The Calgary Catholic Education Foundation was established by Catholic community members in 2009, including the late Lois Burke-Gaffney and Ted Valentine, in response to the need for external fundraising that fits within our Catholic faith values. Calgary Catholic schools do not receive any funding from charitable casino fundraisers.
Since 2009, The CCEF has awarded over $3 million in grants to the Calgary Catholic School District schools and classrooms in support of:
In the 2019/2020 school year, the CCEF funded $162,000 in grants that helped shape 19,000 students’ educational experiences.
Playgrounds, field trips and artists in residence are just a few of the grant requests we receive each year from the schools and classrooms in the Calgary Catholic School District. These are learning opportunities that go beyond the core basic curriculum and allow over 59,000 students to have educational experiences that will help them become tomorrow’s community leaders.
But we also fund necessities such as creating food pantries in schools so that students don’t have food insecurities when schools are closed for the weekend, for professional development days or for holidays. We fund technology so that students and classrooms are learning on the latest technology and aren’t having to share devices.
Providing funding opportunities so that all students understand the social justice impact of First Nations, Metis and Inuit programming is critical to our reconciliation with First Nations.
Seeing the wonder in a student’s face on building their first robotics, or seeing students learn about climate through grow towers or watching the smile on a child’s face who masters a fine motor skill development makes our work in Citizenship, Stewardship and Leadership impactful.
The Calgary Catholic Education Foundation recognizes that public education is the provincial government’s mandate, which sets curriculum guidelines and provides basic funding. However, this basic funding does not include activities beyond the standard curriculum. For Calgary Catholic schools to remain competitive with other school systems, additional funds must be available to enhance our youths learning experiences. The Foundation is focused on enriching the educational experience of students within the Calgary Catholic School District. That means, we fund opportunities for classrooms and schools to bring the curriculum to life for student engagement.
We need your help to support our Catholic students. We want to hear how you want to help shape tomorrow’s community leaders. Your donation today stays local to support local students.
Our funding focus is on: