Balsam Foundation
Private foundation · Toronto, Ontario · BN 838959385RR0001 · Foundations
Source: T3010 return, FPE 2024-12-31. Split of total expenditures ($6,341,964) as filed with the CRA.
Balsam Foundation is a private foundation based in Toronto, Ontario, classified by the CRA under foundations. In its fiscal year ending December 31, 2024, it reported $6.4M in revenue and $6.3M in expenditures.
Its funding that year was roughly 100% from donations.
Compared with 1,554 grantmaking charities of similar size, its share of spending on mission — charitable programs plus grants to other charities — ranked above 74% of peers.
As a grantmaker, it reported gifts to 30 qualified donees totalling $3.8M in 2024, the largest being $680K to Park People. Revenue has grown substantially over its filings on record here, from $4.2M in 2020 to $6.4M in 2024. Its filed list of directors and trustees shows 5 names.
In its own words
To receive and maintain a fund or funds and to apply all or part of the principal and income therefrom from time to time to one or more qualified donees within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada) as amended from time to time; and to undertake activities ancillary and incidental to the attainment of the above charitable purposes.
Ongoing-program description from its T3010 filing, verbatim.
The ledger, 2020–2024
| Year | Revenue | Spending | Programs | Fundraising | Gifts out | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $6.4M | $6.3M | — | — | $6.1M | $450K |
| 2023 | $6.1M | $9.3M | — | — | $9.1M | $421K |
| 2022 | $774K | $13.9M | $170K | — | $13.7M | $3.7M |
| 2021 | $22M | $7.5M | $85K | — | $7.4M | $16.8M |
| 2020 | $4.2M | $3.5M | — | — | $3.5M | $2.3M |
Revenue printed in red where the year ran a deficit. Fiscal years by period end.
Money between charities, 2024
Granted $3.8M to 30 qualified donees — largest 25 shown:
- Park People$680K
- Philip Aziz Centre for Hospice$474K
- UHN Foundation$250K
- The Bentway Conservancy$235K
- Alliance for Healthier Communities$235K
- Friends of Ruby$200K
- Foodshare Toronto$195K
- TAIBU Community Health Centre$166K
- Environment Funders Canada$150K
- Rise Asset Development$150K
- Growing Neighbourhoods Foundation$125K
- Homewood Research Institute/institut de Recherches Homewood$100K
- Right To Food$100K
- The Catherine Donnelly Foundation$80K
- ST. Michael's and Providence Foundation$80K
- Indigenous Youth Roots Canada$75K
- The Circle on Philanthropy$60K
- Green Communities Canada$50K
- United Way of Greater Toronto$50K
- The Daymark Foundation Inc.$50K
- MABELLEarts$50K
- The Toronto Public Library Foundation$50K
- Makeway Foundation$40K
- The Reading Partnership$30K
- Humber River Health Foundation$25K
As reported on the donors’ own T3010 qualified-donee schedules.
Directors & trustees (2024)
W. Geoffrey Beattie (board chair & secretary); P. Gaye Farncombe (director); Murray Farncombe (director); Andrea Hamilton (director); Matthew Cribbins (director).
As listed on its 2024 return.
Check the source
Every figure on this page is from Balsam Foundation’s own T3010 filings, published by the Canada Revenue Agency. Verify against the CRA’s charities listing (search BN 838959385RR0001), or read how we compute the receipt.