Meet the people working to preserve and celebrate Waterloo Region’s heritage
Did you know, the Region of Waterloo was the first government to seriously invest in a heritage organization?
That organization is called the Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation. Since 1974, it has helped preserve and celebrate this community’s history and culture.
Nominations are open now for the foundation’s latest round of heritage awards. Local people are doing lots of good work on our history and heritage, says David Emberly, the foundation’s chair. He’s eager to give all the awards this year – and hopes people won’t be too humble to apply or nominate each other.
What is the Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation?
The foundation supports grassroots heritage projects with grants. This funding helps deserving people do research or create historical works that might not otherwise be done. The foundation can also provide expert advice.
In 2025, the board awarded nine grants for a total of $81,500. Over its 50+ years, the foundation has given about 400 grants, ranging from $100 to $230,000.
The group is fully funded by the Region of Waterloo, but operates separately as a non-profit corporation run by a board. That board includes a few Regional Councillors but is mostly volunteers.
Many of the Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation’s grants have traditionally helped restore and preserve old buildings:
What is “heritage?”
But what we value as “heritage” changes over time, along with people’s values and community demographics.
The grants that might help homeowners with expensive repairs to ornate wooden porches or slate roofs on their 100-year-old homes are still important, Emberly says. That craftmanship is beautiful and precious, and our community will lose their charm if we don’t preserve it.
Emberly explains, though, how the foundation is now shifting beyond buildings and architecture to include culture and “the way people express themselves.” For example, the 2025 grants included an Arabic calligraphy program and a a multicultural festival in Elmira:
The foundation is looking to move forward with promoting and preserving heritage in a way that is equitable, diverse, and inclusive.
That new approach is explained more by the Foundation’s John Glass in this video produced by the Multicultural Festival of Elmira:
2026 awards now open
The Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation presents awards to recognize people doing outstanding heritage preservation. You can apply here until February 27, 2026.
There are five award categories:
Awards of Excellence: recognizes outstanding contributions by individuals, institutions and organizations to heritage preservation in Waterloo Region, in such areas as archaeological, archival, cultural, education, genealogical, historical, individual, literary, media, natural, other. The program began in 1983.
Sally Thorsen Award of Excellence: presented to one person per year who has demonstrated at least 10 years of professional, outstanding commitment to heritage concerns.
Dr. Jean Steckle Award for Heritage Education: presented to an individual who has demonstrated leadership in heritage education through teaching, writing or by example, and who has encouraged and mentored others in the understanding and appreciation of the natural or cultural heritage of Waterloo Region.
History Prize: awarded to a piece of work published within the previous five years which has helped to educate and promote the heritage of the Waterloo Region.
Heritage Research Award: supports university students doing graduate research projects related to the heritage of Waterloo Region. This one requires additional documents to apply.
Looking back, looking ahead
Back in 1974, one of the young foundation’s first tasks was to buy and restore the historic Joseph Schneider Homestead. This is now the Schneider Haus National Historic Site, a community museum operated by the Region of Waterloo on Queen Street in Kitchener.
Its work continues in 2026: people looking for a heritage grant should watch for applications to open again in spring.
The foundation is just one of many groups across Waterloo Region working to preserve this community’s history.
For more information, visit the Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation’s website.