Grant and Funding Programs Offered by Fondation autisme Laurentides (FAL)

Fondation autisme Laurentides (FAL) is a registered charitable foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life of autistic people and their families in the Laurentides region of Québec. The foundation’s core role is to provide financial support exclusively to Autisme Laurentides so that it can offer affordable, specialized respite and leisure services adapted to the needs of children, adolescents and adults on the autism spectrum. Over the last fifteen years, FAL has raised more than 1.5 million dollars and invested these funds directly in services to families.

The foundation channels donations and proceeds from fundraising campaigns into concrete projects, including the maison de répits Nicola et Albert Levy and the new Centre autisme Laurentides in Blainville. These facilities increase respite capacity, expand day services for non-schooled adults, support siblings, and offer group activities, training and social skills workshops in accessible, adapted environments.

FAL mobilizes a wide range of partners—municipalities, companies, other foundations and individual donors—to co-finance major infrastructure and service development projects. The Centre autisme Laurentides page highlights different levels of contributors (principal partner, bâtisseurs émérites, platine, or, argent, bronze et soutien), illustrating the foundation’s role as a hub for philanthropic investment in regional autism services.

Rather than running open competitive grant calls, the foundation operates as the dedicated financial arm of Autisme Laurentides. Its funding covers expanded respite capacity, day programs, support groups, training spaces, accessibility improvements such as elevators and adapted bathrooms, and centralized offices for professional teams. Through these investments, families in the Laurentides gain access to safe, supervised environments with high staff-to-participant ratios.

The website presents typical governance elements for a funding body, including a board of directors, an executive team and an annual report section. Multiple annual reports are published online, documenting activities, financial results and the impact of funded projects. This level of transparency and accountability reinforces the foundation’s positioning as a structured grant-making and project-funding organization within the regional social services ecosystem.