Our mission
Aqueduct Foundation’s mission is to facilitate personal philanthropy. It does so with individual charitable funds. Aqueduct has three types of funds: donor advised funds, legacy funds, and charity funds. It is a registered charity and acts as a bridge to other charities and charitable purposes.
What we do
Aqueduct is one of the largest grant makers in Canada
Aqueduct Foundation is a Canadian public charitable foundation dedicated to facilitating significant personal philanthropy. Founded in 2006, Aqueduct has an independent Board of Directors and is managed by Scotiatrust, which is part of Scotia Wealth Management. Based in Vancouver, Aqueduct has donors from across Canada and makes grants to registered charities and qualified donees anywhere in the country.
Aqueduct works with donors to make exceptional lifetime gifts and estate donations. Donations are managed in donor advised funds that make grants to registered charities of the donor’s choice. Each fund has a personal mission and each donor is supported in their charitable gift planning. Each donor receives insight and service to assist them with their granting and charitable purposes.
Why we’re different
A Different Kind of Charity
Aqueduct Foundation is one of the largest grant makers in Canada and a pioneer in flexible granting. It has granted $766 million to other registered charities since inception in 2006 to 2023. Aqueduct had assets of approximately $1 billion at December 31, 2023.
Aqueduct makes grants to any Canadian registered charity or qualified donee at the recommendation of its donors or designated grant advisors. In addition, Aqueduct provides fundholders support with special charitable programs, such as community-based scholarships, art foundations, the management of environmentally sensitive land, and managing charitable purpose real estate. Aqueduct makes grants to organizations that are not Canadian registered charities, such as Canadian non-profits carrying out charitable purposes or international charities.
Range of fund mandates
Short-term
Immediate payout
(within one year)
Fixed-term
(full payout at end of term)
Spend-down
(equal payouts over fixed term)
Flexible
(grants of capital and income)
Short/Long
(immediate grants + long-term mandate)
Endowment
(long-term fund)
Long-term
Cause Neutral
As a cause neutral foundation, Aqueduct supports the charitable priorities of its donors.
Each donor advised fund, or personal foundation, has its own mission and charitable priorities. At the recommendation of its donors, Aqueduct grants to any Canadian registered charity, in any amount, at any time.
Aqueduct also runs charitable programs on a fund-by-fund basis. These include community-based scholarships for post-secondary students, artist foundations, holding environmentally sensitive land, charitable purpose real estate.
Long-term Focus
Aqueduct is dedicated to philanthropy and its charitable purposes for the long-term.
While some funds have short-term mandates, others have planned lifetimes of over 100-years. Aqueduct’s independent Board of Directors has developed strong governance systems to ensure consistent, responsible stewardship of funds well into the future.
