Ethical Philanthropic Funds
Philanthropic funds are not mere financial assets. Their purpose is to support important causes such as education, healthcare, arts and culture, the fight against inequalities and environmental protection, just to name a few. At the Foundation of Greater Montréal, we believe that philanthropic funds must be invested according to the same values as the causes they exist to support. It is with this goal in mind that we reviewed and updated our internal processes and the services we offer.
For the first time in Quebec, donors can create ethical philanthropic funds.
Our philosophy: Philanthropic capital is not a passive tool only designed to generate returns. It is a resource that can contribute to make the world a better place for future generations.
Our goal: To put our funds’ capital to work in the same direction as the causes it supports.
Our ambition: To rally donors who are looking to align their charitable donations and philanthropic projects with their own values.
- You can support the fight against climate change without investing in fossil fuels.
- You can support education while making sure to exclude companies that rely on child labour.
- You can contribute to cancer research without financially supporting the tobacco industry.
- You can support the fight against inequalities by ruling out businesses that violate human rights or Indigenous rights.
An increasing number of donors, particularly – but not exclusively! – among younger generations, are looking to create philanthropic funds whose capital will be invested in accordance with their values, in an ethical way. It is already the case in the financial sector, which has created a number of “sustainable”, “ethical” or “responsible” investment products. FGM supports this movement and offers a fund creation service based on those values, without lowering the rate of return it seeks and while keeping its management fees among the lowest on the market.
This is how the Foundation of Greater Montréal offers the creation of ethical philanthropic funds.
This philanthropic offer, by setting a standard that is both more thorough and more ambitious, stands among the first in Canada. Concretely, it does so through the following policies:
FGM’s Responsible Investment Strategy
- The entire portfolio is invested in accordance with ESG principles.
- Its carbon footprint is aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement: a 45% reduction of the portfolio’s GHG emissions by 2030 and a net-zero target by 2050.
- It excludes the coal, tobacco, gambling, pornography and armaments industries.
- It respects human rights by enshrining the regulations of the United Nations Global Compact.
- It respects Indigenous rights by enshrining the regulations of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
- It gives preference to local, Quebec-based portfolio managers.
- 10% of the portfolio is invested in impact projects supporting, for example, affordable housing and the social economy.