A Career Built on One Belief:
That Strategic Philanthropy Creates Transformative, Durable Change.
I'm Kim Plewes, founder of Plewes Advising. For more than 28 years I've worked at the intersection of charity and philanthropy, first as a fundraiser and now as an advisor, with one consistent focus: helping ensure that generosity creates durable, meaningful change in the world.
Impact by the Numbers
28+
years involved with charities and foundations
$17+BN*
total net worth of clients I’ve advised
$27M*
in grants recommended
$77+M
dollars raised for charities across North America
12
was my age when I began my volunteer journey
360°
my experiential view of the charitable sector
*Advisory figures reflect work since April 2021
I've had the privilege of working alongside Kim rather than simply hearing about her work. As a collaborator supporting a foundation client, I've watched her bring big ideas to life — designing meaningful experiences, shaping events that genuinely move people, and doing it all with a level of thoughtfulness and precision that's genuinely rare. She creates the conditions for people to do their best work together. Kim is exactly the kind of advisor you want in the room when the stakes are high and the decisions matter.
— Jeff Harbach, Leadership Coach & Advisor | Former CEO, Kauffman Fellows
How I Got Here
I began my philanthropic journey at 12, gathering signatures on a petition against child labour that was presented on the floor of the Canadian House of Commons. A lifelong curiosity about the world — spanning nearly 75 countries across all continents, from contexts of abject poverty to thriving communities to endangered ecosystems — has only deepened that conviction: that individuals can move the needle on problems that feel impossibly large.
For fifteen years, I worked as a major gifts fundraiser, raising more than $77 million for community development in the Global South, youth empowerment, and mental health. Sitting across the table from philanthropists year after year gave me a clear view of what separates transformative giving from well-intentioned activity.
When I was ready for a new way to serve the sector, I brought that insider perspective to the other side of the table.
In many ways I became a translator between two worlds that don't always speak the same language: the world of the fundraiser and the world of the funder.
That vantage point is what I bring to every client today. I work with a select group of families across a wide range of issue areas — among them international development, climate change, education, mental health, and criminal justice — helping them turn philanthropic vision into durable change. It's the work I was always meant to do.
Every advisor brings experience. What sets great philanthropy advising apart is perspective, a genuine point of view on what makes giving work. After 28 years in this sector, I've developed some strong ones. These aren't abstract principles. They're what I've learned from watching philanthropy work and watching it fall short. Here's mine.
A Distinct Point of View
Outcomes Over Activities
The measure of great philanthropy isn't how much you give or how many grants you make. It's whether the change you hoped for actually happened.
Bespoke Over Boilerplate
There is no universal framework for effective giving. What works for one family — their issues, their timeline, their decision-making style — won't work for another.
Partnership Over Service
I'm not here to process your decisions. I'm here to challenge, pressure-test, and refine them alongside you.
Giving Back
I believe in practising what I preach. Each year, a percentage of Plewes Advising's profits goes directly to charities that align with my values and meet my own giving criteria. The three organizations below tell you something about how I think , not just what I care about, but how I evaluate where my money goes.
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The Toronto Humane Society’s mission is simple: To improve the lives of animals. With a team of industry-leading experts and a passionate community network, they pursue this mission by reducing animal homelessness, ensuring access to care, and fighting to preserve the human-animal bond.
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Animal welfare has always been close to my heart, but heart alone doesn't drive my giving decisions. I chose Toronto Humane Society because their model goes beyond rehoming animals. By addressing the economic barriers that force families to surrender beloved pets — through their Pet Food Bank and subsidized veterinary care — they're tackling a root cause, not just a symptom. That's the kind of systemic thinking I look for in every organization I support.
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Partners in Health believes quality healthcare is a universal human right. They partner with local governments around the world to provide care first to those who need it most.
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Quality healthcare shouldn't be determined by geography or income, but for much of the world, it is. I support Partners in Health Canada because they don't just deliver care, they build capacity. By investing in local healthcare workers and physical infrastructure, they create systems that serve communities long after any single intervention ends. I've seen this model in action in Haiti and Sierra Leone, and it's exactly the kind of durable, locally-owned change I believe in.
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World Central Kitchen (WCK) is first to the frontlines, providing meals in response to humanitarian, climate, and community crises.
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In a crisis, speed saves lives, but speed without dignity can dehumanise. World Central Kitchen does both: they arrive faster than almost any other emergency aid organisation, and they do it by partnering with local chefs to serve hot, culturally appropriate meals that nourish people's spirits as much as their bodies. Their commitment to sourcing food locally also injects resources directly into devastated economies. That's the kind of multiplied impact I look for — one intervention, several layers of change.