Supporting an active, vibrant, and healthy community.
Our donations support projects that promote active lifestyles, enhance education opportunities, and nurture strong connections within our community. These programs and initiatives make the Bow Valley a better place for people to live, raise families, and enjoy mountain life.
We will fund initiatives that:
• Create opportunities to embrace our mountain culture, education, and recreation
• Make our community a positive place to build a career, live, and raise a family
• Positively impact our social service and community networks
• Improve the visitor experience
• Enhance infrastructure to beautify public areas and promote active transportation.
Our Impact
Since 2013, the Wim and Nancy Pauw Foundation has invested over $23,775,000
in the Bow Valley communities.
Follow us on Instagram
Change inside begins outside 🍂
That’s the philosophy behind @spiritnorthxc, an organization using the power of sport, play, and connection to the land to help Indigenous youth discover their potential.
Right here in the Bow Valley, about 380 young people are participating in Spirit North programs.
From mountain biking and cross-country skiing to paddling, hiking, and traditional games, these experiences are about more than learning a new sport. They build confidence, belonging, cultural connection, and a sense of new possibilities 🚴♀️
The Wim & Nancy Pauw Foundation has donated $340,000 to Spirit North since 2022 and will continue that support with $100,000 per year for the next three years, helping bring more of these experiences to Indigenous youth in our communities.
Winter sport season is underway across the Bow Valley! ❄️
From hockey and figure skating to speed skating, Nordic skiing, climbing, gymnastics, swimming, squash and volleyball, local kids are getting back to the sports they love.
This year, the True Sport Youth Fund is supporting local sport and recreation organizations with funding for equipment, coaching, programming and financial assistance, helping make it easier for more children and youth to participate ⛸️
We’re proud to help give young people chance to get active, build skills, make friends, and have fun all winter long.
📸 @canmoremha @banff.skating.club @banffcanmorespeedskating
Take Me Outside Day is today, October 21! 🌲
It’s a day to celebrate outdoor learning and a simple idea we believe strongly in: kids benefit from spending time outside.
Here in the Bow Valley, we’re fortunate to have an incredible outdoor classroom right outside our doors. Whether it’s a walk, a bike ride, time on the trails or simply learning outside, every opportunity to get outdoors can help young people move, explore, connect and learn 📚
Today, let’s get outside.
📸 Take Me Outside
2026 TMO Week participant Sarah Pelletier and her second-grade class
2025 TMO Day participant from Bayview Glen
The Bow Valley Mountain Bike Alliance (@bvmba_1993) has a new home for the equipment and tools that help keep Banff trails in great riding shape! The group is now busy outfitting its new storage facility 🔨
BVMBA is a volunteer-driven organization dedicated to maintaining and improving mountain biking opportunities in the Banff area. From trail maintenance and working with Parks Canada on trail access to bike-focused community events, BVMBA volunteers make a difference year-round 🚵
Our $75,000 donation is helping support these dedicated volunteers with the tools and space they need to keep Bow Valley trails accessible and enjoyable for everyone.
Questions or interest in volunteering with the crew? Email bvmba1993@gmail.com
Want to get out, get active, or try something new this fall? 🍂
New recreation sessions are here, and your Pauw Pass gives you unlimited access to drop-in activities at Banff recreation facilities.
Go swimming or skating, play shinny hockey or pickleball, take a yoga class, or check out youth and adult drop-in programs ⛹🏻♀️
Get active, have fun, and meet new people. Renew your Pauw Pass today at the Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre.
We are proud to donate $125,000 to @stoneyedauthority to support amazing learning opportunities for students at Mînî Thnî.
Our donation helped purchase two new vans for @seaoutdooreducation program, making it easier for more students to participate in land-based experiences throughout the Bow Valley and beyond 🏔️
The vans are already rolling into a busy fall. Grade 9 students from @minithnicommschool are climbing at Yamnuska, while high school students are completing Wilderness First Aid certification with Raven Rescue for the third year in a row.
These experiences encourage students to step outside their comfort zones, build confidence, and strengthen relationships on the land 🍂
The Wim & Nancy Pauw Foundation is proud to support land-based learning that helps shape future leaders and stewards.
Grade 8 students from Banff, Canmore, and Exshaw started the school year by getting outdoors, getting to know one another, and caring for the landscape around them 🏔️
Each Grade 8 class was paired with a partner class from another Bow Valley school. Together, they rolled up their sleeves alongside @friendsofkananaskis to remove dogwood at Willow Rock Campground. The work helps reduce a natural bear attractant in the busy campground.
Then, the partner classes took their teamwork to the water, paddling voyageur canoes together at Seebe Dam 🛶
It was the beginning of a year-long outdoor leadership program designed to build and strengthen community across the Bow Valley. The partner classes will reunite for GPS challenge hikes and a June overnight experience in partnership with Tim Horton Children’s Ranch.
Along the way, students will build skills, confidence, and a greater sense of responsibility for the world around them.
📸 @outdoor_learning_centre, @friendsofkananaskis
The countdown is on!
@take.me.outside Week is about a month away, running October 19 to 23, with Take Me Outside Day at the heart of the celebration on Wednesday, October 21.
In the Bow Valley, learning outdoors happens throughout the school year. From climbing and canoeing to conservation projects, wilderness first aid, and land-based learning, students and teachers have many opportunities to take the classroom outdoors 🌲
These experiences build curiosity, creativity, and confidence and help young people stay active and strengthen their connections with nature, community, and place.
Our mandate includes enhancing education opportunities and creating more ways for young people to embrace our mountain culture. We are proud to support local schools and community partners that make outdoor learning part of the education journey 🌱
