About Us
The Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko is a national, chartered philanthropic institution dedicated to the preservation, promotion and development of the Ukrainian Canadian cultural heritage and to the advancement of a flourishing Ukrainian community for the enrichment of Canada by providing leadership in building and sustaining a permanent endowment fund.
Our Mission
To strengthen the Ukrainian community in Canada and enrich the Canadian experience with the beauty, passion, and diversity of Ukrainian Canadian culture.
Our Vision
A Canada that acknowledges Ukrainian Canadians as nation-builders and an integral component of Canadian identity.
Our Values
The Shevchenko Foundation respects the past, celebrates the present and promotes the future of the Ukrainian community in Canada with the synergy of all stakeholders including grantees, donors, supporters, volunteers, staff, and Board members.
The core values of the Shevchenko Foundation are Inclusiveness, integrity, sustainability, spirit, excellence, and innovation.
Our Principles
- Leadership
Shevchenko Foundation is a catalyst for strategic philanthropy that fuels artistic creativity, community development and the evolution of Ukrainian Canadian culture within the Canadian experience.
- Stewardship
Shevchenko Foundation nurtures relationships with donors, grantees, and the broader community; responsibly manages the funds entrusted to it; and sustains Ukrainian Canadian cultural heritage as an invaluable asset for future generations.
- Partnership
Shevchenko Foundation cultivates partnerships between internal and external stakeholders including grantees, donors, supporters, volunteers, staff, Board members, and audiences, to achieve its vision of a Canada that acknowledges Ukrainian Canadians as nation builders that are integral to the Canadian identity.
Our History
In 1959 the Ukrainian community in Canada embarked on a significant undertaking – to place a monument to Taras Shevchenko, Ukraine’s national poet, on the grounds of the Manitoba Legislature. $175,000 was raised for this endeavour.
Two years later, on July 9, 1961, nearly 10,000 Ukrainian Canadians from across the country gathered in Winnipeg to witness Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker officially unveil the monument.
The fundraising for this monumental project led to a surplus of $30,000, which was invested into an endowment fund dedicated to the preservation and development of Ukrainian culture in Canada – the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko.