Owen Hart Foundation

What Owen Hart Foundation does

The Owen Hart Foundation is a Calgary-based charitable foundation established by Dr. Martha Hart as a living legacy to her late husband, professional wrestler Owen Hart, who died in 1999. Founded approximately in 2000 and administered under the fiscal umbrella of the Calgary Foundation, it has operated for 25+ years delivering education, housing, and basic-needs programming to vulnerable populations. Its core programs include annual scholarships of roughly $4,000 each (10+ awarded per year), a matched-savings home ownership initiative that has moved 130+ families into homeownership, annual backpack giveaways ranging 400–2,000 units, food drives, and international humanitarian aid reaching 9+ countries.

The foundation generates revenue through event-driven fundraising, including celebrity galas featuring high-profile entertainment acts, corporate sponsorships, and a formal partnership with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) established in 2021. It also pursues high-net-worth donor cultivation through international platforms such as the Monaco International Film Festival. Its operational model is committee-based with a small staff (1–10 employees) and leverages the Calgary Foundation for governance, tax receipting, and back-office administration rather than maintaining independent infrastructure. The combination of a named celebrity legacy, recurring program cohorts, and event-driven fundraising forms the core of its operating model.

Name

Owen Hart Foundation

Legal name

Owen Hart Foundation

Website

https://owenhartfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Owen Hart Foundation is a Calgary-based charity, established in 2000 by Dr. Martha Hart in memory of wrestler Owen Hart, delivering scholarships, matched-savings home ownership, backpacks, and international humanitarian aid to vulnerable families across 9+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Community Development & Affordable Housing Funds (FSANAJAK), Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB), Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM), Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• Charitable foundation services
• Scholarship fund programs
• Community humanitarian aid
• Home ownership assistance
• International relief programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Calgary

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: The foundation raises funds through annual gala events featuring celebrity performers, corporate sponsorships, individual donations, and special initiatives like food drives and backpack giveaways. Administered through Calgary Foundation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Owen Hart Foundation is a registered Canadian charitable foundation that provides direct assistance to individuals, families, and communities in need. Its core offerings include educational scholarships for students, home ownership support programs, backpack giveaways for children, food drives in partnership with organizations like the Calgary Food Bank, and international humanitarian aid initiatives.

Product overview

The Owen Hart Foundation offers a portfolio of charitable programs centered on providing opportunities for hard-working people with limited resources. The core offerings include the Owen Hart Scholarship Fund (awards at Calgary high schools), the Home Ownership Program (matched savings for home buyers), Backpack Giveaway (school supplies for children in need), Food Drives (ongoing food security initiatives), Special Projects (international aid and COVID assistance), and the Xmas Project (holiday support). Additionally, the Foundation operates Bully's Magazine (a quarterly Bulldog and Molosser publication with conservation focus) and partners with AEW for the annual Owen Hart Cup wrestling tournament. The Foundation also participates in the Monaco International Film Festival's Angel Awards focused on non-violence.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bully's Magazine: Owned and operated by the OHF's Hart family, Bully's is the first magazine exclusively about Bulldogs and Molossiers. All proceeds go to animal and environmental conservation. Published quarterly with online subscriptions available.

Products and services

• Educational Scholarship Program Provides financial scholarships to students pursuing post-secondary education, supporting access to higher education for individual beneficiaries.
• Home Ownership Program Supports families and individuals in achieving home ownership through financial assistance and related housing support services.
• Backpack Giveaway Program Distributes backpacks and school supplies to children in need to support back-to-school readiness and educational equity.
• Food Drive Program Conducts food drives in partnership with organizations such as the Calgary Food Bank to address food insecurity in the community.
• International Aid Program Provides humanitarian aid and relief support to communities outside Canada, extending the foundation's charitable impact internationally.

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AEW (All Elite Wrestling)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 September 2021Partnership for the Owen Hart Cup Tournament, an annual wrestling tournament where Dr. Martha Hart awards title belts to winners. The partnership honors Owen Hart's wrestling legacy and generates significant fundraising visibility.
• Calgary FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Owen Hart Foundation is administered through The Calgary Foundation, which handles all donations through its platform. The Calgary Foundation provides administrative infrastructure, donor services, and institutional oversight.
• Momentum Community Economic DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdministers the Owen Hart Home Owners program, a matched savings program helping families achieve home ownership. Over 130 families supported to date. Contact at 100-525 28 St SE, Calgary AB.
• Calgary Police Youth FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual partnership for the OHF Backpack Giveaway program, adopting schools and distributing backpacks to children in need. In 2024, provided 2000 stuffed backpacks to the community.
• Trapped Escape RoomminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAnnual sponsor for backpack giveaways and supporter of OHF initiatives, helping organize and host events.
• The Event GroupcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDave Howard, CEO of The Event Group, is responsible for all OHF High Profile Events including annual galas with celebrity performers.
• The Calgary HeraldminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor media sponsor providing press coverage and Bill Brooks as regular reporter covering OHF events and fundraisers.
• Calgary Food BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary partner for Easter and ongoing food drives, ensuring families negatively impacted by COVID-19 and food insecurity receive assistance.
• Sylvan Lake Food BankminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for May Long Weekend food drives in Sylvan Lake community, collecting food and cash donations for local food security.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Right To Play: An international sports-themed charity that, like OHF, leverages an athlete legacy and sport partnerships to fundraise for youth and education programs globally, making it a thematic peer in the athlete-legacy foundation space.
• Calgary Foundation: The community foundation that administers Owen Hart Foundation's donations and provides its institutional back office. It is a much larger, general-purpose community foundation operating across the Calgary region with a similar donor-advised and grantmaking model.

Regional players

• Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta: An Alberta-based children's charity with scholarship, family support, and camp programs that overlaps with OHF's youth and family-focused support and scholarship offerings.
• Calgary Homeless Foundation: A Calgary-focused charitable foundation addressing housing insecurity and homelessness, sharing OHF's local focus on stable housing outcomes for vulnerable Calgarians, though at a much larger scale.

Direct peers

• United Way of Calgary and Area: A major Calgary-based nonprofit that funds local programs addressing poverty, food insecurity, and education, overlapping directly with OHF's Calgary Food Bank drives, backpack giveaways, and scholarship-style support for vulnerable populations.
• Calgary Food Bank: A direct program partner that runs the same food security initiatives OHF supports through its Easter and ongoing drives, serving overlapping food-insecure families in Calgary and surrounding areas.
• Momentum (Community Economic Development): Administers the Owen Hart Home Owners matched-savings program and supports low-income individuals with financial literacy and asset building, sharing OHF's mission of helping families build savings and achieve home ownership.
• Stephen's Backpack Society: A Calgary-area charity that provides backpacks and school supplies to children in need, directly overlapping with OHF's annual Backpack Giveaway program in target population and geography.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/owen_foundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/The-Owen-Hart-Foundation/397295833763099
• Instagraminstagram.com/owenhartfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/owen-hart-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Owen Hart Foundation