CODE Foundation

The CODE Foundation, established in 1992, is an endowment fund that manages bequests and other planned gifts. It donates its investment income annually to CODE for the purposes of advancing CODE’s charitable mission.

AN ENTREPRENEURIAL HISTORY

CODE’s mission benefits from a unique relationship as the sole beneficiary of the CODE Foundation. This relationship is the result of deliberate decisions made decades ago to diversify revenue and build financial assets to support CODE’s work over the long term.

Long before social entrepreneurship became a common part of Canada’s charitable lexicon, CODE was breaking new ground by exploring market-based activity to expand its income.

In 1987, under the leadership of Robert Dyck, CODE established a separately incorporated for-profit company, CODE Inc. The company became a leading logistics and procurement agency specializing in materials required for voter registration and elections in the Global South.

Over nearly three decades, CODE Inc. directed millions of dollars in business earnings to CODE and to the CODE Foundation, which was established in 1992 to hold these assets in trust and sustain CODE’s mission over the long term.

Although the assets of CODE Inc. were liquidated and portions sold to another company in 2017, CODE’s mission continues to benefit from this legacy through an annual grant. These grants offset CODE’s fundraising expenses and a significant portion of operational costs, allowing a greater share of donor contributions to be directed toward programming.

More than 25 years ago, the Tides Canada Foundation described CODE as “one of Canada’s biggest success stories in enterprising non-profits.” While the context in which charities operate has evolved, the legacy of this enterprising approach continues to serve CODE’s mission today.