Foundation Office
Open to any Canadian donor.
Public foundation positioned as a private-foundation alternative: the autonomy of a private foundation without the administrative burden. The only provider in this comparison with activity-based pricing — fees are calculated on granting activity rather than assets held. Can be established in days rather than the months needed for a true private foundation.
Cost calculator
Estimate fees for your scenario. Grants are never reduced by fees — fees apply after each year's granting.
Minimums
Minimum to open not publicly disclosed.
Granting rules
Assets accepted
- Cash
- Public securities
Scale & activity
From T3010 CRA filing · FYE 2024-12-31
- Total DAF assets
- $81.7M
- Annual grants
- $15.7M
- Actual payout
- 19.2%
- DAF accounts
- 30
- Avg. account
- $2.7M
CRA registration 835065038RR0001. Payout rate is actual grants divided by total assets over the filing period — a real-world indicator that can differ from the provider's stated disbursement policy.
Fee structure
Admin fee tiers
| Balance range | Rate |
|---|---|
| $0K+· Activity-based pricing, not asset-based — cannot be expressed as an annual balance-fee tier | — |
Investment fee tiers
| Balance range | Rate |
|---|---|
| $0K+· Donor directs investments in a segregated DAF investment account or uses Foundation Office's investment management; separately negotiable | — |
Activity-based fee: $3,000 annual base fee + sliding scale 2%–5% of grants awarded each year. A personalized annual cap is set upfront based on anticipated granting volume. This breaks typical asset-based DAF comparison — example: a $100K fund granting $0/year costs $3,000 (3% effective); the same fund granting $50K/year costs roughly $4,500 (4.5% effective). The calculator's scenario cost cannot honestly model this — comparing Foundation Office requires looking at expected granting activity directly.
Also consider
Online-native giving platform with zero fees under $25K, bring-your-own-advisor above that threshold, and a streamlined interface for everyday donors.
Online NativeCharitable ImpactOnline-native platform with two-account architecture (Impact Account for granting, Charitable Investment Account for invested assets), bring-your-own-advisor model, and accepts complex assets including private shares and real estate.
Data sources
Confidence: Not publicly disclosed · Last verified 2026-04-21
Value proposition authored by WellFunded