About FMF / MCT

What are the FMF and MCT?

The Massawippi Foundation and Massawippi Trust started out as a series of conversations among area residents, about unprecedented land development around the lake. The concern was two-fold: how will development impact the local environment? How will it impact the local economy? The greatest fear was that ecological and aesthetic changes in key areas around the lake could have a catastrophic effect on the financial well being of all the Lake Massawippi communities. As a result of these conversations, the Massawippi Foundation (FMF) was established in 2010 and formally constituted in 2012, and the Massawippi Conservation Trust (MCT) was constituted in 2011.

The Foundation

The Massawippi Foundation (FMF) supports activities that benefit the people of the Massawippi Valley and that preserve the uniquely beautiful ecosystems of the area.

It is a community organization. Its’ assets are held by the Ottawa Community Foundation, a well-regarded community foundation that operates bilingually and handles both endowed funds and those donated for more immediate use. For a small fee (1.5%) of funds managed per annum), using the services of the Ottawa Community Foundation allows us to keep our administrative costs very low and to serve our constituency in French and English.

What does the Foundation Do?

FMF gives money to local community activities. New playgrounds, library renovations, arena projects, environmental reclamation, health and education initiatives, programs across the arts, and more. Any project or activity that benefits the residents of the Massawippi Valley may be eligible for a grant. Grants come from both annual earnings on our endowed funds and from unrestricted funds.  The Foundation’s primary granting is given to the MCT to support its conservation work.

Mission

  • Preserve the Massawippi Valley’s unique ecosystem;
  • Fundraise and principally, but not exclusively, financially support the Massawippi Conservation Trust in its operations;
  • Support community-based initiatives that are ecologically, socially, culturally and/or educationally valuable to the Massawippi Valley.

Vision

Within the next five years, the FMF will become a trusted and publicly recognized leader in the ecological stewardship of the Massawippi Valley. To be successful in its mission, the organization will be defined by the sustainability of its financial operations.

Board of Directors

Jane Meagher

Chair

Margot Graham Heyerhoff

President

Eric van Bochove

Alan Capes

Jonathan Elkas

Hamnett Hill

Nadia Martel

Martin Primeau

Claude Séguin

Jodi White

Thomas Wilcox

The Trust

The purpose of the Massawippi Conservation Trust (MCT) is to conserve the natural state of the land adjacent to Lake Massawippi and its tributaries, and to provide stewardship services for that land in perpetuity.

The MCT is a registered charity which accepts cash donations as well as land. Americans can support our work as well as benefit from a US tax receipt by donating through the American Friends of Canadian Conservation.

Our conservation efforts are focused at the moment on undeveloped land on the west slopes of Lake Massawippi, stretching over six kilometers and rising up to the high ridge. The government of Quebec has identified this particular area as containing old growth forest of significant interest. Biologists employed by the Appalachian Corridor Association have identified a wide variety of rare or threatened flora and fauna on these lands.

The Trust protects land adjacent to lake Massawippi and its tributaries by:
  • acquiring land through either purchase or donation
  • establishing easements or servitudes on land
  • helping landowners understand the ecological and tax benefits of limiting the types of activities permitted
  • helping landowners understand the potentially disastrous effect of over-development on the overall well-being of the Massawippi watershed.

Our Founding Trustees

All trustees are permanent or part-time residents of the Massawippi Valley: Jake Eberts (1941-2012) film producer, Margot Graham Heyerhoff, volunteer, Carmand Normand, businessman Norman Webster (1941-2021) , journalist and newspaper editor, Thomas Wilcox, former executive director, Baltimore Community Foundation. In memoriam: David Rittenhouse, our first Executive Director, university professor, died on August 16, 2011.

Current Trustees

Margot Graham Heyerhoff

Martin Primeau

Thomas Wilcox