Giving For Lasting Change
The Barrett Family Foundation's Approach to Canadian Philanthropy
by Alister Mathieson and Emilio Elia

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“This remarkable piece of work speaks to a shining star of contemporary Canadian philanthropy. The Barretts place trust and collaboration at the forefront of their approach to grant making, and they seek to structure flexible, long-term partnerships with their grantees. By doing so, the Barrett Family Foundation is leveraging its philanthropy to influence lasting change to seemingly intractable challenges in Canada and around the world.” —Right Honourable David Johnston, 28th Governor General of Canada “At World Vision, we are inspired by the Barrett Family Foundation’s thoughtful philanthropy. Their approach is broad, tackling big challenges; deep, by strategically addressing root causes; and generous, launching innovations that make a real difference in the lives of vulnerable youth and children. We so appreciate that Bob Barrett and the Foundation team see themselves as real partners, open to mutual learning, challenge, and sharing. We are grateful to celebrate the impact of this strategic approach to transformational giving!” —Michael Messenger, President and CEO, World Vision Canada (2015-2025) “Systems change in philanthropy is patient. Slow. Painfully slow. Built at the pace of meetings, listening, learning from people with lived experience. Built on the pace of trust. Investing in every relationship and partnership like it was the only one. Investing in the simple, unsexy stuff that may never make a headline but drives change where it matters. With people. No one does slow steady stubborn system change behind the headlines on the right stuff - and at scale - like the Barrett Family Foundation.” —Daniele Zanotti, Former CEO, United Way (Greater Toronto)

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Alister is the executive director of the Barrett Family Foundation. He was first introduced to Bob Barrett and the Barrett Family Foundation in 2014. At that time, he was a vice-president at Humber College in Toronto and led a team of educators to establish a partnership with BFF that resulted in the creation of the Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation, which is outlined in Chapter 2. During this time, he was introduced to BFF’s progressive approach to philanthropy and witnessed firsthand the inspiring impacts of their donations. When he retired from Humber, Bob asked Alister to come and work with him at BFF. Without a second thought, Alister jumped at the opportunity. Alister is an internationally recognized author of academic books in tourism and several children’s books on Canada. His academic books, written between 1982 and 2006, have been described as seminal works in the discipline of tourism studies. His six children’s books have been described by the Globe and Mail as “must reads” and have received endorsements from notable Canadians including former Governor General, the Right Honorable David Johnston, Wheel in Motion activist Rick Hansen, and broadcaster Peter Mansbridge. Alister and his family recently moved to British Columbia after living in Ontario for nearly 40 years Emilio is an entrepreneur, filmmaker, author, and proud grandson of Bob Barrett. He is a graduate of Economics and Management (BA) from the University of St. Andrews and a Co-Founder of Argon Prototypes Inc., a precision manufacturing company in Toronto. In 2024, Bob invited Emilio to study his philanthropic journey and to sit on BFF’s board in an observational role. The following year, Emilio and Alister began co-authoring this book.

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Contributors

Author

Alister Mathieson

Author

Emilio Elia

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