Role of the Cole Foundation in the funding ecosystem
The Cole Foundation is a Montréal-based philanthropic foundation created in 1980 by J. N. (Jack) Cole to advance pediatric and young adult hematology-oncology. Each year, it allocates roughly $2 million in grants, with about three quarters directed to medical research and clinical care in leukemia and lymphoma, and the remainder supporting community initiatives that foster intercultural dialogue through the arts, particularly theatre, in Montréal.
Over time, the foundation has built a network of partner institutions including the Université de Montréal, McGill University, the Université du Québec (Institut Armand‑Frappier), major Montréal hospitals and research centres such as CHU Sainte‑Justine, the Montréal Children’s Hospital, Hôpital Maisonneuve‑Rosemont and IRIC. Through this network it funds structured programs that help train researchers, build research infrastructure and support innovative projects.
Main funding programs and instruments
The Cole Foundation operates several recurring funding streams. Its research fellowships, launched in 2007, provide two‑year awards for clinical fellows (MDs), postdoctoral trainees and PhD students focused on pediatric and young adult leukemia, lymphoma and related blood cancers. Fellowships have defined annual amounts, additional allowances for academic activities and clear eligibility rules tied to full‑time status at partner universities in the Montréal region.
Transition grants help universities create new permanent assistant or associate professor positions for early‑career researchers who have completed postdoctoral training. The foundation contributes annual funds over a three‑year period to ease the launch of new laboratories in hematology‑oncology, after which host universities commit to sustaining the positions.
On the cultural side, the Intercultural Conversations theatre competition is run semi‑annually. It awards production, creation and translation grants to professional theatre companies commissioning or staging plays that explore the voices and stories of diverse racial, ethnic and religious communities in Montréal, Québec and beyond. Calls for proposals include fixed deadlines, assessment by the board and online application forms.
Additional research partnerships and impact
Beyond its own branded programs, the Cole Foundation co‑funds larger initiatives such as the Pediatric Cancer Research Initiative, where it joined partners including the Canadian Cancer Society, CQDM and Oncopole to award multi‑year grants totalling more than $8 million to several Québec research teams. Historically, it has also invested in endowed chairs, such as the Jack Cole Chair in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at McGill University, and in critical infrastructure like pediatric leukemia cell banks, with multi‑year commitments to support province‑wide research access.
General evaluation considerations
Across its health and arts programs, the foundation typically evaluates applications based on alignment with its mandate (pediatric and young adult blood cancers or intercultural dialogue), academic and artistic excellence, the quality of the host environment, and the coherence of the proposed project. For fellowships, external expert committees review scientific merit and training context, while theatre grants are adjudicated through competitive calls with defined timelines and transparent outcomes.
Through these combined mechanisms, the Cole Foundation plays a significant role in strengthening Montréal’s position as a centre of excellence in pediatric hematology‑oncology and as a city that values cultural diversity and intercultural understanding.
