The Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation is a Crown corporation established by provincial legislation in 1991. The affairs of the Foundation are directed by a board appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. Established as a major support agency for heritage conservation and development, the Heritage Foundation's principal mandate since its inception has been to provide financial support to heritage projects at the provincial and community level that seek to conserve, research, interpret, develop and promote Saskatchewan's diverse heritage resources. To this end, the Foundation has developed a series of heritage grant programs which complement the personal commitments and economic resources of individuals and agencies across Saskatchewan.
Funding is derived from the province's consolidated fund.
The Foundation is also mandated to acquire, manage and develop real and moveable property in the name of the Crown, and to accept the donation of cash monies, property and other bequests. The Board of the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation also acts as the Saskatchewan Heritage Advisory Board. In this capacity, the Board reviews and advises the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing on provincial heritage issues. That definition is relatively restricted. It deals almost exclusively with physical, tangible objects such as buildings and property, including archaeological artifacts and palaeontological deposits.