The start of a long journey

2022 Annual Report – A word from the President and CEO

2022 was a busy year for the Foundation of Greater Montréal! Most notably, we started to implement our Strategic Plan and its six major areas of intervention. The objective: advance the realization of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, especially with regards to social equity, the ecological transition and diversity and inclusion, with the ultimate goal of building a community free of poverty and discrimination, where all can realize their potential and live in a healthy environment, today and in the years to come.

With this plan, we have therefore committed ourselves to realizing three goals: mobilize the available philanthropic resources in Greater Montreal, support the development of innovative initiatives and partnerships, and disseminate relevant knowledge about the problems our community faces. Through these means, we will continue to support the search for, and implementation of, the solutions and tools our community needs.

Adopted in the wake of the plan, our Responsible Investment Strategy will from now on oblige our asset managers to align FGM’s investments with its values and goals, while not sacrificing the types of returns that will enable it to accomplish its mission. And in orienting our grantmaking towards the principles of trust-based philanthropy, we have spurred our team into imagining new ways of reaching the most neglected and marginalized populations in our community.

The process through which we developed our Action Plan in matters of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) forced us to rethink all our ways of doing things, and to place these values right at the heart of all of our actions. Our new Philanthropic Development Committee will, as well, take on the job of democratizing and promoting FGM’s services to new clienteles, as well as strengthening our ties with those we already serve.

We published two (instead of the usual one) reports in the Vital Signs of Greater Montreal series. We thus were able to shed new light on the issues we must collectively tackle, and contribute to mobilizing the community in the quest for the systemic changes needed in order to deal with those issues. FGM’s Collective Funds, including the Women’s Impact Montreal Collective Fund, the Collective Fund for Social Equity and the Fund to Support Indigenous Initiatives, truly moved into high gear in 2022, providing tangible and customized support to those who needed it.

In 2023 and beyond, we will continue to be active on all these fronts. In 2022 we took our first steps on a long journey that will redefine the way in which the Foundation of Greater Montréal intervenes in the community, while renewing its commitment to the values that underpinned its creation just over 20 years ago. Thank you for providing us with your unyielding support as we continue this adventure. We’ll be in touch soon!

Karel Mayrand
President and CEO
Foundation of Greater Montréal