The Women’s Impact Montréal Collective Fund (WIM Fund) at the Foundation of Greater Montréal offers financial support to local community organizations that are directly serving Greater Montréal’s women and girls in order to improve their life circumstances and defend their rights. Persons identifying as immigrant, Black, racialized or Indigenous women are particularly marginalized, especially those living in poverty or social isolation. Members of the LGBTQ2S+ community, as well as those who live with physical or intellectual functional limitations or who are neurodivergent, are also more at risk of being discriminated against. In 2024, FGM has therefore continued to give priority to organizations and projects targeting one or more of those populations.

Below, learn more about the recipient organizations and projects of the 2024 edition of the Women’s Impact Montreal Collective Fund. Many of them have received a multi-year grant, according to the trust-based philanthropy principles that guide the Foundation’s funding processes. Click on the following links to view the results of the 2022 and 2023 editions of the WIM Fund.

The Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal

Multi-year support granted in 2023; $30,000 for 2024

The Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal offers support and frontline services exclusively to First Nations, Inuit and Métis women and children to promote their empowerment and independence. It provides a safe environment where Indigenous women can begin to rebuild their lives. The NWSM is working in collaboration with social and family care workers to address discriminatory policies that result in the disproportionate placement of Indigenous children in the youth protection system. This complex intervention includes educating the mothers on their rights, helping them navigate the health and social services system, providing legal advice and educating non-Indigenous service providers. The goal is to stop the cycle of intergenerational trauma and losing Indigenous children to the system.

Visit the Shelter’s website

La Table de concertation femmes Osez au Féminin

Multi-year support granted in 2023; $30,000 for 2024

The members of the Table Paix et Sécurité Urbaine (Roundtable for peace and urban safety), Table de quartier (Neighbourhood Roundtable) and Table Femmes Osez au Féminin (Women Who Dare Roundtable) of Montreal North, in collaboration with the borough administration, the local CIUSSS and the SPVM, have developed a coordinated plan to be deployed over five years to prevent domestic violence and intimate partner violence among youth in the area. Created for and by people with lived experience of violence, the initiative aims to bolster awareness and improve front-line services for survivors.

Visit the Table’s web page

Le Centre de santé des femmes de Montréal

Multi-year support granted in 2023; $30,000 for 2024

The Centre de santé des femmes de Montréal (CSFM) is an independent and feminist community organization that has specialized in sexual and reproductive health for 45 years. Its mission is to support women in the reclaiming of their gynecological health and advocate for accessible and affirming gynecological care, including abortion. The CSFM has developed a set of mobile clinics tailored to the needs of various groups of women in vulnerable situations, thus removing obstacles to access health services, such as lack of information about rights and available services, fear or the lingering effects of trauma.

Visit the CSFM’s website

Le Centre d’encadrement pour jeunes femmes immigrantes

Support granted in 2023; $30,000 for 2024

The CEJFI’s mission is to support the social, economic, cultural and civic integration of young immigrant women through an intersectional approach and advocacy. Its intervention strategy is to accompany young immigrant women towards financial and social autonomy, encouraging their successful integration. The organization supports their entrepreneurship projects through accounting, marketing or HR training, as well as job fairs, mentoring and networking activities and more.

Visit the CEJFI’s website

Le Collectif La voix des jeunes compte

Support granted in 2023; $25,000 for 2024

La voix des jeunes compte is a collective that brings together young racialized women between the ages of 11 and 21. For the past five years, the collective has been working to combat sexual violence in schools. They recognize that schools play a crucial role in educating and preventing sexual violence. The group is advocating for meaningful and lasting policy changes to address sexual violence in educational institutions across Quebec. Its volunteer members are pushing for legislative changes that will help prevent and combat sexual violence in schools, creating a safe and healthy environment for young people to thrive. Additionally, they provide support to the youth who experienced violence and raise awareness in the media and other contexts.

Visit the Collective’s Facebook page

L’INÉÉI-PSH

Multi-year support granted in 2023; $30,000 for 2024

The InterAidance program, launched in 2020 by the Institut national pour l’équité, l’égalité et l’inclusion des personnes en situation de handicap (INÉÉI – PSH), aims to raise awareness and share information and references on issues of violence and discrimination, as well as to provide frontline interventions and care to the women who experience these issues. A team of volunteers trained in disability-informed approaches to counselling stands ready to respond to phone calls, offer support, guide users towards accessible and relevant community and public services. The program offers education and capacity building to the community and public sector stakeholders on intersectional approaches to gender-based violence.

Visit the INEEI-PSH’s website

Inter-Val 1175

Multi-year support granted in 2023; $30,000 for 2024

The Inter-Val 1175 shelter is a safe haven for women and children who have experienced domestic or family violence. This organization welcomes everyone without discriminating based on their origin, language or religion. They follow an intersectional feminist approach, which means that they provide individualized support and help each person achieve autonomy, taking into account the nature of the oppression they have faced in their lives. The Fund is supporting the organization in transitioning towards a model of services that is inclusive of trans and non-binary individuals and their specific needs. This will be accomplished through improved training for staff and raising awareness among users.

Visit Inter-Val 1175’s website

Le Parados

$30,000 for 2024

Le Parados is an organization that aims to provide shelter and support to women and children who have survived domestic violence. They offer a safe place to live, meet basic needs, and help integrate survivors into society while advocating for their rights and promoting their economic and social interests. Le Parados also provides awareness-raising workshops and kiosks in high schools to help young people identify signs of violence and create a supportive environment for survivors to talk about their experiences. They also offer training to school staff to help them detect students who may be living or have lived through violence, in order to better support them.

Visit Le Parados’ website

Monthly Dignity

$15,000 for 2024

Monthly Dignity is the only organization in Montreal and Quebec with a mission to provide affordable menstrual products and combat menstrual poverty through advocacy, awareness-raising, education and combating stigma. The organization distributes menstrual care products to vulnerable populations, including survivors of domestic and gender-based violence, LGBTQ2S+ youth, immigrant women, and others. Monthly Dignity collaborates with over 30 community partners, including schools, food banks, and local community organizations, to distribute free menstrual products and address the increasing needs in the face of the rising cost of living.

Visit Monthly Dignity’ website

The Foundation of Greater Montréal and a network of volunteer women are proud to support the Women’s Impact Montreal Collective Fund at FGM. Click here to learn more.