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 25,000 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.

Through the efforts of Senators John Hnatyshyn, William Wall and Paul Yuzyk, and MP Nicholas Mandziuk, Bill S-21 – “An Act to Incorporate the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko” was successfully introduced in the Canadian Parliament, and signed on July 22, 1963 by Governor General G.P. Vanier.

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) appointed the first Board of Directors, and in 1964 the Shevchenko Foundation was officially launched. Dr. Isydore Hlynka was founding President of the Foundation, serving for its first fifteen years.

1964	The first grant of $400 is disbursed.
1965	The first large grant of $5,000 is awarded to UCC for the publication of 3 books: The Ukrainian Poets 1189-1962, and The Poetical Works of Taras Shevchenko both translated by Andrusyshen and Kirkconnell, and Taras Shevchenko the Artist by Keywan.
1967	The Shevchenko Foundation receives charitable status.
1968	The first largest single grant of $5,000 is made in support of the development of audio-visual methodology and materials for teaching Ukrainian language in public schools.
1969	A donation of $10,000 from the Ukrainian Literary Society of T. Shevchenko, Kenora, ON is received.
1971	The Foundation is accepted as a member organization of the UCC. The President of the Foundation becomes a member of the UCC Board of Directors.
1978	The Foundation reaches its first one million dollars.
1981	The Foundation reaches $1.5 million dollars.
1987	The Foundation receives its first designated fund from Stefan and Maria Yankowski of Winnipeg MB.
1989	The Foundation purchases one-half interest in the land and building from UCC located at 456 Main St in Winnipeg MB where the offices of the Foundation are located.
1990	The Foundation disburses over $200,000 in grants.
1994	The Board of Directors appoint an Investment Committee with Wally Shoemay as Chairperson. The first meeting of the Investment Committee is held.
1995	The Foundation receives its’ first insurance policy gift.
1997	President Andriy Hladyshevsky, Q.C., initiates the Kobzar Fellowship Program.
1998	The first 11 members of the Kobzar Fellowship are inducted at a launch ceremony in Saskatoon.
2001	The Foundation launches its official website.
2002	The first Shevchenko bilingual Bookmark “Educate Yourselves, my Brethren” is issued.
2003	The establishment of the Kobzar™ Literary Award is announced.
2004	The Avramenko exhibit is unveiled at the UCC Congress held in Winnipeg. The Walter Halchuk Memorial Book Award is established.
2005	Shevchenko Foundation office moves to a new home at 202 – 952 Main St in Winnipeg. Ben Wasylyshen creates a unique window art panel, The Foundation Window. The John Syrnick Journalism Award is launched and presented to Mark MacKinnon of the Globe & Mail for his coverage of the Orange Revolution.
2006	The first Kobzar™ Literary Award of $25,000 is presented to Danny Schur for STRIKE! The Musical and to Laura Langston for Lesia’s Dream. Anne Smigel is the first donor to the Kobzar™ Literary Award designated fund with a donation of $25,000. The KOBZAR Writer’s Scholarship at the Humber School for Writers is established.
2007	The first recipient of the Kobzar Writer’s Scholarship at the Humber School for Writers is Helen Pretulak. Victor Malarek receives the John Syrnick Award for Journalism. The Government of Canada grants $10 million to the Foundation to establish the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund. The winner of the Kobzar™ Literary Award is Janice Kulyk Keefer The Ladies’ Lending Library and shortlisted are Marusya Bociurkiw for Comfort Food for Break-ups: The Memoir of a Hungry Girl; Roman Paul Fodchuk for Zhorna: Material Culture of the Ukrainian Pioneers and Lisa Grekul for Leaving Shadows: Literature in English by Canada’s Ukrainians. The first Night of Taras Fundraiser is held in Winnipeg MB to promote the Kobzar™ Literary Award and to build the Kobzar™ Literary Award Designated Fund. The Winnipeg Free Press receives the John Syrnick Award for Journalism for their coverage on the Holodomor. The Foundation goes on-line with credit card donations and a Facebook page. The Kobzar™ Literary Award is presented to Randall Maggs for Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems. Shortlisted are Elizabeth Bachinsky’s God of Missed Connection; Paul Laverdure’s Redemption and Ritual: the Eastern – Rite Redemptorists of North America, 1906-2006 and Murray Andrew Pura’s Zo.
2011	The Foundation celebrates the 10th anniversary of its bookmark campaign by distributing over 32,000 bookmarks to Ukrainian Canadian youth across Canada. Frederick Laval from the La Presse receives the John Syrnick Award for Journalism.
2012	Kobzar™ Literary Award is presented to Shandi Mitchell for Under this Unbroken Sky. Shortlisted are Larissa Andrusyshyn’s Mammoth; Myrna Kostash’s Prodigal Daughter: A Journey to Byzantium; Myroslav Shkandrij’s Jew in Ukrainian Literature: Representation and Identity and Rhea Tregebov’s The Knife Sharpener’s Bell.
2013	The Board of Directors approves a new logo for the Foundation. The Globe and Mail articles written by Brian Bonner, Hon. Derek Fraser, John Doyle and John Stackhouse receive the John Syrnick Award for Journalism.
2014	Kobzar™ Literary Award is presented to Diane Flacks, playwright, in collaboration with Andrey Tarasiuk and Luba Goy for the play Luba, Simply Luba. Shortlisted are Erin Moure’s The Unmemntioable, Michael Mucz’s Baba’s Kitchen, Barbara Sapergia’s Blood and Salt, and Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch for Making Bombs for Hitler.
2015	Shevchenko Foundation celebrates its 50th anniversary in Nanaimo, BC, Thunder Bay, ON, Halifax, NS, and other centres in Canada. As an anniversary project, Shevchenko Foundation releases a 3-disc compilation CD – Golden Harvest: A Musical Celebration of Ukrainian Canadiana, featuring songs and music by artists who had received funding from the Foundation over the years.
2016	Kobzar™ Literary Award is presented to Maurice Mierau for Detachment: An Adoption Memoir. Shortlisted are Grant Buday’s The Delusionist, Orest T. Martynowych’s The Showman and the Ukrainian Cause: Folk Dance, Film, and the Life of Vasile Avramenko, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch’s Underground Solider, and Stacey Zembrzycki’s According to Baba: A Collaborative Oral History of Sudbury’s Ukrainian Community. Shevchenko Foundation launches its $20 million dollar Our Legacy Our Tomorrow Capital Campaign in Toronto (September, 2015) and Winnipeg (February, 2016).
2017	The Shevchenko Foundation launches its redesigned and mobile-friendly website. The Our Legacy Our Tomorrow Capital Campaign continues to gain momentum with informational evenings in Saskatoon, Edmonton and Winnipeg.
2018	Kobzar™ Literary Award is presented to Lisa Grekul and Lindy Ledahowski, editors for Unbound: Ukrainian Canadians Writing Home
2019	Theatre artist Andrew Kushnir of Toronto receives the inaugural awarding of the new REACH Mentorship/Residency for the Arts. Fifty students from Ukraine take part in the Mitacs Global Link Internship program, a component of the newly established Shevchenko Foundation Future Leaders Fund.
2020	The Board of Directors appoints David Chucko as Chair of the Investment Committee and welcomes Bohdana Bashuk as the new Executive Director. The Kobzar™ Book Award is presented to Laisha Rosnau for Our Familiar Hunger. Playwright Liana Makuch receives the 2020 REACH Mentorship/Residency for the Arts Award. Tanya Berezuk receives the inaugural Shevchenko Foundation Emerging Writers Short Prose Competition.
2021	The Shevchenko Foundation initiates special support measures for grant applicants in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Illustrator Anna Bucciarelli, soprano Natalya Gennadi and vocalist Stacey Yerofeyeva share the 2021 REACH Mentorship/ Residency for the Arts Awards. Adrian Lysenko receives the Shevchenko Foundation Emerging Writers Short Prose Competition. Boris Balan is appointed President.
2022	In response to the unprovoked war by Russia against Ukraine, the Shevchenko Foundation introduced special grants designed to assist the community in welcoming Ukrainians to Canada displaced by the war. Illustrator Veronica Post won the 2022 REACH Mentorship/Residency for the Arts Award. Matthew Kruchak won the Emerging Writers Short Prose Competition. The KOBZAR Book Award was presented to Maria Reva for Good Citizens Need Not Fear during a virtual ceremony.