[1] The Foundation is dedicated primarily to the social improvement of Winnipeg.
It pools and permanently invests gifts from donors to support the local charitable sector, through grants in a broad range of areas, including; community service, education and employment, health, environment, heritage, arts and culture, and recreation.
[1][4] The Winnipeg Foundation was founded in 1921 with a gift of $100,000 from local businessman and banker, William Forbes Alloway.
[6] In 2001, the Foundation experienced an unprecedented gift when it received a $100 million donation—at the time it was the largest gift ever made to a Canadian community foundation - from Randall Moffat and his family.
[5] In 2003, The Winnipeg Foundation made its largest grant to date ($6 million) to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.