The Festival Antigonish Foundation was established in 2007 under the leadership of then Artistic Producer Ed Thomason and inaugural Foundation Chair Brian MacLeod. Supported by the generosity and drive of our inaugural Directors, the creation of the Foundation marked a remarkable chapter in our theatre company’s success story.
With generous donations from longstanding supporters and philanthropists, and significant matching funds from Heritage Canada’s Endowment Incentive Program, the Foundation endowment currently sits at just over $1M
The Foundation operates as an independent charitable organization which manages the fund through a diligent investment committee and disburses the earned interest to the theatre. All donations to the fund are endowed and capitalized in perpetuity. Only the annual income is granted to the theatre’s operating budget, thereby providing a stable and sustainable source of revenue.
Endowment Funds: Gifts to the Endowment fund are all eligible for up to a 100% matching grant from the Department of Canadian Heritage Endowment Incentives Fund. The Festival Antigonish Foundation Endowment Fund provides approximately $40,000 a year in grants to Festival Antigonish to support general operations and artistic and community outreach programming. Gifts to the Endowment Fund should be made to The Festival Antigonish Foundation.
Every gift helps. Your support will allow the Foundation to boost its operating grant to the theatre. That means we can keep our ticket prices accessible and invest in delivering more art and outreach programs. It is the gift that will live forever!
For more information, or to become a donor to the Foundation, please contact Managing Director, Caleb Marshall at caleb@festivalantigonish.ca or call 902 867 3954
Have I really been going to plays at Festival Antigonish for twenty years? Well, okay … here’s how you start your endowment fund: you’re twenty years old, you find twenty people, and you ask each of them to donate $50,000.
Festival Antigonish Foundation Board of Directors
| Chair | Ramsay Duff, CEO, MacLeod Group |
| Vice-Chair | Harley MacCaull President, A.A. Munro Insurance |
| Secretary / Treasurer | Chad Relf, A.A. Munro Insurance |
| Directors | Steve Smith, Chair & CEO, Central Home Improvement |
| Donald Chisholm, CEO, Nova Construction | |
| Frank Sobey, Chair, Crombie REIT | |
| Dr. Minoli Amit, Chair, Festival Antigonish | |
| Dr. John Hamilton, Ophthalmologist, St. Martha’s Regional Hospital | |
| Marc Champoux, BMO Nesbitt Burns | |
| Shannon Stephenson, Owner/Operator, High-Crest Enterprises Ltd. | |
| Investment Advisor | Marc Champoux, BMO Nesbitt Burns |
Benefactors $50,000+
- John & Anne Chisholm
- Margaret & David Fountain
- Minoli Amit & John Hamilton
- Harley & Wendy MacCaull
- Brian & Irene Macleod
- Steve & Kathy Smith
- Frank & Debbi Sobey
Gold $25,000- $49,999
- The Sobey Foundation
- Shannon & Jacqueline Stephenson
Silver $10,000- $24,999
- Sisters of St. Martha of Antigonish
- Aida Arnold & David Miller
- Carol Hansen MacDonald & Grace Hansen
- Clearwater Seafoods
Bronze $5,000- $9,999
- Marc & Clare Champoux
Friends $1,000-$4,999
- Congregation of Notre Dame
- Cathy Walsh & Ramsay Duff
- Eric Atkinson & Clare Fawcett
- David & Joan Wallace
- Leo & Margaret Gallant
- Dr. Chiasson & Barbara MacGregor
- Bruce & Sue MacIntosh
- Firinn Investments