Rockcliffe Park Foundation: What We Fund

Through its grant program the Rockcliffe Park Foundation supports programs and initiatives that contribute to the quality of life of Rockcliffe residents and that would not otherwise be available in our community.  The Foundation supports strategies that honour the past, fund the present, invest in the future.

The mandate of the Foundation is to provide funds in three core areas:  community, heritage, and environment.

Community

 “Promotion of a Sense of Community”

The Rockcliffe Park Foundation supports a vibrant community, bringing neighbours together in both new and traditional ways. The Foundation works primarily with the Rockcliffe Park Residents Association (RPRA) by providing the grants for the community events, programs and initiatives run by the RPRA, including but not limited to:

• Free community events such as the popular Rockcliffe Speakers Program and Children’s Holiday Party at our Community Hall; and

• Our neighbourhood newsletter, The Rockcliffe News, our Rockcliffe Park Foundation and RPRA websites, and Rockcliffe publications such as the Walking Tour of Rockcliffe, and Rockcliffe A to Z.

Foundation grants also provide the Rockcliffe share of the maintenance of the soccer field which is used extensively by our community’s youth league and public school.

Heritage

 “Preservation of the heritage character of Rockcliffe”

The heritage of Rockcliffe refers not only to the traditional treed canopy, greenspaces and landscape of its properties and its historic homes, but also to the remarkable history of Rockcliffe itself. Dating from 1864, Rockcliffe is among the earliest subdivisions in Canada planned entirely as a residential park. Situated in the nation’s capital, the history of its residents, including politicians, civil servants, and diplomats, is part of the history of Canada and it is the mandate of the Rockcliffe Park Foundation to support and celebrate this. RPRA initiatives and community projects that the Foundation have supported include but are not limited to:

• Supporting the preservation of Rockcliffe’s Heritage Conservation District designation; 

• Continued work on the Heritage Management Plan; 

• The development and launch of new Heritage Walks of Rockcliffe, and,

• The installation of  heritage plaques.

In 1998, in order to chronicle and celebrate the history of Rockcliffe, the Foundation undertook a book project as a means to build community awareness. Rockcliffe Park: A History of the Village, by Martha Edmond, a Village resident, was published in 2005 and it is available for purchase at our local bookstore, Books on Beechwood.

In 2021, the Foundation and City Council endorsed an application by the Rockcliffe Park Residents Association to the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada that ultimately resulted in the Government of Canada designating Rockcliffe a National Historic Site of Canada in May 2024.

Environment

 “Conservation of our Environment”

Rockcliffe is a uniquely beautiful setting which includes forested areas, water spaces and elegant gardens. The Rockcliffe Park Foundation funds programs that maintain these communal spaces that are needed now more than ever. The RPRA programs and initiatives the Foundation have supported include but are not limited to:

• Maintenance of Jubilee Lawn and Garden;

• Pond water-testing and environmental monitoring at the Pond, a summer swimming spot; and,

• Tree plantings on shared spaces.