News Releases

BMO Financial Group and Community Foundations of Canada (CFC), the largest network of public foundations in Canada, today launched Supporting Your Community, the first and most widely available philanthropic program of its kind in Canada.

Supporting Your Community is the first collaboration between a major Canadian financial institution and CFC's network of Community Foundations. This unique and distinctly Canadian program capitalizes on BMO’s force of more than 2,200 investment professionals and over 130 community foundations across the country, to create more opportunities for donors to make charitable contributions that have a lasting, local impact.  With a minimum donation of $25,000, Canadian donors can create their own charitable fund through the Supporting Your Community program.

Supporting Your Community helps donors formalize their giving and provides them with the charitable and financial advice to help maximize the impact of their donation in the community.  The program will also help donors choose which local issues or charitable organizations they want to support and co-ordinate all grant-making activities.

“This highly collaborative effort between BMO Financial Group and CFC sends a strong signal to prospective philanthropists that building a permanent endowment for a charitable cause is now available to more Canadians than ever,” says Bill Downe, Deputy Chair, BMO Financial Group and Chief Executive Officer, BMO Nesbitt Burns and Head of Investment Banking.  “Community Foundations have the granting expertise and depth of community knowledge, which, combined with BMO’s long tradition of building strong relationships with the communities where we do business, will help raise the profile of philanthropy across the country and bring a much needed focus on community development.”

"Donors want to play a more direct and long-term role in their charitable giving and they want to make a real difference in the community,” says Monica Patten, President and Chief Executive Officer, Community Foundations of Canada.  “We hope this program will encourage even more Canadian philanthropists to step forward and contribute to their communities in a meaningful way.”

BMO Financial Group Chairman and CEO Tony Comper and his wife Elizabeth will create the first charitable fund under the new program.

How Does it Work?

• The donor meets with a BMO investment professional to discuss the program, the types of donations that can be made and how their donation will fit into their overall financial plan, including providing taxation and investment advice.

• The BMO investment professional introduces the donor to the appropriate Community Foundation and sets up an initial meeting.

• Working together with the Community Foundation, the donor identifies the causes or organizations to which the funds will be directed.

• The Community Foundation manages the granting and administration of the donations.

Each gift through Supporting Your Community will continue to give year after year, because it will be part of a permanent fund, expertly invested and managed by BMO Financial Group, to protect the principal and optimize the value of the grants.

Supporting Your Community will be expanded across the country, and is initially available to any Canadian interested in giving in 28 community foundations across the country.

Community Foundations of Canada

Community Foundations of Canada (CFC) is the national membership organization for one of the country’s fastest growing charitable movements. Over the past decade, the number of Canadian community foundations has more than tripled and so have their combined assets.

Today, there are more than 130 community foundations in cities, towns and rural areas across Canada. These locally-run foundations play a critical role supporting community groups. Last year, they provided more than $80 million in grants to local charitable causes.

BMO Financial Group

BMO Financial Group is one of the largest financial services providers in North America.  BMO Financial Group serves clients across Canada and in the United States through its Canadian retail arm, BMO Bank of Montreal, through its Chicago-based Harris Bank, a major U.S. mid-west financial services organization, and through BMO Nesbitt Burns, one of Canada’s leading full-service investment firms.

The following Community Foundations are planning to participage in Supporting Your Community:

The Victoria Foundation

Vancouver Foundation

West Vancouver Foundation

Prince George Community Foundation

Edmonton Community Foundation

Medicine Hat Community Foundation

The Saskatoon Foundation

Red Deer & District Community Foundation

South Saskatchewan Community Foundation

The Winnipeg Foundation

Community Foundation of Portage and District Inc.

The Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation

Niagara Community Foundation

The Community Foundation of Oakville

Sudbury Community Foundation

The Community Foundation of Durham Region

The Guelph Community Foundation

The Hamilton Community Foundation

Huronia Communities Foundation

Toronto Community Foundation

Temagami Community Foundation

Community Foundation of Ottawa

Community Foundation of Orillia & Area

Burlington Community Foundation

Fondation du Grand Montréal

Fondation communautaire du Grand Québec

The Greater Saint John Community Foundation

The Fredericton Community Foundation

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