Ivey Foundation sunsetting strategy: case study

Justification of research project

The Ivey Foundation, established in 1947, chose to relinquish its perpetuity in 2022. Its $100 million endowment will be progressively invested according to the 2014 priority of devoting its resources to the development of a zero greenhouse gas emissions economy. The foundation gave itself a five-year horizon to allocate all of its endowment funds to philanthropic causes by the end of 2027. This decision to contribute to an energy transition aims to develop a low-carbon Canadian economy.

The approach of opting for a planned dissolution of its activities is uncommon in the world of philanthropic foundations. However, this option has been slowly increasing over the past few decades. The most frequent cases are found in the United States, yet few Canadian foundations have made this decision. This results in an interest to better understand the choice made by the Ivey Foundation and to conduct a case study about its experience.

Research question

How to better understand the choice made by the Ivey Foundation and to conduct a case study about its experience?

Research purpose

Firstly, it is important to establish the rationale behind the double decision taken by the Ivey Foundation and to reconstruct its historical thread. A double decision consists of the choice to uphold its 2014 priority on supporting a zero-emission economy and the choice to limit, in 2022, the lifespan of the Foundation to a five-year horizon.

Secondly, for the philanthropic sector and for general knowledge, it is important to understand: the process of decision making leading to limit the lifespan of a foundation; the mechanics of dissolution; its impacts, both for the foundation’s staff and for the circle of organizations it funded; the advantages and disadvantages of such a strategy for a foundation, for fundees, for the philanthropic sector; and, the conditions to replicate.

Thirdly, it is interesting to situate the Foundation double strategy of “planned dissolution” and support for actions in favor of the development of a low-impact Canadian economy in relation to the new developmental approach related to post-growth economy.

Fourthly, the synthesis of knowledge surrounding the foundation’s planned dissolution experience is conducive to the development of a Canadian guide for any foundation wishing to opt for such an approach

Deuxièmement, pour le secteur philanthropique et pour la connaissance générale, il est important de comprendre : le processus de prise de décision conduisant à limiter la durée de vie d’une fondation ; les mécanismes de la dissolution ; son impact, tant pour le personnel de la fondation que pour le cercle des organisations qu’elle a financées ; les avantages et les inconvénients d’une telle stratégie pour une fondation, pour les bénéficiaires, pour le secteur philanthropique ; et, les conditions de reproduction.

Troisièmement, il est intéressant de situer la double stratégie de la Fondation, à savoir la « dissolution planifiée » et le soutien aux actions en faveur du développement d’une économie canadienne à faible impact, par rapport à la nouvelle approche de développement liée à l’économie post-croissance.

Quatrièmement, la synthèse des connaissances autour de l’expérience de dissolution programmée de la fondation est propice à l’élaboration d’un guide canadien pour toute fondation souhaitant opter pour une telle démarche

Research approach

1. Documentation: The realization of this first component will be based mainly on a literature review of scientific and grey literature.

• The “planned dissolution” approach: the aim is to situate the Ivey Foundation’s experience to disinvest its endowment in relation to fulfilling its cause.

• The choice to devote its resources to the energy transition: the aim is to situate this choice in relation to the different transition strategies underway.

2. Document the Ivey Foundation’s planned dissolution process:

• The completion of this second component will involve the collection of documentary data from the Foundation and semi-structured interviews with key people from the Foundation and its partners.

• The completion of this second component will be done in collaboration with a professional hired by the Foundation to produce a general public book on the process of planned dissolution of its philanthropic activities.

3. Practical and theoretical knowledge will be generated based on information gathered during a synthesis of knowledge and interviews.

• Theoretical knowledge will be conducive to the production of scientific deliverables.

• Collected practical knowledge about Ivey Foundation’s experience will inform a practical or even a strategic guide for Canadian foundations planning to disinvest their funds.