{"id":7318,"date":"2026-01-14T21:03:43","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T05:03:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianrugbyfoundation.ca\/?p=7318"},"modified":"2026-01-14T21:03:43","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T05:03:43","slug":"fletchers-fields-makes-another-ground-breaking-donation-to-the-canadian-rugby-foundation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianrugbyfoundation.ca\/index.php\/fletchers-fields-makes-another-ground-breaking-donation-to-the-canadian-rugby-foundation\/","title":{"rendered":"Fletcher’s Fields Makes Another Ground-breaking Donation to the Canadian Rugby Foundation"},"content":{"rendered":"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

TORONTO, ON and VICTORIA, BC – January 15, 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

On November 23, 2021, the Canadian Rugby Foundation (the Foundation) was pleased to accept a historic donation in the amount of $11.65 million from Fletcher\u2019s Field Limited (FFL), this following the sale of its Fletcher\u2019s Fields rugby facility in Markham, Ontario to the City of Markham.<\/p>\n

Now, just over four years later, the shareholders and Board of Fletcher\u2019s Fields have unanimously followed up their 2021 donation with an additional $7.7 million being added to the six existing FFL endowment funds. These funds will be donated in two tranches on January 15 and June 30, 2026. Including an additional $1.5 million that was donated to the Toronto Scottish FFL Fund in 2025, this will bring the total FFL contribution to the Foundation to $20.85 million.<\/p>\n

Fletcher\u2019s Fields was originally established in 1966 and served the needs of the rugby community in Ontario for 59 years.\u00a0 In that time, Fletcher\u2019s Fields hosted Canada versus England, Ireland, Wales, USA, Argentina and Japan, and many Canada and Ontario age-grade tournaments and championships.<\/p>\n

While Fletcher\u2019s Fields ceased operations in 2024 following its Summer Celebration of Rugby, its legacy continues on with great memories of game performances and social gatherings on and off the Fletcher\u2019s pitches, and through the subsequent performances of players, coaches, officials, and rugby administrators who met, played, and developed their skills at Fletcher\u2019s Fields through the years. And importantly, the proceeds of the property sale have created very significant endowment funds that will benefit current and future members of the 6 shareholders and through the Rugby Ontario RO Fund, and the Fletcher\u2019s Patrons Fund, clubs all across Ontario.<\/p>\n

The increase in the Foundation\u2019s assets, which will now exceed $30 million at the end of June will enable more initiatives with greater impact that support the growth of rugby in Ontario and across Canada.<\/p>\n

Said Steve Hall, the Fletcher\u2019s Fields Chair, \u201csince our original donation of $11.65 million to the Canadian Rugby Foundation, the wisdom of that decision has been repeatedly proven. Our involvement on the CRF Board, and the subsequent election of one of our Directors (Jerry Marriott)\u00a0 to the CRF Executive Committee and Investment Committee, has enabled Fletcher\u2019s Fields to observe how the Foundation operates, and the quality of its stewardship over the assets in the FFL endowment funds, and indeed all 90 of the Foundation\u2019s funds. That involvement has also helped shape the Foundation\u2019s strategy, and growing contributions to the growth and development of rugby in Ontario and more broadly, the entire country.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s because our trust in the Canadian Rugby Foundation has been so well earned, and our partnership with the leadership of the Foundation has been so productive, that the FFL Board and its shareholders unanimously supported the additional donations that complete the divestment of all funds from the sale of the Fletcher\u2019s Fields property\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Canadian Rugby Foundation is very appreciative of the Fletcher’s Field group for following up its historic 2021 donation with these 2025 and 2026 contributions to the Foundation, bringing its total donation to $20.85 million, arguably the largest combined gift to an athletic endowment in Canadian history.\u00a0 We are committed to continue to grow our endowment funds and assist the growth of grassroots rugby across Canada\u201d, said Mike Holmes, the Foundation\u2019s Chair.<\/p>\n

Added Jeff Chan, the Foundation\u2019s Chief Executive Officer, \u201cin addition to the oversight we provide to the 6 FFL funds, we continue to finance the Fletcher\u2019s Patrons Fund honouring the Fletcher\u2019s Field \u201cPatrons\u201d who in 1995-1996 helped finance major renovations to the clubhouse, pitches, and scoreboard, and grandstands at the property. The Patrons Fund now totals over $165,000 having grown from the Foundation\u2019s original $120,000 contribution, and its annual returns are directed by its FFL trustees towards new grassroots initiatives that will help develop rugby in the Province of Ontario\u201d.<\/p>\n

Fletcher\u2019s Fields Limited <\/strong><\/p>\n

There are six equal shareholders of FFL as follows: Aurora Barbarians Rugby Football Club Inc., Markham Irish Canadian Rugby Club, Rugby Ontario, The Nomads Rugby Football Club of Toronto Inc., The Toronto Saracens Rugby Football Club, and the Toronto Scottish Rugby Football Club.<\/p>\n

The four FFL-nominated Directors elected to the Foundation\u2019s Board of Directors are Jerry Marriott, Andrew Wright, David Butler, and most recently, Tim Matthews.<\/p>\n

Canadian Rugby Foundation <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Canadian Rugby Foundation, established in 2003, is a non-share capital corporation incorporated under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act and a registered charity under the Income Tax Act (Canada) designated as a public foundation (registration number 869159186). The mission of the Foundation is to contribute to the growth and development of rugby in Canada by \u201cInvesting in the Future of Canadian Rugby\u201d. To accomplish this, the Foundation creates and manages endowed funds or awards funds in partnership with local rugby clubs and Fund sponsoring individuals or organisations to promote and support rugby activities by making grants to and through qualified donees.<\/p>\n

For more information, please contact any of the below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the Canadian Rugby Foundation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Michael Holmes
\nChair
\nEmail: mike@phre.ca<\/p>\n

Jeff Chan
\nChief Executive Officer
\nEmail: jeffachan@gmail.com<\/td>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nFor Fletcher\u2019s Fields Limited<\/strong><\/p>\n

Steve Hall
\nChair, President
\nEmail: steve@spell-bound.ca<\/p>\n

Pat Hodgins
\nChief Executive Officer,
\nEmail: pjhodgins23@gmail.com<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 TORONTO, ON and VICTORIA, BC – January 15, 2026 On November 23, 2021, the Canadian Rugby Foundation (the Foundation) was pleased to accept a historic donation in the amount of $11.65 million from Fletcher\u2019s Field Limited (FFL), this following the sale of its Fletcher\u2019s Fields rugby facility in Markham, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[6,13,5],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianrugbyfoundation.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7318"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianrugbyfoundation.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianrugbyfoundation.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianrugbyfoundation.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianrugbyfoundation.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7318"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/canadianrugbyfoundation.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7329,"href":"https:\/\/canadianrugbyfoundation.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7318\/revisions\/7329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianrugbyfoundation.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianrugbyfoundation.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianrugbyfoundation.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}