CWF Profile
Founded in 1931, the Canadian Writers’ Foundation is a registered charity
with only
one aim—to help Canada’s writers when they fall on hard times.
It’s not a job that anyone
wants to think about, and it’s not very glamorous, but Pierre Berton—who
served on the
Foundation’s board for more than twenty years—considered it “essential
to the literary well-being
of Canada.”
E.J. Pratt, Alfred Desrochers, Milton Acorn, Roger Brien, Dorothy Livesay,
Norman
Levine—these are only a few of the distinguished men and women who have
been forced to
turn to the Foundation for help. Why? Because literary and artistic success
don’t necessarily
lead to economic success. Fame, unfortunately, doesn’t pay bills.
And although many
government programs help writers during their working lives, none offer them
aid when
they no longer can…because they’re too old or too sick, or have
been struck down by accident.
Here’s where the Foundation steps in. And its modest grants are often
all that separate
humiliation from dignity, misery from decency.
Spread out across the country, the Foundation’s directors are
all volunteers, and
many are writers themselves. But to carry on their work, they need your help,
and the help of
everyone who truly loves Canadian literature. If you would like to make a donation—or
know
of a Canadian writer who might need the Foundation—please contact us.
Updated June 18, 2008
