International giving · Americas
Which US foundations give to Canada?
US foundations sent $1.5B to organizations in Canada across 14,992 grants, from 2,360 different funders. Read from IRS 990 filings.
The short version
- 2,360 US foundations have made grants to Canada, totaling $1.5B across 14,992 grants on record.
- GATES FOUNDATION (WA) is the largest US funder of Canada organizations, with $487M.
- That is about $36.99 per resident across all years on file, for a country the World Bank classes as high income.
- JUBILO TRUST is the most Canada-focused funder, directing 100% of its overseas giving here.
- US giving to Canada has fallen over the filing years on record.
The biggest funders, year by year
Each top funder of Canada with its total, and how that giving falls across the filing years — darker means more.
| '17 | '18 | '19 | '20 | '21 | '22 | '23 | '24 | '25* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GATES FOUNDATION$487M | |||||||||
| GORDON E AND BETTY I MOORE FOUNDATION$141M | |||||||||
| THE WILLIAM & FLORA HEWLETT FOUNDATION$43M | |||||||||
| JUBILO TRUST$39M | |||||||||
| THE FORD FOUNDATION$39M | |||||||||
| LILY STREET FOUNDATION$27M | |||||||||
| THE SIMONS FOUNDATION INC$27M | |||||||||
| MURRAY & SYDELL ROSENBERG FOUNDATIONINC$24M | |||||||||
| BHP FOUNDATION$23M | |||||||||
| WELLSPRING PHILANTHROPIC FUND INC$22M | |||||||||
| THE ANDREW W MELLON FOUNDATION$22M | |||||||||
| WAL-MART FOUNDATION$22M |
* 2025 onward is still arriving — 990s lag 12–24 months, so the most recent years under-report.
Top US funders of Canada
Canada's dedicated funders
Foundations that send most of their overseas money to Canada — the specialists, not just the biggest checks.
What the money funds
By the kind of organization receiving the money — universities, hospitals, research institutes, and so on.
560 recipients
148 recipients
387 recipients
104 recipients
158 recipients
253 recipients
115 recipients
271 recipients
Largest recipients in Canada
Spelling, accent, abbreviation, and language variants of the same organization are merged into one recipient. Organizations abroad have no US EIN, so this resolution is best-effort.
215 US funders · 771 grants
4 US funders · 44 grants
26 US funders · 116 grants
28 US funders · 102 grants
1 US funder · 5 grants
1 US funder · 3 grants
A further $12M across 15 grants went to recipients the filings name only in the aggregate (“various”, “multiple organizations”, and the like), so they can’t be attributed to a single organization.
Who funds whom
The largest funder-to-recipient ties — which US foundation backs which organization in Canada.
Where the funders are
The US states home to the foundations giving to Canada, shaded by dollars granted. Click a state.
Notable grants
The largest individual grants to Canada on record.
Questions and answers
- Which US foundation gives the most to Canada?
- GATES FOUNDATION is the largest US funder of Canada organizations on record, with $487M across 447 grants.
- How much do US foundations give to Canada?
- 2,360 US foundations have granted a combined $1.5B to organizations in Canada across 14,992 grants in the IRS filings on record, about $36.99 per resident.
- What do US foundations fund in Canada?
- The largest areas are education & schools, research & science, health & medicine, by the kind of organization receiving the money.