Grant and Funding Programs Offered by Fonds Escale Notre-Dame

Fonds Escale Notre-Dame is a charitable foundation whose sole purpose is to financially support the humanitarian work of the residential therapy centre L’Escale Notre-Dame Inc., located in Montréal. The fund was created by religious communities to ensure stable, long-term support for a centre that provides professional services and accompaniment to young adults and adults dealing with drug and alcohol addiction. Rather than operating treatment services itself, the fund acts as a financial vehicle, collecting and managing donations and investment income, then directing resources to the operating needs of the centre.

The fund prioritises in totality the mission and programs of L’Escale Notre-Dame, which offers an internal therapy program rooted in human, moral and religious values for men aged 18 to 65. Over the years, the centre has served more than 2,300 people in recovery, and the fund helps maintain a welcoming living environment, professional staff and program continuity.

Fonds Escale Notre-Dame solicits contributions from multiple types of donors, including religious communities, private foundations, individual donors and businesses. These donations are pooled within the fund and invested under the supervision of an investment committee. This committee is made up of members of the fund’s board of directors and oversees a professional portfolio manager who handles day-to-day investments.

In collaboration with the manager, the committee recommends appropriate investment vehicles and asset allocation to the board, taking into account the financial needs of L’Escale Notre-Dame and market conditions. The performance of each investment vehicle is reviewed regularly, and allocations are adjusted as required to balance capital preservation, growth and the capacity to disburse funds to the centre.

The fund is governed by its own board of directors, whose members largely come from the Montréal region and bring expertise in fields such as insurance, accounting, engineering, law, education and religious community leadership. This board is responsible for sound management of the fund, ensuring that donations are used effectively and that the capital “makes little ones”, i.e. continues to grow while supporting the treatment centre in a sustainable way.

As a registered charity, Fonds Escale Notre-Dame issues tax receipts for qualifying donations and maintains governance practices appropriate to its size and mission. The board’s role includes oversight of fundraising, investment policy and the regular transfer of resources to L’Escale Notre-Dame Inc. to support certified addiction treatment services.

Through the financing it provides, the fund indirectly supports a clientele of men aged 18 to 65 who have chosen to undertake a structured residential therapy program based on cognitive-behavioural approaches. The centre typically welcomes around 15 residents at a time and employs a mix of salaried staff, volunteers and contractors. By underwriting operating costs, the fund contributes to maintaining professional services, therapeutic activities and a stable environment conducive to recovery.

While Fonds Escale Notre-Dame does not run open call grant programs, it functions as a dedicated funding body for a specialized addiction treatment organization, ensuring that individual and institutional donors can collectively sustain this social and health mission over the long term.