Supporting Student Success | Schroeder Foundation  Donor Spotlight

Walter and Maria Schroeder have dedicated a significant portion of their lives to supporting Canadians through their philanthropic efforts. While their generosity has made a positive impact in several areas throughout the years, they continue to focus on creating scholarships and other initiatives aimed at assisting students from some of Winnipeg’s most disadvantaged areas, including Indigenous youth from Winnipeg’s North End.  

In September 2023, the University of Winnipeg Foundation became a beneficiary of the Schroeder Foundation’s extraordinary generosity when they pledged an impressive $1.25 million to the Build from Within (BFW) program, a new initiative on campus. The program’s goal is to recognize the unique strengths of Indigenous students’ and to use their experiences and perspectives as a foundation to developing teachers who are passionate about their work and contributing to their community. The BFW program will be offered to a cohort of students in partnership with, and recruited by, the Winnipeg School Division.   

The Schroeders’ most recent act of philanthropy was a $750,000 pledge for The Schroeder Foundation Program in Mennonite Studies in support of the University of Winnipeg’s Centre for Transnational Mennonite Studies. This one-of-a-kind program in Mennonite History will focus on the Mennonite experience of immigration to Canada from Soviet Ukraine and their contributions and integration into Canadian society. The Schroeders’ support of the Centre will provide funding for additional staff members, the creation of a documentary production, the creation of a book project, and support for a graduate student’s travel expenses.  

The Schroeder Foundation’s ongoing commitment to supporting UWinnipeg students, programming and community is inspiring. We look forward to seeing the immense impact their generosity will have on future generations of students.