Montreal, August 21, 2023 – Today, the Foundation of Greater Montréal (FGM) is pleased to announce just over $8.5 million in funding to support 139 projects and organizations in our region, through the federal government’s Community Services Recovery Fund (CRSF). Click on the following link to view the list of recipient organizations.

The CSRF is a Canada-wide, one-time investment of $400 million to help community service organizations and Indigenous governing bodies adapt, modernize and be better equipped to improve the efficacy, accessibility and sustainability of the services they provide to their communities.

This can include the creation and implementation of new governance structures or partnerships between organizations, the procurement of digital tools or other equipment, the training and retention of their workforce or the adaptation of the services they offer to users, for example.

A reflection of Greater Montreal’s diversity

The organizations and projects supported by FGM are a reflection of the diversity of populations and of the issues they are facing across the Greater Montreal area. With regards to geographical location, 73% of them are based on the Island of Montreal, 20% in Montérégie (South Shore) and 7% on the North Shore (including Laval). These proportions are similar to those of the total number of funding requests received.

Furthermore, 17% aim to answer the particular needs expressed by women and girls, 15% those of people living with functional limitations, 11% those of Black, Indigenous or other racialized persons and 6% those of members of the LGBTQ2S+ communities. 51% of the projects or organizations are targeting the community as a whole.

FGM’s assessment committee equally made sure to include small and medium-sized organizations in its choices, as those organizations are sometimes neglected by large funding bodies and philanthropic institutions. Thus, 43% of the selected organizations declare revenues under $500,000 per year.

Each of those organizations have played and continue to play a key role in addressing their communities’ needs. Since the early phases of the pandemic, they have struggled with increased demand for their services, reduced donations and revenues, the rising cost of living, and a greater need to make use of digital tools. Now, it is our turn to support them.

Quotes

“The Foundation of Greater Montréal alone received close to 450 requests for funding under the CSRF. This illustrates the scale and depth of the needs across our community, and our duty to do more to support the frontline organizations working to meet them. But it also demonstrates the vitality of our non-profit sector, which continues to reinvent itself every day and to work tirelessly to solve the collective problems we all must face”, said Karel Mayrand, FGM’s President and CEO.

“In order to deliver our mandate as efficiently as possible, we built on and expanded the CSRF’s evaluation criteria by giving particular and sustained attention to the needs of the populations that have been historically marginalized and more deeply impacted by the pandemic across our territory. Our goal was to maximize the support we could offer them. This methodology demonstrates FGM’s commitment to the principles of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion”, added Marie-Andrée Farmer, the Foundation’s Director of Strategic Initiatives and Community Partnerships.

“Community service organizations are at the heart of communities like Greater Montreal, creating a sense of belonging from coast to coast to coast. The Community Services Recovery Fund will enable organizations that serve our diverse communities to adapt and modernize their programs and services and to invest in the future of their organizations, staff and volunteers. Together, we can rebuild from the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic and build a more just and equitable future for those in Greater Montréal” stated Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.

A wide partnership

The Government of Canada has delivered the CSRF through three national funders: the Canadian Red Cross, United Way/Centraide Canada and Community Foundations of Canada, which mandated FGM to steer the distribution of the funding attributed to the Greater Montreal area.

For more information, visit the CSRF website.  For more information about the Foundation of Greater Montréal, you can visit our website or contact us.

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For more information:

Simon Delorme, Communications Advisor, Foundation of Greater Montreal |
(514) 866-0808 | simon.delorme@fgmtl.org

About the Foundation of Greater Montreal

The Foundation of Greater Montréal (FGM) serves, and listens to, its community. In collaboration with its partners, it mobilizes philanthropic resources, disseminates knowledge, sparks new initiatives, and supports the community, with a view to furthering the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals in Greater Montreal. FGM aspires to the development of a community that will be free from poverty and discrimination, where all can realize their potential and live in a healthy environment, both today and in the future. Website: fgmtl.org