“Therefore I declare that the 15^th day of November in each and every year shall be recognized throughout Canada as National Philanthropy Day”, from the office of Hon. James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage.

Philanthropy is a difficult word to pronounce, hard to understand and hard to explain. The word has different meanings for different people, at different life stages and depends on your context. Stories of ‘philanthropy in action’ can range from international to local, from L’Arche to The Banff Clubhouse; from Right to Play to Everybody gets to Ski. For The Banff Community Foundation, acting as a catalyst for ‘the philanthropic sector’ is our work. In celebration of National Philanthropy Day, we invite you to share your story or photo illustrating “Philanthropy in action”. Email it to banffcf@shaw.ca .

September 2008. Local ski legend Thomas Grandi helped to organize the 350.org bike fest. Here, Thomas is holding his daughter Aria. Nurturing future generations to 'give back' and to care about the environment in support of our community demonstrates philanthropic leadership.