Supporting an active, vibrant, and healthy community.
Our donations support projects that promote active lifestyles, enhance education opportunities, and nurture strong connections within our community. These programs and initiatives make the Bow Valley a better place for people to live, raise families, and enjoy mountain life.
We will fund initiatives that:
• Create opportunities to embrace our mountain culture, education, and recreation
• Make our community a positive place to build a career, live, and raise a family
• Positively impact our social service and community networks
• Improve the visitor experience
• Enhance infrastructure to beautify public areas and promote active transportation.
Our Impact
Since 2013, the Wim and Nancy Pauw Foundation has invested over $14,000,000
in the Bow Valley communities.
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This shoulder season, try a new sport with your Pauw Pass 🏓 Whether it’s pickleball, shinny or yoga, your Pauw Pass provides you with access to unlimited drop-in activities with the @banfftown at a reduced cost.
The Town of Banff also offers “try-it” programs for activities like squash, cross-country skiing, and netball. Stay active and take advantage of all our community has to offer.
“I was inspired to start Soul of Miistaki by the lack of representation in outdoor spaces and by the experiences the mountains have given me,” says Cassie Ayoungman (@cass.aym), Niitsitapi climber, paramedic and founder of @soul.of.miistaki.
We talked to Cassie about the work of Soul of Miistaki, a non-profit that creates space for Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) individuals to connect with the land through outdoor activities like climbing, biking, and skiing 🧗🏾♀️
Cassie shared more about her vision for the organization and the Wim & Nancy Pauw Foundation’s support. Read the full story in our bio / stories.
Today is #TakeMeOutsideDay—a day of virtual and in-person events to encourage educators to take their learners outside of the classroom. Over half a million educators and students across North America will spend at least 1 hour outside today, learning, playing, and exploring.
We`re pleased to renew our ongoing commitment @take.me.outside to help facilitate workshops, speakers, and events for outdoor education. They`re helping kids and adults everywhere foster a greater connection to nature 🌳🌊
📸 École Motre Dame des Monts, @seaoutdooreducation, @banffchildcarecentre_
It’s great to see the @banff.skating.club take to the ice with their learn-to-skate class. With a grant from the True Sport Youth Fund, they debuted a new Community Skate Bank, allowing families to borrow skates free of charge and trade them in as children grow ⛸️
Dagny Dubois, President of the @banff.skating.club, shared her excitement: "Using our True Sport grant we were able to buy and sharpen 9 brand new pairs of skates and are in the midst of collecting second hand pairs from other places. Our Community Skate Bank lends out skates free of charge and parents can trade in when children need to size up. This means the sport of skating becomes more accessible to families and we can introduce kids to the love of skating! We have so much gratitude for all the community support that made this happen ♥️"
Learn more about the True Sport Youth Fund at the link in our stories.
Welcome to Banff, outdoor educators ✏️ @take.me.outside’s Outdoor Learning Leadership Conference is happening now through Saturday at the @banffcentre.
The conference brings together 250 school system leaders and administrators for professional development in outdoor learning.
We’re always proud to support Take Me Outside. Their innovative approach to education helps Canadian teachers bring their students outside, creating more resilient, environmentally conscious, and thoughtful adults.
📸 @take.me.outside
Exploring the Bow Valley’s climbing routes must be both adventurous and safe. That’s why we are supporting the Association of Bow Valley Area Rockclimbers (TABVAR) with a $6,000 donation 🧗
From sport and rock climbs to mixed rock and ice routes, TABVAR’s work ensures that climbers can experience the Rockies safely while exploring the backcountry throughout the Bow Valley. Our support will help maintain and repair fixed hardware, improve trails, and camouflage anchors to blend with the environment.
📸 TABVAR
We’re excited to announce that the Wim and Nancy Pauw Foundation is supporting Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Academy in Canmore with a $36,000 donation 🏫
This is our first donation to the school, helping reduce barriers, lower fees, and ensuring all students have access to mountain recreation. It reflects our ongoing dedication to enhancing the education experience across the Bow Valley.
This milestone means we now support outdoor pursuits and outdoor learning at all schools in the region. Investing in local education is investing in the future, and we’re pleased to continue building opportunities for every student to thrive 🌟
📸 Rocky Mountain Outlook
Howl (@experiencehowl) continues to lead with innovation in education, hosting unique learning experiences for Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth across Canada 🐺
Their Harvesting Spirit program for ages 17-35 teaches participants about Indigenous food sovereignty, learning Stoney Nakoda values, beliefs, traditional and contemporary food processes and practices.
We partnered with Howl last year to support their experiential education for young people.
#EducationMonth
