About the programme
Recognising the Canadians who give quietly and steadily.
The Canadian Philanthropy Awards, powered by Beneva, works with Community Foundations across the country to honour local givers in more than 100 communities each year.
What it is
Canada has Halls of Fame for many things. Not yet for people who give locally.
Canada has Halls of Fame for hockey, music, business, mining, sport, and medicine. We have not made the same kind of public place for people whose giving is local, quiet, and steady. The Canadian Philanthropy Awards fills that gap.
Each year, Community Foundations across the country nominate and choose local honourees from their own communities. A small number of those honourees are then considered for national recognition by an independent selection committee.
The programme is not a competition. There are no rankings. Honourees are recognised for the fact of their giving, not for giving more than someone else.
How it works
The programme runs on four steps, starting in local communities.
Commend
Call (public-facing nomination materials)
Anyone can nominate someone through a participating Community Foundation in their area. The nomination asks for a specific story, not a CV. We want to know what the person actually does, not a summary of their achievements.
Nomination is open to individuals, families, groups, and businesses. You can nominate someone you know personally.
Choose
Each participating Community Foundation reviews nominations and chooses local honourees from their own community. The choice stays with the Foundation. This is deliberate: the people who live and work in a community are best placed to know who gives steadily within it.
Local honourees are recognised at the community level, regardless of whether they go on to national consideration.
Carry
Local honourees are considered for national recognition by an independent national selection committee. The committee is not connected to Beneva or to Influence Marketing Services. This independence is what makes the recognition credible.
The selection committee’s deliberations are confidential. The committee does not award prizes or rank honourees against each other.
Celebrate
Two to four honourees receive national recognition each year. The record of recognition is permanent.
A national celebration event marks each year's inductions. Details for the first event will be announced when confirmed.
Who is involved
Three kinds of organisation make the programme work.
Powered by
Beneva
Beneva is the programme-defining partner. Its support makes the Canadian Philanthropy Awards possible. Beneva is not involved in the selection of honourees at any level.
Always written as "powered by Beneva" in programme materials. Not "founding sponsor" or "presenting sponsor".
Delivered with
Community Foundations of Canada
Community Foundations of Canada is the distribution network. More than 200 member foundations across the country connect the programme to local communities. Each participating foundation runs nominations and chooses local honourees within their own community.
Selected by
Independent selection committee
An independent national selection committee chooses which local honourees receive national recognition. The committee is not affiliated with Beneva, with Community Foundations of Canada, or with the programme organisers. Its independence is the basis of the programme's credibility.
Committee members are not named publicly during the selection period.
Why it is credible
Four things that make the recognition mean something.
Independent selection
National honourees are chosen by an independent committee with no connection to the programme's funders or organisers. No one with a financial interest in the programme decides who is recognised.
Community-rooted nominations
Nominations come from local communities through Community Foundations. The people who live in a place know who gives within it. The programme distributes the judgment of who deserves recognition to the communities themselves.
Open to all kinds of giving
Individuals, families, groups, and businesses are all eligible. There is no minimum donation amount, no sector requirement, no requirement to give publicly. Steady and local counts.
No competition framing
Honourees are not ranked. There is no first place. Recognition does not depend on giving more than someone else. It depends on giving, and on a community choosing to say so.
Year one
The programme opens for nominations in 2026.
In year one, a founding group of Community Foundations will participate across the country. Nominations open in 2026. Local honourees will be chosen by their Community Foundations. The first national honourees will be announced when the selection committee has completed its review.
The programme is designed to grow. More Community Foundations will join in subsequent years, expanding the network of communities that can nominate and honour local givers.