UPDATE: At least five employees left Suncor Energy Foundation last fall

Future of Good has now confirmed that at least six Suncor Energy Foundation (SEF) employees have parted ways with the organization over the last 12 months, five of them in the fall and one in January 2024.

LinkedIn profiles belonging to those employees indicate most of the long-time staff members left late last fall, although the circumstances of those departures have not been made clear.

“At the end of November 2024, my time with Suncor came to an end,” wrote one former SEF employee Tuesday. “In my nearly 10 years with the company and the Suncor Energy Foundation, I worked with and learned from an amazing team! They were the best of the best.”

An update sent to the foundation’s “partners, colleagues, and friends” last September lists seven SEF team members working with SEF, five of whom are no longer employed by the foundation.

Many of the organization’s grant recipients are now concerned about the foundation’s future.

A member of the foundation’s team left the organization last January, around the same time SEF sent past grant recipients an email stating that Suncor was making changes to “ensure organizational resiliency.”

That email also indicated the foundation planned to reduce the number of organizations it supported.

“If we’re honest with ourselves, we know SEF has a habit of trying to do too much,” it read. “When spread too thinly, we lose the ability to connect with and build bridges between Suncor and community.” 

Future of Good has spoken with several organizations whose requests for funding were denied by SEF over the last 11 months. Some of these organizations had years-long relationships with the foundation and relied on its contributions for core funding.

None of the organizations were prepared to speak publicly on the issue for fear that doing so could jeopardize future funding opportunities.

However, all expressed frustration at the potential loss of both funding and long-time community liaisons.

“These were very thoughtful, well-considered people we had partnered with for many, many years,” said one affected executive director, who said the changes represent a loss of institutional and community knowledge. 

An email obtained by Future of Good suggests Suncor’s external affairs department—which also handles government and investor relations and external communications—now oversees SEF.

When asked about restructuring last December, a Suncor spokesperson replied that the foundation would continue to be “driven by the same number of dedicated staff that the organization has had in place throughout the organization’s history.”

“The Suncor Energy Foundation continues normal operations and plans for an equivalent or higher level of funding support in the communities in which we operate in 2025 and beyond,” they wrote in an emailed response.

Since 1998, the foundation has disbursed $284 million to various charities, including $24 million in its most recent fiscal year. Last month, it made more than 50 grants to organizations across Canada.

The foundation maintains its grantmaking will continue to focus on Indigenous-led solutions, equity, and reconciliation, as well as community-focused initiatives, particularly those geared “toward sustainable social and environmental well-being.”

The foundation’s fall newsletter also references increased support for post-secondary initiatives.

In 2023 and 2024, SEF funded a social finance fellowship at Future of Good.