The Upside Foundation of Canada

What The Upside Foundation of Canada does

The Upside Foundation of Canada is a registered Canadian charity (Charitable Registration No. 84528 3241 RR0001) headquartered in Toronto that operates an equity-pledge program for high-growth Canadian startups and founders. Founded in 2013-2014 by Robert Antoniades (Information Venture Partners), Mark Skapinker (Brightspark Ventures), and Janie Goldstein, the foundation enables founders to commit a portion of their future exit proceeds — typically 1% at incorporation — to a charity of their choice through a legally binding pledge documented via SignNow and managed by the foundation. The organization does not build a traditional software product; its core offering is administrative and legal infrastructure that converts founder pledges into realized charitable donations at IPO or acquisition events, while removing execution burden on both sides of the transaction.

The business model is a transaction-fee structure: when a pledger company experiences a liquidity event, donated equity is exercised, shares are sold, and 10% of cash proceeds support the foundation's operations while the remaining 90% is distributed to the founder-selected charities. As of the data date, 380+ companies have taken the pledge, 20 liquidity events have been realized, $3.2M+ has been directed to 31 charities, and the pledger base spans fintech (Wealthsimple, Borrowell), legal tech (Willful), and other verticals (Wattpad, among others). Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, leveraging a coalition of Scaling Partners and Patrons including BDC Capital, CIBC Innovation Banking, Deloitte Ventures, Fasken, RBCx, KPMG, Osler, and multiple Canadian VC firms. Geographic scope is Canada-only, and the foundation is staffed at 1-10 employees under Executive Director Jennifer Couldrey.

Name

The Upside Foundation of Canada

Legal name

The Upside Foundation of Canada

Website

https://upsidefoundation.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Upside Foundation of Canada is a Toronto-based registered charity that enables Canadian startup founders to pledge a portion of their equity at exit (typically 1%) to charities of their choice, retaining 10% of donations to fund operations. It serves 380+ pledger companies across the Canadian tech ecosystem.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donation Fee (10%): The foundation charges a 10% fee on all donations received. When a company has a liquidity event (acquisition or IPO), the donated equity is exercised, shares are sold, and 10% of the cash proceeds support the work of The Upside Foundation of Canada. The remaining 90% is distributed to the Canadian charities chosen by the founder.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Upside Foundation of Canada operates an equity pledge program that enables founders of high-growth Canadian tech companies to commit a portion of their future exit proceeds (typically 1% of the company) to charitable causes via a legally binding pledge. The foundation manages the full pledge documentation and execution process, supporting 380+ pledging companies, facilitating distributions from 20 liquidity events, and directing over $3.2 million to 31 charities while retaining a 10% administrative fee to support operations.

Product overview

The Upside Foundation of Canada is a registered charitable foundation (Registration No. 84528 3241 RR0001) that provides an equity pledge program for high-growth Canadian startups and founders. The organization does not offer a traditional SaaS product but rather facilitates a legally binding pledge mechanism where founders commit a portion (typically 1%) of their exit proceeds (from IPOs or acquisitions) to charity. The foundation manages the pledge documentation process, facilitates connections to a network of ecosystem partners, and distributes donated funds to charities of the founders' choice. The core offering is the pledge program itself, supported by a network of investor partners, corporate sponsors, and ecosystem connectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Equity Pledge Program A legally binding equity pledge program for founders of Canadian tech companies. Founders commit a portion of their company (typically 1% for early-stage companies, smaller for later-stage) to the foundation at company formation; upon a liquidity event (IPO or acquisition), the foundation exercises the equity, sells the shares, retains a 10% administrative fee, and distributes the remaining 90% to charities selected by the founder. The program currently supports 380+ pledging companies and has facilitated 20 liquidity events directing $3.2M+ to 31 charities.

Quantifiable outcome

• $3.2M+ donated to 31 charities from 20 liquidity events with 380+ companies pledging

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• FaskencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerScaling Partner & Patron. Fasken is a law firm providing legal support and expertise to the foundation and its member companies.
• KPMGsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate Donor providing financial support to the foundation.
• OslersupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate Donor providing financial support to the foundation.
• Two Small FishsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerIn-Kind Supporter providing support to the foundation.
• RSM CanadasupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerIn-Kind Supporter providing professional services support.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• New Profit: US-based venture philanthropy fund that pools philanthropic capital to invest in high-impact social enterprises. While broader in scope than Upside's pure equity-pledge focus, New Profit represents the broader venture-philanthropy paradigm Upside operates within, and could be a model for programmatic expansion.
• Acumen: Global nonprofit that uses philanthropic capital to fund early-stage social enterprises addressing poverty. Represents the broader impact-investing / philanthropic-capital-for-good space that Upside is a specialized offshoot of, with much larger scale and geographic footprint.

Others

• Echoing Green: Global nonprofit that identifies and funds emerging social-impact leaders through fellowships and seed funding. Operates in an adjacent mission-aligned ecosystem (supporting social entrepreneurs) but through a fellowship model rather than equity pledges; useful comparator for the broader social-entrepreneur support market.
• RSF Social Finance: US-based nonprofit financial services organization that operates donor-advised funds, social-enterprise loans, and philanthropic giving vehicles. Adjacent rather than directly comparable — RSF provides the giving infrastructure Upside's pledgers use, but at a different stage of the giving cycle.

Direct peers

• Pledge 1%: Global movement (founded by Salesforce, Google, Microsoft, Atlassian) that encourages companies to pledge 1% of equity, product, profit, or time to charity. The equity-pledge component of Pledge 1% directly competes with Upside's offering; Upside's own materials cite Pledge 1% as inspiration.
• Founders Pledge: US-based nonprofit that enables startup founders to pledge a portion of their personal proceeds or equity to charity. The closest direct global analogue to Upside's model — same equity-pledge-from-founding-team mechanic, same charity-distribution structure at exit. Upside is the Canadian chapter of this movement.
• Tmura: Israeli nonprofit that pioneered the equity-pledge model for startups in the early 2000s, accepting equity from Israeli tech founders and donating proceeds to education-related charities. Upside's website explicitly cites Tmura as one of the two models that inspired its creation.

Emerging players

• 50 Years: US-based nonprofit that enables startup founders to donate equity to high-impact nonprofits at exit. Smaller scale than Founders Pledge or Pledge 1% but operates on the same equity-for-good mechanic, making it an emerging peer in the same niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-upside-foundation-of-canada
• Xx.com/sharetheupside

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Upside Foundation of Canada