Stories that inspire
The Foundation of Greater Montréal supports hundreds of community organizations in every sector. Their work enhances the well-being of the entire community, including that of its most vulnerable individuals. All our gratitude goes out to the men and women who work day in and day out to bring a better quality of life to all.
Our thanks go as well to FGM donors and fund creators, whose philanthropic efforts bring to life the values they embody: solidarity, generosity and community engagement. It is through their commitment that the Foundation and its partner organizations can have a real impact on the well-being of Greater MontrĂ©alâs population. Here are some of their stories.
Groupe uni des Ă©ducateurs-naturalistes et professionnels en environnement (GUEPE)
The mission taken on by the Groupe uni des Ă©ducateurs-naturalistes et professionnels en environnement is simple. It is to offer the public, and young people in particular, educational and professional services in the natural sciences and the environment. With an emphasis on outdoor activity, GUEPEâs committed team is empowering and raising awareness among individuals and groups. It gives them the tools to make choices that are respectful of the environment. Since 2019, the Foundation of Greater MontrĂ©al has supported the organizationâs flagship project, "Apprendre, câest dans notre nature (Learning is in our nature)". It is aimed at primary school students.…
Fonds Les Scientifines
Les Scientifines is a not-for-profit organization launched in 1987 by a four women from the School of Social Work at UniversitĂ© de MontrĂ©al. They created it as an action-research project, working within the Ministry of Education's âĂtalez votre scienceâ program. Their approach was based on sparking young girlsâ interest in the sciences and forging a better future for themselves. Now counting more than 30 yearsâ experience, Les Scientifines promotes science, technology, engineering and mathematics (the STEM disciplines) among girls aged 8 to 17 from disadvantaged backgrounds. The goal is to help them develop cross-disciplinary skills, with a view of staying…
Girls Action Foundation
Created in 1995 by three University of Ottawa students, Girls Action Foundation is a national organization that aims to help girls, young women and gender minorities across Canada achieve greater autonomy. It supports the creation of programs by and for girls and young women that will build their confidence, develop their leaderships skills and increase their self-esteem, while helping them maintain a healthy lifestyle. The populations served by Girls Action were hit especially hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a September 2020 survey (article in French only), 46% of youth aged 18 to 24 in the MontrĂ©al region were…
MĂšres avec pouvoir
In the mid-1990s, a research group at the Centre jeunesse de MontrĂ©al â Institut universitaire turned its attention to the situation of young single-parent women with children aged five and under. The researchers found that job placement programs for these women were, in general, a failure. These young mothers, when coming out of socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, too often found themselves in living in precariousness or experiencing social exclusion. That took its toll on the women, their children, and their immediate families. Poverty, and exclusion from the job market, often translated into psychological distress, social isolation and loss of identity for…
The Black Youth Socio-Economic Development Summit
The Black Youth Socio-Economic Development Summit (SdesJ) is an innovative network of 46 community organizations. It has taken on a mission to play a part in Quebecâs development by focusing on the contributions of Black youth. It brings together, most notably, actors from the Haitian, African, Caribbean and anglophone communities. The 2020 pandemic proved to be an opportunity for the organization to develop new projects. The goal was to promote greater integration among the communities, as a step towards building a better future. Thus, three SdesJ initiatives came to life in the wake of COVID-19: An awareness campaign on good…
Centre de prévention du suicide de LanaudiÚre
Created in the year 2000, the Centre de prĂ©vention du suicide de LanaudiĂšre (CPSL) is an independent regional community organization with a mission to assist persons or groups grappling with problems related to suicide. Through the years, the CPSL has developed essential competencies and soft skills. Staffed with a team of professionals specializing in prevention, it makes a difference on this complex and multifaceted problem. The CPSL benefitted from a $27,760 grant allocated by the Foundation of Greater MontrĂ©al, in the second phase of deployment of the Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF). With it, it was able to carry out…