Our Story

For over 15 years we’ve been proud to work with local organizations, experts, and communities for thousands of people in over 8 countries around the world.

The Calvin Ayre Foundation

The Calvin Ayre Foundation is an independent charitable giving organization, based in the beautiful island of Antigua and Barbuda, where Calvin now calls home. Committed to the hard work of making social good, we seek to make that change happen where it is needed most and where inequality persists. To realize our vision of making a difference and building a brighter future, we remove barriers, educate, empower, and break the cycles of poverty; we swiftly respond to emergency disasters, and help those in need.

Our Pillars of Giving

EMERGENCY RESPONSE

While we traditionally plan our projects, circumstances sometimes dictate that a more rapid reaction is required. In 2010, the devastation wrought by the earthquake in Haiti prompted the Foundation to issue a challenge to the online gaming industry to open their wallets. The Foundation pledged to match all industry donations up to $1,000,000.

In 2013, the Foundation made a similar offer to raise funds to help the Philippines recover from Super Typhoon Haiyan. Calvin kicked things off by personally pledging $200,000 of his money to demonstrate his support for a country he had come to know and love. We also focused our attention on the village of Sitio San Vincente, Barangay Lo-ong, Concepcion in Iloilo City. Decimated by the typhoon’s force, with many families left homeless, we visited the village to distribute food and materials, rebuild their shattered homes, distribute medicine to those in need, and oversee the reconstruction of the chapel in this deeply spiritual community.

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SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

On the heels of the successful Adopt-A-School program, the Foundation has gone on to help various families living in difficult conditions. This has grown into our Adopt-A-Family program and Adopt-A-Village program. In 2014, we pledged $2,000,000 to Antigua’s 500 Homes in 500 Days project. The newly elected government of Prime Minister Gaston Browne had made the project a plank of his election campaign as a way of increasing homeownership on Antigua.

In 2020, the Foundation partnered with The Prince’s Foundation to build homes for families left homeless as a result of the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The Foundation was keen to find a way to respond to the housing needs of the people of Barbuda, supplying funding and technical support to the design and construction of the houses.

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EDUCATION & SPORTS

The Foundation’s interest in education has been inspired by Calvin’s experiences in Costa Rica. Learning of the state of local schools and literacy rates, we turned our attention to schools that needed the most help. By funding the Rafael Angel Calderon School, the Foundation pioneered an Adopt-A-School program, which has now been expanded to Antigua by invitation of the government and then Prime Minister Errol Cort. This program has evolved into working towards infrastructure updates, field trips, physical education, and safety.

As recently as 2019, we donated $200,000 to the Island Academy Bursary Fund, the fourth consecutive year in which the Foundation has provided funding to benefit deserving Antiguan & Barbudan youths who lack the wherewithal to attend a quality school. The Foundation regularly sponsors a Antigua & Barbuda Softball League Tournament, which promotes interpersonal skills and cooperation by bringing together teams from surrounding Caribbean nations, including Tortola, Anguilla and St. Maarten.

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Meet The Chairman

Calvin Ayre was born in 1961 on a farm in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. Calvin was an excellent student but his family lacked the financial resources to further his post-secondary education. Undaunted, he launched his first business, renting a truck and running fresh fruit from British Columbia orchards to his friends up north. Calvin earned enough money to pay for his university tuition and went on to earn degrees in business and science.

Calvin’s personal experience explains why education remains one of the Foundation’s key pillars. Offering educational opportunities to deserving individuals in the U.S., Antigua, Costa Rica and the Philippines gives these individuals the tools to raise themselves up and, once they’ve achieved personal success, to offer their own assistance to those looking to follow their lead.

Relocating to Vancouver in the early 1990’s, Calvin opened an office service business that offered the city’s only high-speed internet connection. His exposure to a number of internet startup companies led him to launch his own company supplying technology for the nascent online gambling industry. In time, he formed his own online gambling company and the Bodog brand was born.

In a few short years, Calvin built Bodog into an industry leader. He then broke with tradition by expanding the brand’s reach into non-gaming elements, including television production companies, the Bodog Music record label and the Bodog Fight mixed martial arts league.

The mainstream business industry took notice, landing Calvin on the 2006 ‘billionaires’ issue of Forbes magazine. Calvin also appeared on People magazine’s list of the 50 most eligible bachelors and was profiled on MTV Cribs and VH1’s The Fabulous Life Of….

In 2007, Calvin stepped down from an active role in the online gambling business but retained the rights to the Bodog brand, which he licensed to other companies in countries around the globe. A few years later, Calvin launched CalvinAyre.com, a gaming sector news site that became a hub for industry professionals.

An entrepreneur to the core, Calvin launched a venture capital group (Ayre Ventures) focused on applications using enterprise blockchain and other cutting edge technologies to transform not only industries but also the way the world interacts online.

Calvin has made it his mission to create Metanet, an economically integrated online system that enables cost-effective, instant micropayments, resulting in a better, more inclusive and dynamic internet.

In 2017, the Halo Foundation chose to honor Calvin Ayre with their Philanthropist of the Year award in recognition of his years of generous support for local causes, including donating badly needed medical equipment, furthering local students’ education and assisting relief and rebuilding operations in the wake of 2017’s devastating Hurricane Irma.

In 2019, His Excellency Sir Rodney Williams, the Governor-General of Antigua & Barbuda, presented Calvin with the Faithful & Meritorious Service Cross Award. The Cross honors individuals whose efforts have resulted in a transformational improvement of the country.

Another way Calvin is helping Antiguans is through employment. In 2019, Calvin officially opened his US$40 million, five-story office complex dubbed Canada Place, which serves as his Ayre Group’s global head office. Canada Place houses hundreds of employees involved with Ayre Group’s technology companies as well as independent high-tech tenants. Canada Place also features the island’s largest solar panel array, in keeping with the Foundation’s commitment to environmental solutions.

Calvin’s business development efforts have been recognized by the Government of Antigua & Barbuda, which named him a Special Economic Envoy for the country. Calvin is not only the island’s largest foreign investor, he is also helping to improve Antigua’s tourism infrastructure by convincing other international investors of the island’s economic potential.

In October 2024, Calvin helped break ground on the US$400 million Nikki Beach Resort and Spa Antigua, a partnership between the Ayre Group and Nikki Beach Hospitality Group. Scheduled to open in Jolly Harbour in 2028, the project is expected to provide 300 direct jobs and up to 1,000 indirect jobs.

As he has proven throughout his life, whether it be in rural northern Canada or on an island in a tropical paradise, Calvin Ayre is always on course for new heights — making a positive impact on individuals and communities as he rises.