to Create Tomorrow, a $500 million initiative for a new hospital campus, supported by multiple giving mechanisms including an online donation platform, monthly giving programs, tribute gifts, and the Gratitude Award Program for honouring caregivers. Additional engagement products include the Pulse Podcast, Impact Reports, President's Council membership, and Staff Lottery programs. The foundation leverages Convio (Blackbaud) for secure donation processing and delivers its mission through donor engagement, volunteer programs, and community fundraising initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Campaign to Create Tomorrow
• Gratitude Award Program
• President's Council
• Staff Lottery

Quantifiable outcome

• Complete tumor removal rates increased from 30% to 70% using fluorescence-guided surgery
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Sunnybrook Health Sciences CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSunnybrook recruited patients as the second site for the Phase 1 clinical trial testing stem cell therapy for bronchopulmonary dysplasia in premature babies.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• SickKids Foundation: Canada's largest hospital foundation, raising funds for The Hospital for Sick Children. Directly comparable as a large-scale Canadian hospital foundation running multi-hundred-million-dollar capital and research campaigns with similar donor stewardship and planned-giving infrastructure.
• Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation (UHN Foundation): Foundation supporting Toronto's University Health Network, including major research and teaching hospitals. Closely comparable in scale, mission, and capital campaign execution to The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.
• BC Children's Hospital Foundation: Foundation for BC Children's Hospital running large multi-year capital and research campaigns. Comparable donor pyramid, capital campaign model, and major-gift focus to The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.
• Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation: Foundation for the Montreal Children's Hospital (McGill University Health Centre). Directly comparable hospital foundation in the Quebec/Canada ecosystem, with bilingual operations and a similar major-gift program.
• Ottawa Community Foundation: Community foundation serving the same Ottawa region with grantmaking, donor-advised funds, and endowment management. Comparable as a locally embedded philanthropic institution, though it is a community rather than hospital foundation.

Broad incumbents

• Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada: National health charity running mass-market fundraising, major-gift, and planned-giving programs across Canada. Comparable as a large-scale healthcare fundraising operation, though diversified across many causes and institutions rather than a single hospital.
• Canadian Cancer Society: National health charity with large-scale individual giving, monthly donor, and major-gift programs supporting research and patient care broadly. Comparable as a mature, multi-channel Canadian health philanthropy, though not single-hospital focused.
• Cleveland Clinic Foundation (Philanthropy Institute): Major U.S. academic health system's fundraising arm, running large multi-hundred-million-dollar capital campaigns. Comparable as a top-tier research hospital foundation in capital campaign execution, though operating at a much larger scale and in a different regulatory/fundraising environment.
• Mayo Clinic Development: Philanthropy arm of one of the world's leading research hospital systems. Comparable as a top-tier, multi-billion-dollar health philanthropy operation attached to a globally ranked research hospital.

Regional players

• Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation: Regional Canadian hospital foundation with a similar mix of major gifts, community events, and capital campaign execution. Comparable operating model in a different provincial/regional context.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/TOHFoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/OttawaHospital?ref=ts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-ottawa-hospital-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/ottawahospital/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Ottawa Hospital Foundation