TD FEF is the Bank’s national
registered charitable
foundation. For 35 years, TD FEF
has been funding community-led
projects that engage people in
environmental actions to help
enhance and protect local green
spaces across Canada.
In the early 1980s, I was a
branch manager in Stoney Creek,
Ontario. Customers would come in
who were working on local
projects, looking for funding to
support these projects. I felt
bad because at the time, the
bank had no mechanism to support
these type of requests. Canada
Trust, in 1990, established an
environmental foundation. This
foundation now has become the TD
Friends of the Environment
Foundation.
TD FEF funds charitable
projects that provide people
with environmental education and
hands-on stewardship activities
such as outdoor classrooms,
urban greening and citizen
science projects, to help enhance
parks, natural spaces, and
community gardens.
Many Canadians have likely spent
time in a green space or project
near their home that’s been
supported by TD FEF.
One of the great things about
the Foundation is that because
the bank looks after all the
administration costs, all of the
funds donated to the Foundation
can go directly back to local
environmental projects.
Many times, when I’ve been out
with my family, we’ve come
across a sign and I’ve said to
my wife, “Remember when we funded
this through the Foundation?”
I’m a wildlife biologist, and
I’ve worked in the conservation
field my whole career. I also
sit as a volunteer with our
local TD FEF advisory board. One
of the things that’s always
really impressed me about the TD
FEF review process is how
thoughtful, careful and
considerate the discussions are.
It makes me feel really good to
be part of that process.
As co-founder of Friends of the
Environment Foundation, it was
an absolute honour to work with
Dr. Roberta Bondar, who was one
of FEF’s first board chairs. After
returning from space, Dr. Bondar
did a speaking tour to promote
the Foundation. Adults and
children alike were in absolute
awe. Dr. Bondar’s message was
clear regarding the importance
of looking after mother earth.
I work for the Edmonton Area
Land Trust, a small organization
that receives many grants from
TD FEF over the past almost 15
years. I find the grant
application and reporting
process very simple and
accessible. That’s really
important for small
organizations like mine.
TD FEF supported many of our early
school education programs. We
have kids who start those
programs at age six and seven.
They enjoyed them so much that
they later come back as junior
leaders or staff. While it may
not take much to help fund these
programs, the impact of the TD
FEF grants is huge in our
communities.
The average TD FEF grant last
year was about $8,000. We were
able to drive real change with
relatively small amounts of
money.
These projects are not about
hiring a tree planting firm to
plant 200 trees. They’re about
school groups and community
volunteers rolling up their
sleeves to do something
meaningful to them. And that
ownership matters.
Being with other people in
nature can help motivate us to
take more action. And that’s why
I believe that TD FEF is helping to
unite more people in the
environmental movement. The work
they fund not only benefits the
environment, but also benefits
youth development, mental and
physical health, and community
connection. TD
FEF’s flagship annual volunteer
program is TD Tree Days. I
brought my mama to a TD Tree Day
event, and she totally got the
importance. I grew up with a
food garden in my backyard. I
took it for granted that
everyone had access to green
space. But for millions of
Canadians in apartments or
condos, it can make a huge
difference to have community
gardens and local parks.
I was asked to speak at the
young chamber of commerce in
Montreal. I explained that we
were the first carbon neutral
bank that we had our own
foundation for more than 20
years at the time. People stood
up, applauded. So I was just
filled with pride
of everything that TD Friends
of the Environment Foundation
had been doing all along.
We only have one planet.
If we all just do a little,
like volunteering, donating,
or sharing what we know,
it all adds up.
