Centraide of Greater Montreal invests over $65 million to provide essential support to our community’s most vulnerable
Montreal, July 15, 2020 – Centraide of Greater Montreal announced today that it invested and allocated over $65 million in 2019-2020 so that vulnerable people could benefit from essential support from community agencies in Laval, in Montreal, and on the South Shore. This community-sector funding has allowed agencies to meet multiple needs while maintaining their efforts to cope with the COVID-19 crisis in the last several months.
“This crisis has further demonstrated the importance of being able to rely on strong, innovative and resilient agencies that can respond to urgent needs and that can also alleviate poverty and social exclusion over the longer term. Agencies strengthen our social fabric and are more essential than ever to support people experiencing hardship,” said Lili-Anna Pereša, President and Executive Director of Centraide of Greater Montreal.
These social investments were made possible through the money raised from Centraide’s 2019 campaign, donations to the COVID-19 Emergency Fund, and two federal government grant programs.
In addition to meeting the needs of hundreds of thousands of Greater Montrealers who suddenly found themselves deprived of the essentials, the emergency funds have also reinforced available services. These initiatives include:
- Centraide of Greater Montreal’s COVID-19 Emergency Fund. Centraide allocated $7.1 million to 441 community agencies so that they could meet the needs of the vulnerable and people hit hard by the health crisis. This money was made possible thanks to donations from companies, organizations and unions, generous donors, foundations, cities, and boroughs.
- The Youth Project supported by the Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation, Marcelle and Jean Coutu Foundation, Eidos-Montréal, and Square Enix Montréal. An amount of $1.5 million was allocated to 56 agencies so that over 12,000 isolated and marginalized youths could get help during the summer to continue their studies and start the next school year off right.
- The Government of Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP). This program allowed Centraide to provide an additional $683,000* to about 100 agencies in the metropolitan area that provide services to break the isolation of seniors and improve their quality of life. These services also include social support as well as grocery and meal deliveries. *(Recorded under the COVID-19 Emergency Fund.)
- The Government of Canada’s Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF). Centraide of Greater Montreal has been entrusted with $12 million to date (for staff hirings, equipment and supply purchases, etc.) to respond to urgent needs in its territory that have been caused or made worse by COVID-19. Centraide has allocated $7.1 million to 202 agencies for support services over the past few weeks and for the summer season to people who are vulnerable and at risk of social exclusion. Funding of $5.1 million will be also given to agencies in mid-September.
Centraide of Greater Montreal: A strategic and proactive social investor
Our Greater Montreal has been particularly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As huge numbers of people turned to the community ecosystem for help, Centraide of Greater Montreal had to react quickly with a flexible and large-scale response. Beyond our allocated funding, we have also created networks to help stakeholders come together, allow our partners to talk to each other and discover what is actually going on in the field, give agencies the support they need to reorganize and, above all, let our fellow citizens find a quick response to their needs. This unifying role is reflected in the trust that many companies, partner institutions, cities and boroughs, donors, and private foundations have shown by entrusting us with significant funding.
After governments, Centraide is one of the largest funding partners for community agencies. Centraide has knowledge of community dynamics and the needs of disadvantaged people. Its sound investments are aligned with community realities and support highly effective organizations and leaders in their communities.
For more information about Centraide of Greater Montreal’s investments, consult the Report to Our Community.
Centraide of Greater Montreal is active in the territories of Laval, Montreal and the South Shore. Before COVID-19, nearly 57,000 volunteers were involved in the close to 350 agencies that it supports. Centraide has a presence in 18 regions in Quebec and is supported by private, public and parapublic corporations and institutions as well as large trade unions. The money it raises is invested locally to break the cycle of poverty and social exclusion.