Full Disclosure: Visual Arts Alberta ~ CARFAC receives monies from the Eldon & Anne Foote Funds for the annual Eldon + Anne Foote Edmonton Visual Arts Prize.


Edmonton, AB — June 7, 2017

Edmonton Community Foundation (ECF) is honoured to announce that it has received the largest charitable gift to a community foundation in Canadian history.

The unprecedented $164-million donation was given anonymously over the last two decades and today ECF is able to name Eldon and Anne Foote as the donors.

To date, the Eldon & Anne Foote Funds have enabled ECF to grant approximately $43 million to hundreds of charities in various sectors including: arts, culture and heritage; education and learning; health and wellness; social and community services; recreation and leisure; and the environment.

Since 2000, the Eldon & Anne Foote Funds have grown to a value of more than $206 million. Because the gifts are set up as endowment funds, ECF will be able to continue providing support to charities in perpetuity, honouring the Footes’ wishes and vision for a vibrant community now and forever.

Eldon Foote was born in Hanna, Alberta, attended the University of Alberta, and worked as a lawyer in Edmonton. In 1967, he moved to Australia and, over the years, grew a cleaning-product company into a multi-million dollar empire based mainly in Japan and Hong Kong, where he revolutionized the lives of thousands of homemakers by hiring them as active sales personnel. However, the Footes never lost their affection for Alberta.

Edmonton Community Foundation acts as a bridge between donors and greater Edmonton charities to help create and maintain a strong, vibrant community for generations to come. Through permanent endowment funds, the Foundation disburses 4 per cent of the fund value to charities each year. ECF is the fourth-largest community foundation in Canada.

Click here to learn more about the Eldon & Anne Foote Funds.