Shuswap Community Foundation

What Shuswap Community Foundation does

Shuswap Community Foundation (SCF) is a registered Canadian charity (BN 887 836 468 RR0001) founded in 1995 and headquartered in Salmon Arm, British Columbia. It operates as a community foundation serving the Shuswap area of the Columbia Shuswap Regional District, with stated purpose to link donors who care with causes that matter through the stewardship of endowed funds. SCF manages a portfolio of named endowment funds covering environment, youth, arts, health, education, recreation, and community projects, distributing grants from a 5% annual distribution rate on endowed capital.

SCF's core offerings are grouped into two streams: a donor/fundholder track and a grantmaking track. On the donor side, it processes donations via e-transfer, cheque, SASCU branch deposits, donated securities, and the CanadaHelps online platform, and supports creation of new endowed funds through wills, life insurance, and memorial gifts. On the grantmaking side, it administers Community Grants, Major Capital Grants, Capacity Building Grants, Sponsorships, Neighbourhood Small Grants ($50–$500), and Grants-in-Aid programs on behalf of the City of Salmon Arm and District of Sicamous, delivered through the GrantInterface online portal. In FY2024-2025, SCF processed CAD $1.75 million in donations and distributed CAD $842,672 across 188 local charities, posting a 13.5% average fundholder return.

The business model is non-commercial: SCF does not charge fees for grantmaking services and is governed by a volunteer board. Revenue mechanics for the foundation itself derive from investment returns on endowed capital (with a 5% payout policy), while flow activity (donations processed and grants distributed) reflects philanthropic throughput rather than retained revenue. Strategic partners include SASCU Credit Union, the Vancouver Foundation (originating the Neighbourhood Small Grants program), Community Foundations of Canada, the Shuswap Trail Alliance, SABNES, and the CanadaHelps donation platform. Current strategic priorities include a capital campaign to raise more than CAD $1.4 million to restore the historic 31 Hudson Ave NE property as the foundation's new home and ongoing administration of a nearly CAD $1 million Emergency Response Fund for North Shuswap wildfire recovery.

Name

Shuswap Community Foundation

Legal name

Shuswap Community Foundation

Website

https://shuswapfoundation.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Shuswap Community Foundation is a registered Canadian charity founded in 1995 that manages endowed funds and distributes grants to nonprofit organizations and municipal community programs across the Shuswap region of British Columbia, serving individual donors, local charities, and municipal governments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation & Philanthropic Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

Keywords

• Community foundation
• Charitable endowment funds
• Grant-making services
• Donor stewardship
• Regional philanthropy

Headquarters

HQ city

Salmon Arm

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Endowment Fund Management: The foundation manages endowed funds created by donors. Income generated from invested endowment capital is distributed as grants to qualified charitable organizations in the Shuswap region. The foundation uses a 5% distribution rate from endowed funds.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Shuswap Community Foundation is a registered Canadian charity that pools endowment contributions, accepts tax-receipted donations from individuals and organizations, and grants a portion of pooled returns to local charitable causes in the Shuswap region of British Columbia. Its primary activities are endowment stewardship, donor stewardship, and community grant-making administered from Salmon Arm, BC.

Product overview

Shuswap Community Foundation operates as a community foundation offering a unified platform of grant-making and philanthropy services. The core offering centers on administering various grant programs (Community Grants, Major Capital Grants, Capacity Building Grants, Neighbourhood Small Grants, and Grants-in-Aid for municipalities) and managing endowment funds for diverse causes. Additional services include donations processing, community campaigns, and a grants portal for online applications. The organization connects donors with causes through endowed funds supporting environment, youth, arts, health, education, recreation, and social equity across the Shuswap region of British Columbia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Endowment Fund Stewardship Ongoing management of pooled endowment contributions held in perpetuity for the benefit of the Shuswap region, with investment returns partly distributed as community grants and partly reinvested to grow the corpus.
• Charitable Donation Processing Acceptance and processing of tax-receipted charitable donations from individuals and organizations wishing to support local Shuswap causes, with official CRA charitable receipts issued under registration #887 836 468 RR0001.
• Community Grant Programs Grant-making programs that distribute a portion of pooled endowment returns to local non-profit and community projects serving the Shuswap region.

Quantifiable outcome

• Distributed $842,672 in grants to 188 organizations in 2024-2025
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• SASCU Credit UnionflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting sponsor of the Heart of the Shuswap Mixer 2026 annual community event. SASCU also accepts donations at any of their branches for Shuswap Community Foundation funds.
• Salmon Arm Bay Nature Enhancement Society (SABNES)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on the Eric Christmas Memorial Boardwalk rebuilding project at Salmon Arm Bay. SCF supported the campaign through the Eric Christmas Memorial Boardwalk Fund.
• Vancouver FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVancouver Foundation started the Neighbourhood Small Grants program which has now spread throughout British Columbia in collaboration with community foundations including Shuswap Community Foundation.
• City of Salmon ArmcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCF acts as agent to receive applications for City of Salmon Arm Grants-in-Aid Program for non-profit community groups. Deadline December 15 annually.
• District of SicamouscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCF acts as grant portal on behalf of District of Sicamous Community Service Grant program, receiving and adjudicating grants from community nonprofits.
• Community Foundations of CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational network of community foundations; SCF is an affiliated member organization.
• Shuswap Trail AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCF hosts the Shuswap Trail Legacy Fund which supports trail development; Shuswap Trail Alliance brings together businesses, government agencies and individuals to build trails.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Toronto Foundation: One of Canada's largest community foundations, operating with the same donor-advised fund and pooled endowment model as SCF but at materially greater scale across the Greater Toronto Area.

Direct peers

• Kamloops Community Foundation: A BC interior community foundation serving the Kamloops area with endowment-based grantmaking. Directly comparable to SCF in mission, scale, and program mix (community grants, scholarships, fund management).
• Vancouver Foundation: Canada's largest community foundation, originally established the Neighbourhood Small Grants program that SCF now delivers locally. Operates the same community foundation model and is an explicit program partner of SCF.
• Kelowna Community Foundation: A small BC interior community foundation that manages endowed funds and distributes grants to local charities in the Kelowna region. Operates the same perpetual-giving, donor-advised fund, and community grant model as SCF and is the closest geographic comparable in scale and structure.
• Calgary Foundation: A large Alberta-based community foundation administering a substantial pool of endowed funds for community grantmaking. Comparable model and governance, scaled to a major metropolitan region.
• Edmonton Community Foundation: A mid-sized Canadian community foundation managing endowed funds for charitable distribution in the Edmonton region. Operates a directly comparable perpetual-giving and community grant model.
• Victoria Foundation: A larger BC-based community foundation managing pooled endowment funds and distributing grants across the Capital Region. Same operating model as SCF but with a meaningfully larger asset base and regional footprint.

Others

• Community Foundations of Canada: National membership network of Canadian community foundations. SCF is an affiliated member; this entity is comparable as the umbrella organization supporting SCF's program development, training, and shared initiatives.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/shuswapfoundation
• Xx.com/WeAreSCF
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shuswap-community-foundation
• Pinterestpinterest.com/shuswapfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about Shuswap Community Foundation