Where Grassroots Organizations Grow Into Community Leaders
40+ Years of Building Community ✨
🌱
The Beginning: A Seed of Possibility (1981)
In 1981, a bold idea took root: what if small nonprofit organizations could share space, resources, and support to amplify their impact? CommunityWise was born from this vision—a pioneering co-location model where diverse grassroots organizations could thrive together under one roof.
• • •
🤝
The Model: Strength in Community
CommunityWise wasn’t just about affordable space. It was about building a community where organizations supported each other in a co-location model, shared knowledge, and grew stronger together. Small groups that started in single offices evolved into recognized community leaders, serving thousands of Calgarians.
50+
Member Organizations
40 +
Years of Impact
100s
Organizations Supported
💪
The Journey: Resilience Through Change
For 40 +years, CommunityWise has weathered economic downturns, funding challenges, and sector shifts. Through it all, one constant remained: our commitment to supporting grassroots organizations when they needed us most. We didn’t just survive—we adapted, evolved, and continued to serve.
“From one-room offices to community-wide impact—
CommunityWise has been the quiet force behind dozens of Calgary’s most vital nonprofits.”
🏆
The Impact: Stories of Success
The true measure of CommunityWise isn’t in our buildings or budgets—it’s in the combined impact and the organizations we’ve helped flourish. Social justice, anti-racism, and food security programs are among a few that started in borrowed meeting rooms now serving thousands. Youth programs that began with volunteer coordinators now employ dozens. Cultural organizations that gathered in small spaces now celebrate community-wide.
1981
CommunityWise founded with pioneering co-location model
1981-2024
45 years at the Old Y building, becoming Calgary’s nonprofit hub
2025
Transition to a new location at Deerfoot 17—a new chapter begins
2026-2028
Strengthening our foundation for the next 40 years
🌟
What Makes Us Special
We’re more than a landlord. We’re partners in a co-location model that serves social missions. We provide affordability of space and shared resources, yes—but we also provide capacity building, community connections, and the reassurance that you’re not alone in this work.
We understand the journey. We’ve seen organizations in every stage—from kitchen-table beginnings to established community institutions. We know what you need at each phase because we’ve walked alongside hundreds of organizations through their growth.
We create community, not just tenancy. Our co-location model means you’re surrounded by others who share your commitment to making Calgary better. Coffee conversations lead to collaborations. Hallway chats become partnerships. Shared struggles become shared solutions.
• • •
🚀
The Future: Hope & Possibility
As we settle into our new home at Deerfoot 17, we’re not just changing addresses—we’re writing the next chapter of a 40-year story. A story of resilience. A story of community achievement. A story of small organizations doing extraordinary things when given the right support.
The organizations we support today will be tomorrow’s community leaders. The grassroots groups meeting in our common rooms will grow into the institutions Calgary relies on. The connections made in our hallways will become the collaborations that transform communities.
Our Promise:
We will continue to be the place where mission-driven organizations find accessible space, build capacity, create community, and grow from grassroots beginnings into lasting impact. For the next 40 years and beyond.
This is the CommunityWise story.
This is OUR story.
And we’re just getting started.