The Fig Tree Foundation was formed by a group of concerned Calgarians who had a desire to contribute to international development initiatives, but soon discovered that in addition to a lack of funding for established groups, there existed a lack of co-ordination and collaboration amongst groups, leading to duplication of efforts and less than optimal utilization of existing resources. 

In 2006, the Fig Tree Foundation obtained its status as a charitable foundation and they have since then, thanks to countless hours of volunteer support, built an organization that has been focused on improving the quality of international development initiatives that come out of the Calgary community while supporting a network of organizations that deliver them.