The Metcalf Foundation is pleased to announce that we are joining with our colleagues at leading Canadian foundations as a partner in the Give5 campaign. We will be increasing our 2020 granting commitments to 5% of our assets in response to the crisis generated by COVID-19. We will be releasing more details regarding the nature of our commitments in the coming months, with a major announcement expected in the next few weeks.

Give5 is a collaboration of leading Canadian foundations, which aims to have at least 100 Canadian foundations publicly pledge on Giving Tuesday Now – May 5 – to donate at least 5% of their assets to charity in their current year. More information on the coalition can be found here.

The rationale behind Give5 is that Canadian foundations are uniquely positioned to help meet the need generated by this crisis. Charity Intelligence estimates that a 5% commitment from all foundations would add $700 million in funding to charities. These monies would assist in meeting the need caused by widespread disruption, including record high unemployment, huge food insecurity, and sheltering challenges.

This initiative is part of a series of responses that the Metcalf Foundation is taking to help and support our grantees and members of our community during this difficult time.