About Us
The K.M. Hunter Charitable Foundation has portfolios in three sectors. They are Cultural, Social Services and The Environment. Within all three portfolios, we are committed to supporting organizations dedicated to helping those who are marginalized, including the homeless, disadvantaged youth, women, indigenous voices, the LGBTQ community, and preserving and protecting habitat for endangered species in Ontario.
The K.M. Hunter Charitable Foundation has portfolios in three sectors. They are Cultural, Social Services and The Environment. Within all three portfolios, we are committed to supporting organizations dedicated to helping those who are marginalized, including the homeless, disadvantaged youth, women, indigenous voices, the LGBTQ community, and preserving and protecting habitat for endangered species in Ontario.
With the exception of an ongoing grant to Sick Kids Foundation in the area of mental health, we do not support any other medical research programs.
Our offices are in Toronto. We only support organizations based in Ontario, with the exception of the AIDS in Africa program, which provides grants to International organizations.
Our Values
The Dish With One Spoon is a treaty between the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas and Haudenosaunee that bound them to share the territory and protect the land. Subsequent Indigenous Nations and peoples, Europeans and all newcomers, have been invited into this treaty in the spirit of peace, friendship and respect.
The “Dish” or sometimes it is called the “Bowl” represents what is now southern Ontario (from the Great Lakes to Quebec and from Lake Simcoe into the U.S.).*We all eat out of the Dish, all of us that share this territory, with only one spoon. That means we have to share the responsibility of ensuring the dish is never empty; which includes, taking care of the land and the creatures we share it with. Importantly, there are no knives at the table, representing that we must keep the peace.
2024 Board of Directors
Our History
Kenneth Martin Hunter was the Founding member of the KM Hunter Charitable Foundation which he incorporated in 1967. Originally the Foundation funded Medical Research and Social Services. When he died in 1991 his two sons, Martin and William, took over the running of the foundation.
They continued to support the two original areas of major interest but also began to fund organizations and projects in the fields of nature conservancy, international development and cultural activities. At the end of 2003, the foundation was divided. Martin Hunter remained president of the original K.M. Hunter Charitable Foundation in Toronto, which continued to fund social services, conservation and cultural initiatives. W.T. Hunter became President of the Peterborough K.M. Hunter Charitable Foundation whose focus is medical research, Canadian Indigenous Communities, International Development and Environmental Sustainability projects.
Sarah Hunter is President and oversees the everyday running of the Foundation.
Board Members, Guy Hunter, Doug Hart, Andrea Holtslander, Eleanor Hart and Maria Calandra meet regularly as board members and interface with Sarah Hunter around donation decisions.
Guy Hunter handles the social services portfolio; Sarah Hunter handles the cultural portfolio and Douglas Hart handles decisions related to the environmental portfolio. Sarah Hunter is President, Guy Hunter is Vice President, Maria Calandra is Secretary and Doug Hart is Treasurer. Group decisions are made by the Board, which meets 2 to 3 times a year.