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Catherine Donnelly Foundation
The Catherine Donnelly Foundation was established in 2003 to steward the financial legacy of the Sisters of Service, a community of Catholic women religious...
Catherine Donnelly Foundation
The Catherine Donnelly Foundation was established in 2003 to steward the financial legacy of the Sisters of Service, a community of Catholic women religious founded by Catherine Donnelly in 1922. Executive Director Claire Barcik and Director of Finance Yousuf Najmee run day-to-day operations from Toronto, overseeing a mandate that fuses traditional granting with catalytic investing. The foundation channels its resources into three programmatic pillars: access to housing, environmental action, and civic engagement for social justice. Strategy and deployment operate on a dual track. The foundation makes grants to Canadian nonprofits and simultaneously runs an impact investment portfolio that includes direct venture capital commitments. Sectors targeted through direct investment span affordable housing technology, environmental solutions, and social-purpose ventures. The investment committee, chaired by Research Capital Corp. portfolio manager Sucheta Rajagopal, guides allocation decisions. The foundation is a signatory to Divest-Invest Philanthropy, which means it explicitly screens out fossil-fuel holdings and seeks opportunities in climate solutions across Canada. Team size and total deployment figures are not publicly disclosed. The foundation maintains active memberships in the Responsible Investment Association, Philanthropic Foundations Canada, and the Ceres investor network. These affiliations signal a preference for collaborative due diligence and pooled-investor influence rather than operating as an isolated allocator. Investment committee leadership sits with an active external portfolio manager, a structure that imports public-market discipline into a private foundation's asset-liability thinking. Structurally, the foundation operates as a direct investor and grantmaker hybrid — it does not solicit external capital nor function as a multi-family office. The enduring link to the Sisters of Service provides a distinct governance layer: the foundation’s granting priorities must remain faithful to the order’s original mission of service to the poor, creating an institutional conscience that shapes both program-related investments and market-rate portfolio construction.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
2003
Location
Region
North America
Country
Canada
City
Toronto
Corporate office
Toronto, ON, Canada
Principals
Claire Barcik
Executive Director
Yousuf Najmee
Director of Finance and Investment
Sucheta Rajagopal
Chair of the Investment Committee
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at the Catherine Donnelly Foundation?
The foundation’s Investment Committee is chaired by Sucheta Rajagopal, who is also a Portfolio Manager at Research Capital Corp. Day-to-day finance and investment operations are led by Director of Finance and Investment Yousuf Najmee. Executive Director Claire Barcik oversees the foundation’s overall strategy, ensuring the investment portfolio aligns with its programmatic goals in housing, the environment, and civic engagement.
How does the foundation separate its grantmaking from its impact investments?
The foundation operates a dual-track model. Program-related grants go directly to Canadian nonprofits working on housing, the environment, and social justice. Separately, an impact investment portfolio deploys capital into venture-stage companies and climate solutions. The investment committee manages market-rate and below-market-rate allocations while the program team stewards grant relationships, maintaining a structural firewall between philanthropic obligation and return-seeking capital.
Is the Catherine Donnelly Foundation a signatory to fossil-fuel divestment commitments?
Yes. The foundation is a signatory to Divest-Invest Philanthropy, pledging to divest from fossil fuels and to invest in climate solutions. It is also an active member of Ceres, the sustainability-focused investor network, reinforcing its posture of screening out carbon-intensive holdings across the portfolio.
What is the foundation's connection to the Sisters of Service?
The Catherine Donnelly Foundation was created in 2003 as the financial and human legacy of the Sisters of Service, a community of Catholic women religious founded by Catherine Donnelly in 1922. The foundation’s mandate to serve the underserved and uphold a tradition of service, innovation, and commitment to the poor is a direct continuation of the order’s century-old mission.
Does the Catherine Donnelly Foundation accept external investor capital?
No. The foundation is a single-purpose asset owner endowed with the legacy capital of the Sisters of Service. It does not function as a multi-family office, does not raise funds, and does not offer co-investment opportunities to outside limited partners. All investment activity serves the foundation’s own balance sheet and programmatic objectives.
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