Established in 1994, the Calgary Stampede Foundation runs education, music, and performing arts programs for Albertan youth to connect them with their western heritage. The Foundation grants scholarships to young adults for post-secondary education and gives awards to youth for their achievements in the performing arts. Together with the Calgary Stampede, the Foundation has also made numerous investments to restore and operate historic parks and buildings in Calgary in recent years.

The Calgary Stampede Foundation runs numerous youth programs. Its Calgary Stampede Showband (39% of program costs in F2020) is comprised of 157 students ages 16 to 21 from Calgary. The Showband program offers youth diverse opportunities to develop their performance, musicianship, and leadership skills. In 2019, the Showband performed 155 times around the world. The Calgary Stampede Showriders program develops youth within the equestrian community through performances, teamwork, and leadership.

The Foundation’s Young Canadians School of Performing Arts (35% of program costs in F2020) provides professional training to 131 dedicated Calgary youth each year who want to pursue dance, singing, and/or drama. In F2019, the Foundation reports the program put on 20 performances and each student received an average of 463 hours of training.

The Foundation’s third core youth program is the Stampede School education program (12% of program costs in F2020). The Stampede School is a week-long hands-on educational experience for students in grades 1 to 12 that relocates their classroom to Stampede Park. Students are surrounded by artifacts, unique cultures, and guest speakers and make connections to history, agriculture, and western heritage. The 2019 Youth Achievement Annual Report notes that the program held 24 classes and taught 440 students.

Other youth programs that are run by the Calgary Stampede Foundation include the OH Ranch Education program (4% of program costs), Indigenous Youth Programming, and 4-H programs. The Foundation also granted scholarships to students in Alberta in F2020, worth a total of $83k (8% of program costs).

The Calgary Stampede Foundation received donations of $3.4m in F2020. Administrative costs are 7% of revenues and fundraising costs are 6% of donations. For every dollar donated to the charity, 86 cents goes towards its programs, which falls within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. The Foundation has total funding reserves of $34.5m, including $1.8m of donor-endowed funds. Excluding the Foundation’s donor-endowed funds, the Foundation can cover annual grants and program costs for nearly 30 years, based on 2020 spending, or for almost 14 years, based on average program spending over the past three years. This does not indicate a need for donations.

The former CEO of the Calgary Stampede, Warren Connell, has reported that the Foundation takes a cautious approach to saving money for the construction of new projects.* The Foundation often waits until it has enough money to pay for the entire project before it starts building. It is important to note that included in the Foundation’s funding reserves is $31.0m worth of investments which are restricted in the Capital Fund to pay for the future construction of new buildings and facilities.

Ci has sent this profile update to the Calgary Stampede Foundation for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Update on July 20, 2021, by Shira Wine.