CFP: Canada's only national pharmacy charity

More than 75 years ago, the Dean of the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Pharmacy, A.W. “Witt” Matthews, teamed up with the President of the United-Rexall Drug Company, John Kennedy, to start the not-for-profit Canadian Foundation for the Advancement of Pharmacy. It was open to anyone interested in the welfare of the profession and was inspired by the need to improve enrollment in pharmaceutical colleges in the aftermath of World War II. Today that organization—now called The Canadian Foundation for Pharmacy (CFP)—is still thriving as Canada’s only national pharmacy charity dedicated to promoting leadership and innovation in pharmacy across the country. If you’re unfamiliar with CFP and its long-standing impact on the profession, here are some of its key accomplishments over the past decades. In its first year alone, CFP raised $67,000 (more than $900,000 in today’s dollars) from individual and corporate donations to promote pharmacy as a career and support students through interest-free loans and scholarship. Today, CFP continues to support education through its various awards, such as the CFP/CAPSI Passion for Pharmacy Awards and the CFP/AFPC Graduate Student Award. In 2007, CFP launched the Innovation Fund Grant to support pharmacists engaged in research or innovative models of practice who are seeking to advance the profession. One of the first grant recipients was Ross Tsuyuki, Director of the EPICORE Centre at the University of Alberta, for a series of studies on implementing chronic disease management services in community pharmacies. Tsuyuki lauds CFP for being the only organization to “consistently invest in the kind of research that will shape our profession’s future.” In 2015, the Foundation produced the Pharmacy Management in Canada textbook, which is used by pharmacy faculties and pharmacy owners across the country. The textbook inspired a further continuing education program produced by CFP, the Canadian Pharmacists Association and the Ontario Pharmacists Association geared to the business essentials of managing a pharmacy. CFP has been supporting pharmacy leaders throughout the years via various awards such as the Pillar of Pharmacy Award, Wellspring Leadership Award and Lifetime Achievement Award. “What CFP does with all these awards and research opportunities is help to keep promoting the profession and proving pharmacists’ value, and that’s so important,” says Rita Winn, 2020 Pillar of Pharmacy Award winner. “In being recognized, it shows value in the work we do.” Since 2013, the Foundation has given out 133 awards to past pharmacy college and association presidents through its Past President Award. To date, CFP has provided more than $2 million in individual and corporate donations via awards, bursaries and scholarships for pharmacy researchers, innovators and leaders across the country. CFP also supports the advancement of pharmacy through initiatives like the Pharmacy Forum, an annual event that brings together industry leaders and innovators to discuss the future of pharmacy and how to overcome barriers to change. The latest forum in June focused on the future of digital/online pharmacy. Learn more about the history of CFP in this video.

CFP: Canada's only national pharmacy charity

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