Change That Lasts
2024 – 2025
Biennial Report
2024 – 2025
Biennial Report
Everything feels urgent right now. Political uncertainty, resource constraints, the accelerating pace of change — it's a lot to hold, and the people doing the hardest work are feeling it most.
So, what's actually important?
More than ever, things feel unsettled. On a daily basis, we are confronted with news of unrest and turmoil. There is a growing sense that the pace, the noise, the uncertainty, are all untenable. People seem to trust and connect less, despite having more tools to do so. We feel fractured and at odds, suffering from the whiplash of social media, COVID, polarization, growing inequality, and the rise of AI.
And yet the work continues. Across all of our areas of focus, we see organizations facing increased pressure in the form of resource constraints, shifting policy landscapes, and real fatigue. Still, they keep going, driven by a determination and creativity that keeps moving things forward, in big and small ways, contributing to a better city, province, and country. The communities they serve are better for it. And it is a privilege to work alongside them.
My predecessor Sandy Houston — now our Board Chair — wrote about the advantages that philanthropy holds in impatient, risk-averse times: the ability to be brave and early, persistent and patient, and to learn from failure rather than be stopped by it. "The path of change," he wrote, "rarely runs straight. If we are focused and attentive, we slowly gain insight into how best to contribute, and how to shift and adapt."
We cannot do everything. We are not trying to. What we are trying to do is invest in change that is built to last.
Foundations can play a unique role at this moment. We can provide a stability, helpful insight, and strategic guidance in a period when private markets are turbulent and public spending is contracting. But to do that well, it is essential to focus on what is actually important — not just what appears urgent. This has long been a strength of our approach at Metcalf. We have been gifted the time, space, and resources to work with outstanding people in the field, to think carefully about the change we seek, and to invest in it with patience and conviction.
We know that this is a privilege. We don’t take that for granted. It allows us to take risks, stay curious, and hold ourselves to account — and to be intentional about where we focus. We cannot do everything. We are not trying to. What we are trying to do is invest in change that is built to last: in the leaders, the ideas, and the conditions that will matter not just next year but over the long arc.
Across our three longstanding programs — Environment, Inclusive Local Economies, and Performing Arts — we are investing in what a long arc can produce. Indigenous-led conservation, once a fringe position, is now shaping federal policy. The care economy, long ignored, has entered mainstream political consciousness. The push for new financing models for the cultural sector is gaining real traction. These results took years of patient investment.
That is the same bet we are making with our newest program area: Civil Discourse.
We believe that our collective ability to work together — to tackle problems with diversity of thought, but with a common fact base — has been central to our advancement as a country. Despite political or ideological differences, we have always found ways to come together for the greater good. That capacity feels under threat. Investing in it is not separate from our other work. It is the condition that makes our other work possible.
We invite you to join us in our effort to rise above the chaos and noise of the day-to-day, and to focus on the important issues that we need to tackle. We know this is hard. The organizations and leaders we work with know that better than anyone. What keeps us going is the belief that investing in change that lasts is the most important thing we can do right now.
Not because things aren't hard, but because they are.
Jamison Steeve | President & CEO
Our ability to take risk, to accept failure, to be brave and early, but also persistent and patient — these are advantages that few other sectors enjoy. The path of change rarely runs straight. If we are focused and attentive, we slowly gain insight into how best to contribute, and how to shift and adapt.
Sandy Houston | Board Chair
Land Acknowledgement
The Metcalf Foundation is located off of Ishpadinaa, otherwise known as Spadina Avenue in Tkaronto/Toronto. In Anishinaabemowin, the word Ishpadinaa means “high hill” or “ridge” referring directly to the formation of land. This land is covered by Treaty #13 and the Williams Treaties. It is the traditional territories of many First Peoples, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples. This territory is part of the Dish with One Spoon wampum belt covenant, a treaty, where nations entered into an agreement to protect the land and to responsibly care for its resources in harmony together.
As settlers, newcomers, refugees, and Indigenous peoples, we have all been invited into this treaty in the spirit of peace, friendship, and respect. Today, the meeting place of Tkaronto continues to be home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to be on this land together. We recognize that a land acknowledgement is only a starting point — our ongoing learning, work, reconciliation, and relationships on these lands are what matters.
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Investing in people, ideas, and actions to imagine and build just, healthy, and creative communities.
We take risks, invest early, and step into spaces where leadership is required, bringing our funding, convening power, partnerships, and voice.
We support people at every stage of their careers, offering opportunities for professional development, internships, formal training, and fellowships.
We build relationships based on trust and mutual respect, recognizing that lasting solutions emerge when organizations, sectors, and communities work together.
We create space for bold thinking, providing innovators and critical thinkers the opportunity to tackle hard questions and test promising ideas.
We prioritize long-term progress, ensuring organizations and leaders have the time, resources, and support to realize the fullness of their ambitions.
We embrace feedback and learn from our experiences, refining our approach over time to stay responsive to emerging needs and opportunities.
Working with leaders across Canada to safeguard lands and waters for generations to come
Advancing economic dignity and prosperity for low-income people and communities in Toronto
Supporting individuals, organizations, and field building in the performing arts to meet the cultural needs of Canadians
Creating an engaged, informed, and active citizenry with greater capacity to build relationships across communities
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To date
$135M+
charitable spending
630+
organizations funded
650+
individual development opportunities
Across our work over the last two years, three convictions have continued to guide us.
The most important work often happens before anyone is paying attention: nurturing relationships grounded in trust rather than transaction, building policy environments that can survive shifts in government, creating financial tools that match the scale and complexity of the problems at hand. Investing in this infrastructure — typically unglamorous, slow, and rarely celebrated — is what makes lasting change structurally possible.
The progress of the past two years is meaningful. It is also fragile. It arrived because people stayed with the work long enough to see the conditions shift, and it will only hold if we keep going. The instinct to ease up at the moment of a breakthrough is understandable — whether it’s momentum for Indigenous-led conservation, community land trusts, or cultural sector transformation. What this moment calls for is continued pressure, continued investment, and continued belief in the transformative potential of the work we are pursuing.
Good strategy doesn't stand still. Over the past two years, we have questioned our own assumptions, revised programs, and shifted focus based on what we were hearing from the people closest to the work. Our grantees, partners, and the communities they serve are our greatest source of knowledge, and staying genuinely open to what they are telling us — and letting it sharpen our strategy — is one of the most important things we can do as a funder.
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Explore the entire
2024 – 2025 Grantee List
From 2024 – 2025, the Metcalf Foundation invested over $19 million in charitable activities.
From 2024 – 2025, the Metcalf Foundation invested over $19 million in charitable activities.
Grantee
Democracy Education Network
Institute for Research on Public Policy
MASS Civic Innovation Labs
McGill University
Public Policy Forum
Toronto Metropolitan University
Toronto Public Library Foundation
University of Manitoba
Urban Minds
West End Phoenix
No grants match this filter.
Condensed statement of financial position as at December 31, 2025.
| Line item | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Assets | ||
| Cash and cash equivalents | 20254,464,158 | 202418,520,094 |
| Accrued interest and dividends receivable | 2025504,708 | 2024354,643 |
| Investments at market value | 2025205,617,759 | 2024186,219,498 |
| Other receivables and capital assets | 20251,959,734 | 20241,953,473 |
 | ||
| Total | 2025212,546,359 | 2024207,047,708 |
| Liabilities | ||
| Accounts payable and accrued liabilities | 20254,083,688 | 20244,935,159 |
| ||
| Net Assets | 2025208,462,671 | 2024202,112,549 |
| Condensed statement of revenue and expenditures | ||
| REVENUE (LOSS) | 202518,113,528 | 202419,514,708 |
| ||
| Expenditures | ||
| Investment-related | 2025909,084 | 2024745,321 |
| Other | 2025831,150 | 2024782,150 |
| ||
| Total | 20251,740,234 | 20241,527,471 |
| Revenue before grants | 202516,373,294 | 202417,987,237 |
| ||
| Grants and direct charitable activities | ||
| Performing Arts | 20251,658,211 | 20241,550,961 |
| Environment | 20251,716,477 | 20241,839,325 |
| Inclusive Local Economies | 20252,500,134 | 20242,491,775 |
| Special Initiatives | 20251,399,500 | 20241,181,000 |
| Direct charitable activities | 20252,748,850 | 20242,360,762 |
| ||
| Total | 202510,023,172 | 20249,423,823 |
| Excess of revenue over expenditures | 20256,350,122 | 20248,563,414 |
| ||
This is our closing invitation: to continue to invest in change that lasts— not because things aren't hard, but because they are.
