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Introduction
The International Grenfell Association (IGA) was incorporated in Canada on January 10, 1914, under
the Companies Act of 1899. Sir Wilfred Grenfell, the founder of IGA, came to Newfoundland to attend
to the needs of fishermen in northern Newfoundland and on the coast of Labrador. Although an
excellent physician and surgeon who initially ran his medical services from a base hospital in
Battle Harbour, Labrador, along with various ships which moved up and down the Labrador coast,
he also tended to other needs of people in the region.
In its earliest years, the IGA had four functions in serving the needs of these people. They were
(1) health care; (2) education; (3) religious services; and (4) rehabilitation and other social
activities. As time passed, some of these needs have been provided by sources outside the IGA.
The availability of ordained clergy led to a withdrawal of major activities in the area of religion.
In addition, provision of education by the provincial government allowed withdrawal of this activity.
Gradually, the IGA became the manager of medical care for this whole region, constructing a series of
nursing stations along the Labrador coast and on the northern peninsula of Newfoundland. These, in
turn, were backed up by a major hospital (the Curtis Hospital) in St. Anthony, Newfoundland. As time
went on, the expense of providing that medical care far outstripped the ability to fund it, and the
provincial government supplemented the budget until government essentially provided all medical
funding by the late 1970's.
When it became apparent that the IGA had become managers of government funding and people of the
region wanted more participation in the management of their health care, the IGA decided to
reorganize its focus, and became essentially a private foundation whose sole purpose is to award
grants for the benefit of people of that region. See the IGA Strategic Plan.
The source of funds for these grants are the endowment funds of three supporting associations -
Grenfell Association of America in New York, New England Grenfell Association in Boston, and the
Grenfell Association of Great Britain and Ireland in London, England.
Income from these associations is pooled, with the distribution of monies being made through the
IGA, acting as an agent for the supporting associations. The Board of Directors of the IGA makes
the decisions with respect to which of the grant applications submitted to it will be funded.
In 1981, the IGA turned all of its medical care assets - nursing stations, hospitals, equipment and
land pertinent to that service over to the provincial government for the sum of $1.00. Since that
time, the IGA has been managing the grant program for itself and its affiliates.
The IGA has made every effort to divest itself of all holdings, and believes that this has been
accomplished. Land, however, was held throughout a very wide geographical area, and it is possible
that unknown parcels will become identified in the future.
Please search this website for more current information about the IGA and its involvement in
bettering the lives of the residents of northern Newfoundland and coastal Labrador, through its
yearly awarding of grants in the region.
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