Role of the Hôtel-Dieu de Lévis Foundation in the funding ecosystem
The Hôtel-Dieu de Lévis Foundation is a hospital foundation created in 1980 that mobilizes individuals, companies and community groups in the Chaudière-Appalaches region to support Hôtel-Dieu de Lévis and related facilities. Since its creation, more than $100M have been raised to develop the hospital’s infrastructure, purchase advanced medical equipment, humanize patient care and strengthen research and training capacity.
The Foundation acts as a financial lever: every dollar donated helps unlock additional public investment in the hospital. Each year, it invests several million dollars across dozens of care units and departments, responding to both urgent needs and long-term strategic projects.
Main funding mandates and types of support
The Foundation structures its interventions around four mandates: participation in infrastructure projects, acquisition of state-of-the-art equipment, humanization of care, and support for research, knowledge transfer and continuing education. Its funding covers major construction or refurbishment projects (e.g. modernization of laboratories, redevelopment of the day medicine unit, Maison Dessercom), medical devices for laboratories, surgery and pediatrics, as well as comfort and therapeutic initiatives such as massage therapy, pet therapy and equipment to improve patient experience.
Grants, bursaries and research funding
Within the research and training mandate, the Foundation offers several types of competitive support. It finances strategic grants for integrated or structuring research projects, start-up support for young investigators, and bursaries for new master’s and PhD students. It also provides communication grants that help graduate students and postdoctoral fellows present their work at scientific events, and continuing education bursaries that enable nursing and allied health staff to follow advanced clinical training in priority fields.
Public examples include strategic development grants for projects on climate resilience in rural health systems, citizen-partnered research in the regional health authority, and studies on specialized addiction services. These mechanisms position the Foundation as a meaningful grant provider within the local health research ecosystem.
Supported audiences and overall impact
The primary beneficiaries of the Foundation’s funding are the patients and families served by Hôtel-Dieu de Lévis, as well as the clinical and research teams working there. Funding supports geriatrics, oncology, pediatrics, mental health, cardiovascular rehabilitation and many other specialties by shortening wait times, improving access to diagnostics, and enhancing the dignity and comfort of care environments.
The Foundation works closely with the CISSS de Chaudière-Appalaches and expert committees to prioritize projects. Corporate donors, individual philanthropists and planned-giving programs are all integrated into a diversified revenue model documented in annual reports, which detail revenues, investments and impact.
Transparency, governance and accountability
The organization emphasizes transparency and sound financial management. It publishes annual impact and financial reports, explains its low administrative cost ratios, and describes how gifts are allocated between general funds and designated projects. Donor recognition programs (Associates’ Club, Circle of the Eternals, corporate donor listings) and clear information on tax receipts and eligible gift types reinforce its status as a trusted funding institution for hospital development.