THE MACDONALD STEWART FOUNDATION

What THE MACDONALD STEWART FOUNDATION does

The Macdonald Stewart Foundation (Fondation Macdonald Stewart) is a Canadian non-profit charitable foundation established in 1973 by Montreal philanthropists David and Liliane Stewart using proceeds from the sale of Macdonald Tobacco Inc. Headquartered in the historic Maison Forget at 1195 Sherbrooke Street West in Montreal's Golden Square Mile, the foundation continues a family philanthropic tradition that traces back to Sir William C. Macdonald's tobacco-derived giving in the 1860s. The organization operates as a grant-making body, awarding funds to organizations whose missions align with four stated fields of interest: education, medicine, culture, and Canadian heritage, with community well-being as an additional focus area.

The foundation's activities are anchored in a diversified portfolio of heritage assets and programs. It owns and operates the Maison Forget (Louis-Joseph Forget House), a Quebec-classified historic monument; led the restoration of Château Dufresne (now Musée et lieu historique patrimonial); and has long-standing funding relationships with the Château Ramezay Museum, the McCord Stewart Museum (formed via 2013 merger of the Stewart Museum with the McCord Museum), and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (where the 7,000-object Stewart Collection is housed in a Frank Gehry-designed pavilion through the Stewart Program for Modern Design). Internationally, it has funded the restoration of the Church of Brouage in France and the Jacques-Cartier Manor House in Saint-Malo (donated to that city in 2012). Educational and medical grants have flowed to institutions including McGill University, Université de Montréal, UQAM, Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal, and Hôpital de l'Enfant-Jésus.

The foundation employs a small staff of 1–10 people, including a President, Executive Director, Controller, and Archivist, augmented by a recently created Forget Fellow role. Its go-to-market motion is relationship-driven: applicants apply through an online portal, and funding is awarded based on community roots, volunteer involvement, and long-term influence criteria. Revenue is sourced from the endowment created at the 1973 sale of Macdonald Tobacco Inc., with no public disclosure of endowment size or grant disbursement totals. As of the most recent reporting, the foundation's budget is fully committed and the funding application portal is temporarily closed. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors following the deaths of both founders (David in 1984, Liliane in 2014).

Name

THE MACDONALD STEWART FOUNDATION

Legal name

Fondation Macdonald Stewart

Website

https://msfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Macdonald Stewart Foundation is a Canadian non-profit foundation established in 1973 that provides philanthropic grants and operates heritage sites in support of education, medicine, culture, and Canadian heritage, serving communities across Canada and France.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Foundation / Philanthropy

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ), Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grant-making
• Heritage preservation funding
• Charitable foundation grants
• Cultural philanthropy support
• Canadian heritage grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Montreal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Endowment: The foundation was established in 1973 by Montreal philanthropists David and Liliane Stewart following the sale of Macdonald Tobacco Inc. The endowment from this sale funds the foundation's ongoing grant-making activities in education, medicine, culture, and Canadian heritage.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Macdonald Stewart Foundation is a Canadian non-profit grant-making foundation established in 1973 from the proceeds of the sale of Macdonald Tobacco Inc. It provides philanthropic funding and financial assistance to organizations and projects in the areas of education, medicine, culture, and Canadian heritage. The foundation also directly owns and manages several heritage sites (including Maison Forget and Château Dufresne), cultural programs (Stewart Program for Modern Design, Living History Program), and awards (Prix Samuel de Champlain).

Product overview

The Macdonald Stewart Foundation is a Canadian non-profit philanthropy organization established in 1973, not a product company. It manages a diverse portfolio of heritage sites and cultural programs including: the historic Maison Louis-Joseph Forget serving as its administrative headquarters; the Château Dufresne (Museum and Heritage Historic Site); support for Château Ramezay Museum; the Church of Brouage stained glass restoration project in France; the Jacques-Cartier Manor Museum; the Stewart Program for Modern Design with traveling exhibitions and digital initiatives; the Living History Program featuring historical reenactment troops; and the Prix Samuel de Champlain award. The Foundation also funds education and medical projects at Canadian universities and hospitals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Nine stained glass windows installed in the Church of Brouage, France (1982-2017)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• McCord MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013The Stewart Museum merged with the McCord Museum in 2013 to create the McCord Stewart Museum. The foundation provides ongoing financial contributions to the operating budget of the combined institution, which houses the Stewart Collection and continues the foundation's heritage mission.
• Montreal Museum of Fine ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe foundation donated the Stewart Collection (over 7,000 design objects) to the museum in 2000. The collection is housed in the Liliane and David M. Stewart Pavilion, designed by Frank Gehry. The foundation continues to support exhibitions through the Stewart Program for Modern Design.
• Héritage MontréalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe foundation has supported Heritage Montreal's initiatives since its inception, particularly campaigns to save key buildings in the Montreal community. David Stewart was actively and financially involved in the creation of Heritage Montreal.
• Hôpital Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal (CHUM)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe foundation supported the establishment of the School of Cytology in the early 1970s, funded construction of premises, and provided ongoing support for scientific instruments including electron microscopes for cancer screening and diagnosis.
• Société des Amis de Jacques CartiermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDavid Stewart established this non-profit society in 1974 to acquire, restore, and operate the Jacques-Cartier Manor House as a museum. The society coordinated funding from Canadian companies, institutions, federal and provincial governments.
• City of MontrealmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe foundation partnered with the City of Montreal for the restoration of Château Dufresne beginning in 1975. The city acquired the building in 1957 and the foundation led a four-year restoration program. The Château Dufresne now operates as Musée et lieu historique patrimonial.
• Société historique du lac Saint-LouisminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThis society assumed responsibility for the living history troops program in 2014 after the program was cut from the McCord-Stewart Museum. They partnered with Château Ramezay to host the historical regiments during summer months.
• Château RamezaycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSince 2015, the living history troops (Compagnie franche de la Marine and 78th Fraser Highlanders) have been headquartered at Château Ramezay, animating Old Montreal during summer months. The foundation has a representative on the museum's Board of Trustees.
• Ville de Saint-Malo, FrancemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Jacques-Cartier Manor House was donated to the City of Saint-Malo in 2012 to ensure its permanent presence as a binational heritage monument. Sir and Madam Macdonald-Stewart were made Honorary Citizens of Saint-Malo.
• Comité du Mémorial de la Nouvelle-France (Brouage)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThis French charitable organization, founded in Brouage, is closely associated with the restoration of the Church of Brouage. David Stewart and his wife Liliane initiated the restoration project in the late 1970s, with the foundation continuing to support the stained glass window program.
• Canadian Heritage (Québec)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe foundation partnered with Canadian Heritage of Québec on the restoration of Jefferson Davis House in Montreal.
• Université McGillcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple partnerships including Macdonald Stewart Pavilion at Macdonald College, research greenhouse, eco-residence, water resource management program, restoration of Macdonald Physics Pavilion as library, and McGill International program. Also supported biomedical research computer facilities.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• J.W. McConnell Family Foundation: One of Canada's largest private foundations, headquartered in Montreal. It funds across education, arts, environment, and community well-being — closely overlapping the Macdonald Stewart Foundation's mission areas and Quebec focus.
• Azrieli Foundation: Major Canadian private foundation funding education, architecture, Holocaust research, and the arts. Comparable as a large private foundation with multi-decade grant-making across culture and education.
• Power Corporation of Canada / Power Corporation Philanthropy: Montreal-based conglomerate with a long-standing family philanthropy arm (Chernukhin, Bronfman, Desmarais families) supporting culture, education, and health. Comparable as a large Montreal-rooted philanthropic ecosystem with cultural heritage projects.

Direct peers

• Donner Canadian Foundation: Canadian private foundation focused on education, environment, and governance. Comparable as a private Canadian grant-maker with an endowment-funded model and broad mission-driven grant-making.
• Birks Family Foundation: Montreal-based family foundation with a long history of supporting Canadian heritage, culture, and education. Comparable as a Quebec-rooted philanthropic foundation with cultural and design heritage interests.
• Molson Foundation: Montreal-based private foundation established from a major Canadian brewing fortune. Funds education, health, and community causes across Canada, making it a directly comparable Quebec-rooted private family foundation.
• R. Howard Webster Foundation: Montreal-based private foundation funding education, health, social services, and heritage. Highly comparable as another Quebec-rooted private family foundation with small staff and endowment-based grant-making.
• Fondation Pierre Elliott Trudeau: Canadian private foundation supporting research, dialogue, and engagement in education, humanities, and social sciences. Comparable in being a small, mission-driven private grant-maker with a focus on Canadian intellectual and cultural advancement.
• Trottier Family Foundation: Montreal-based private foundation funding health, environment, science, and education. Comparable as a Quebec-rooted private family foundation with a small team and multi-vertical grant-making mandate.

Emerging players

• Heritage Canada Foundation: National charitable organization dedicated to the conservation of Canada's built heritage. Comparable in mission focus on Canadian heritage preservation, though it operates as a charitable organization rather than a private grant-making foundation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/macdonald-stewart-foundation

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 MACDONALD STEWART FOUNDATION