The Highbury Foundation was founded by Peter A. Allard in October, 1993. The name Highbury has significance for Mr. Allard, not only because it is the street which he grew up on in Vancouver but also because it symbolizes the struggles his Mother, Effie (Bettie) Allard faced raising him and his siblings. The Highbury Foundation was created to support Canadian Registered Charities in carrying out their goals and ambitions.

The Highbury Foundation has generously provided scholarship funding for Emily Carr students since 2008, before establishing an endowed scholarship fund, The Highbury Foundation Art Fund Scholarship in 2013. The Foundation has been involved in many other special projects over the years, either on its own or in collaboration with other Foundations, including: St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation, B.C. Cancer Foundation, University of Alberta – Diabetic Chair, British Columbia Institute of Technology, The Allard Foundation at Brentwood College, Mill Bay, British Columbia, YMCA in Surrey, British Columbia and the YMCA in Vancouver, British Columbia.