The Ottawa River gives us so much – it’s the lake you swim in, the river you drink from, the stream you fish from, the creek you paddle down, and the shoreline you walk along – this is how you gave back. 


You did it! The Big River Give SURPASSED our $5M goal!

Thanks to over 600 donors, the Big River Give, Ottawa Riverkeeper’s first-ever major fundraising campaign, raised over $5M for the river!
This is just the beginning — thanks to you, the current is moving, and there’s so much more ahead.

Thanks to Big River Give donors:

  • More than 10,000 students have been empowered to take action to protect their local creeks, streams, and rivers through River School’s hands-on environmental education workshops
  • Our science team and over 200 dedicated community-based monitoring volunteers are equipped with a state-of-the-art lab and new research tools, allowing us to expand monitoring and deepen our understanding of the river’s health
  • Ottawa Riverkeeper has a new home on the river at the NCC River House, connecting thousands of visitors each year to the river and inspiring curiosity and action through inclusive and free programming in a public-facing space we call the Learning Lab

Thanks to these donors and funders of The Big River Give:

Crabtree Foundation

Virtual donor wall:

$500,000+
  • Government of Canada – Canada Community Revitalization Fund
  • RBC Foundation
$250,000+
  • Crabtree Foundation
  • Ottawa Community Foundation – Canyon Foundation Fund
  • Taggart Parkes Foundation
$100,000+
  • Anonymous (1)
  • Barbara Crook & Dan Greenberg, The Danbe Foundation
  • Brigil
  • Desjardins Ottawa
  • Fiona McKean and Tobi Lütke
  • Five B Family Foundation
  • Franklin Holtforster & Birgitte Alting-Mees
  • Ontario Trillium Foundation
  • RAM Foundation Fund – OCF
  • WCPD Foundation
  • Westeinde Family
$50,000 – $99,999
  • Anonymous (1)
  • Barry Sims
  • Devcore Group
  • Lefebvre-Boulanger Family
  • Welch Community Foundation
$25,000 – $49,999
  • Britton Smith Foundation
  • Chawkers Foundation
  • CIBC
  • David McPhedran
  • Derek & Michaela Tokarski
  • Fondation Choquette-Legault
  • iA Financial Group
  • Jeff Clarke
  • Mark Carney & Diana Fox Carney
  • Mastercard
  • Michel & Denise Drouin
  • Nadine Martel and Jean-Michel Lemieux
  • Ottawa Community Foundation – Investment Readiness Program
  • Senators Community Foundation
$10,000 – $24,999
  • Anonymous (2)
  • Arthur & Audrey Cutton Foundation
  • Bloomberg Philanthropies
  • Brookfield Renewable Energy Group
  • Caroline Laroche and Jacob Uecker
  • Ed Brunet et Associés
  • Jeff & Tara-Leigh Mierins
  • Jeff Parkes & Gillian Rowan-Legg
  • The John and Pat McCutcheon Charitable Foundation
  • Kruyne Family Foundation
  • Labarge Charitable Foundation
  • MacEwen
  • Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group
  • Paul Hindo & Alison McClure
  • POP Inc. / Agence Pop
  • Robert Slater
  • TELUS
  • Weider Family
$5,000 – $9,999
  • Anonymous (3)
  • Caroline Phillips
  • Clark-Becker Family
  • Don Ross
  • Gary Zed & Liza Mrak
  • Jason Flick
  • JD Brule Equipment
  • Ledcor Projects Eastern Limited
  • Margot Sunter & Chris Cobb
  • Mark Zekulin & Linsey Sherman-Zekulin
  • Minto Foundation Inc.
  • Patrick Nadeau
  • Peter van Roon and Kathie Emms
  • Qube Properties Ltd.
  • The Gosling Foundation
  • Velma McColl
  • Zibi
$1,000 – $4,999
  • Anonymous (5)
  • Adrian Burns and Greg Kane
  • Brian Toller
  • Catherine Bélanger
  • Chloe & Stephen Hillier
  • Colin & Rachel Baxter
  • Colleen Mooney & Roger Martin
  • David Runnalls
  • David Coletto & Lisa Hansen
  • Rt Hon. David Johnston and Mrs. Sharon Johnston
  • EnerGlad Inc.
  • Enbridge Gas
  • Éric Déry
  • Geoff Green and Diz Glithero
  • James & Lara van Loon
  • Kristi Dean & Jim McConnery
  • MakeWay Foundation – Auerbach Family Fund
  • Mathieu Fleury
  • Meredith Brown
  • Michael & Diane van Aanhout
  • Pomerleau
  • Rolland Vaive & Jessica Tranquilly
  • The Scott Family
  • Scrivens & Son Ltd
  • Scrivens Family
  • Shirley Westeinde
$1 – $999

We would also like to recognize and thank the over 500 donors who contributed at this level.

Thanks to our Campaign Cabinet

A dedicated campaign cabinet helped bring Ottawa Riverkeeper’s vision for The Big River Give to life. Special thanks to:

  • Michel Drouin (Co-Chair)
  • Geoff Green (Co-Chair)
  • Colleen Westeinde (Co-Chair)
  • Kimberly Biggs
  • Nicolas Bouquet
  • Éric Déry
  • Charles Desjardins
  • Paul Drouin
  • Linda Dwyer-Commando
  • Mathieu Fleury
  • Velma McColl
  • Jeff Parkes
  • Caroline Phillips
  • Stéphane Poirier Defoy
  • Craig Stewart
  • Michaela Tokarski
  • Rolland Vaive
  • Peter Wall

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