The Du Val Foundation

The Du Val Foundation was set up in 1933 to honour and continue the legacy of Knox’s long time pastor, Dr. Frederic Beale Du Val, the minister who laid the corner stone on the current Knox building.

Described by the Winnipeg Free Press as a “pint-sized zealot with a hard glinting eye and luxuriant chin whiskers,” there was no stopping Du Val. He was an indomitable social campaigner, vigilant against social ills and exploitation, vigilant as well in his desire to see the vision of a just and fair society. The Church was not a place for the comfortable to lounge, it was a centre of learning, compassion, a place of activism and engagement with the community.

When Justice Paul Guyot Du Val established the fund in honour of his father, he and others could see that with the move of more affluent people to the suburbs and the sift of the demographics in the inner city there would come a time when the congregation would be overburdened with the expense of maintaining such a grand building and its ministry would become impossible. 

 Donations can be made by cheque to:

The Winnipeg Foundation

for the Du Val Foundation Fund

OR

Du Val Foundation Community Fund

1350 – One Lombard St.
Winnipeg, R3B 0X3

Or you can make your donation online at: www.wpgfdn.org

With a purpose, “to maintain Knox Church as a centre of Christian teaching and to provide welfare work in the Central Park community” it was in keeping with the senior Du Val’s vision.The earnings from the Du Val fund are an important source of income for Knox.  The Foundation provides strong financial support for programs and personnel and funds to maintain the building, enabling the congregation to continue to bear witness and provide a vital resource to the Central Park neighbourhood.

In 2012 oversight of the financial portfolio of the fund was transferred to The Winnipeg Foundation. With the transfer a new fund was also established, The Du Val Foundation Community Fund, which receives additional funding from the Winnipeg Foundation in its initial phase.

The Du Val Foundation is a registered charitable foundation and its volunteer Board of Directors are committed to the future of Knox United Church in Winnipeg’s Central Park and the broader community. Invested funds are managed by The Winnipeg Foundation.

To believe in the future requires commitment—and one way to express that commitment is financially.

We believe there is something unique about Knox, both the church itself and the hub of services and organizations that operate in partnership with Knox.

We respectfully request that you consider either of the Du Val Foundation funds in your future financial plans.