The Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation  was established in the U.S. as a nonprofit foundation in 1996 and established in Canada in 2001. The mission of the foundation in Canada is to support women living with cancer through the Look Good Feel Better® program and to help end violence against women by providing grants to women’s shelters and community outreach programs. The MKACF raises funds to support these programs through the sale of fundraising items and events, as well as donations made by the independent sales force, corporate staff and consumers.

Shelter Grant Program
 
Since 2004, the MKACF has awarded $194,000 through the Shelter Grant program, benefiting 53 women's shelters and community outreach programs nationwide that aid the victims of domestic violence. Thanks to generous contributions to the MKACF in 2008, ten women's shelters and community outreach programs across Canada each received a $6,000 grant to contribute to their operating budget.