2024 PHILANTHROPIC CONTEST: TWELVE CHARITIES IN THE RUNNING TO SHARE HALF A MILLION DOLLARS IN DONATIONS!

QUEBEC, Nov. 4, 2024 /CNW/ - Following the launch of its annual Canada-wide philanthropic contest last September, iA Financial Group today unveils the list of 12 finalists whose projects have been selected by the jury for the eighth edition of the contest. From these finalists, the public will now be asked to choose four winners, which will each receive $100,000 to make a project a reality or to pursue their mission. The remaining eight finalists will each receive a donation of $10,000.

This year, iA Financial Group has chosen to focus on charities that support people struggling with social issues such as homelessness, food insecurity, dropping out of school, addictions, violence, mental illness or isolation.

From now until November 27, 2024, the public can vote at donations-contest.ia.ca for the projects that they find the most inspiring in four different regions (Quebec, Ontario, Western Canada, Northern Canada and Atlantic Canada).

The 10,000 iA Financial Group employees are also invited to get involved and vote for their favourite charities, which will share an additional $20,000. The winners will be revealed the week of December 9, 2024.

OUR SOCIAL COMMITMENT

Philanthropy is deeply rooted in our culture at iA Financial Group. It is one of the company's fundamental values, aligned with its commitment towards sustainability and concrete support for communities. In 2024, the Group will make 10.4 million dollars in donations to 600 charities working in the health, education, environment, or social services sector. This large-scale philanthropic contest is in line with iA Financial Group's efforts to support the communities it serves, and also embodies a central component of its commitment, the company aiming to donate 1% of its net profits every year.

"Our annual philanthropic contest is a very important moment for iA Financial Group. The contest jury was impressed and moved by the projects we received this year, which demonstrate the charities' unwavering commitment to the wellbeing of our community! I'd like to extend my warmest thanks to all the charities for their participation, and I wish the finalists the best of luck!", said Denis Ricard, President and Chief Executive Officer of iA Financial Group.

THE TOP 12 FINALISTS AND THEIR PROJECTS

1. AutonHommie,Quebec City (Quebec)
   
   A donation would help launch a campaign to raise awareness of the need for support for men in the Capitale-Nationale region. We'll be approaching companies where the majority of the employees are men to offer meetings to raise awareness of men's need for support, and to inform as many people as possible about the resources available to them. With this project, we want to reach out to men from all walks of life, to let them know that they don't have to solve their problems alone, that there are resources available for them, and that the sooner they act, the more likely it is that serious problems will be avoided. When we help a man, everyone wins: his partner and his children.
   
   
2. La rue des Femmes Foundation,Montreal (Quebec)
   
   A donation would offer a fresh start to women experiencing homelessness, many of whom have suffered deep trauma. Thanks to your generosity, we would be able to expand our range of therapeutic care by opening our fourth home and offering more hours of personalized therapy. These treatments, such as psychotherapy, art therapy or addiction counseling, provide them with the tools they need and a safe environment to overcome their traumas.  La rue des Femmes offers a complete care pathway helping thousands of women to regain their dignity and their lives. Our aim: to offer a better future to all the women we support and help build a more just and inclusive society.
   
   
3. Pleins Rayons, Cowansville (Quebec)
   
   With a donation, Pleins Rayons helps position its participants to play an active social role by developing projects in which people with disabilities become key players in social issues such as processing food for the region's food banks, helping young people with atypical backgrounds, and receiving specialized services adapted to the needs of its participants. Pleins Rayons hopes to continue developing promising projects that can be shared across Quebec to improve the quality of services for people with disabilities. Apprentices work to help their fellow community members, while discovering that they can play a helping role in their community. The aim is to combat the isolation and marginalization of people with intellectual or functional limitations. 
   
   
4. Food4Kids Halton,Burlington (Ontario) 
   
   A donation would significantly enhance our mission to combat childhood hunger and to support vulnerable families across the region of Halton. It would directly fund nutritious food for over 1,200 children in our Weekends Without Hunger program, a lifeline for vulnerable children facing food insecurity and ensuring they have access to healthy meals when school nutrition programs are unavailable. Additionally, the funds would establish a youth internship initiative, empowering high school students with essential job skills and reducing isolation. This dual impact not only addresses immediate nutritional needs but also fosters long-term growth and stability within our community, helping to break the cycle of poverty.
   
   
5. Canadian Mental Health Association – York Region Branch, Newmarket (Ontario)
   
   A donation will support MOYBSS (Mobile York South Simcoe), Ontario's first and only mobile (and now also virtual) mental health clinic for youth 12-25 in York Region and South Simcoe. Since 2015, MOBYSS has provided care to 20,000+ young people. Its goal is to save young lives from suicide and substance abuse, and help youth build resilience and coping skills. Annually, almost 3,700 individuals die by suicide in Canada, and suicide is the leading cause of death for young people 15-24. 75% of mental illness begins in the teen years, but many people wait 4-20 years to seek help. 
   
   
6. Children's Aid Foundation of Canada,Toronto (Ontario)
   
   A donation would go towards providing critical tutoring and mentoring services, funding for essential school supplies and technology, and recognizing exceptional students through Stay in School Awards—ensuring that young people in the child welfare system are supported to meet their academic goals, stay in school and graduate high school. Stay in School helps the children and youth across Canada living in foster care, group homes or with extended family due to abuse, neglect or abandonment. By providing targeted educational supports, we aim to improve graduation rates and help youth in care achieve their full potential.
   
   
7. Vancouver Food Runners, Vancouver (British Columbia)
   
   A donation will support our small team of six staff to organize 10,000+ food rescues by volunteer drivers in 2025, which will deliver 1.6+ million pounds of healthy food to community members experiencing food insecurity. In addition, this will mitigate 2.7+ million pounds of CO2eq from the environment. Vancouver Food Runners' tech-powered and community-centred food recovery program is scaling rapidly to meet the demand from both food businesses and nonprofit partners. We partner with nonprofits to increase healthy food access for residents experiencing food insecurity. The organizations we partner with support Indigenous, Black, immigrant and newcomer communities, at-risk children and youth, individuals experiencing disability and seniors who have a low income. 35,000+ community members experiencing food insecurity are reached through VFR's food program each month.
   
   
8. Saskatoon Crisis Intervention Service, Saskatoon (Saskatchewan) 
   
   A donation would go towards increasing our capacity to respond to service demand. As a trusted resource for underserved populations, there is an expectation that we will always be there. There are few options for underserved populations to access help in the evenings, weekends and holidays. The crisis response can take place over the phone, in the office or in the community. Adding more staff hours to continue to provide a quality crisis response would be the focus of this project. Intensive Community Support Services support adults with significant and enduring mental illness, who are considered to be hard to serve and difficult to engage. In 2023-2024 our Mobile Crisis Service responded to over 30,000 crisis service requests. PACT assisted over 2,090 people.
   
   
9. Airdrie P.O.W.E.R, Airdrie (Alberta) 
   
   A donation would go towards supporting, strengthening, and growing our Empowerment Program, which focuses on providing individualized support, safety and resources to women fleeing domestic violence. A donation like this would have a massive impact for our community, allowing us to help more women, provide more hours of support and implement additional programming to help women rebuild their lives. As an alternative to overfull shelter systems, we focus on long-term safety planning and address every issue—big or small—with personalized, adaptive support. With no other organization in our area solely focused on this critical issue, our services are vital to the community we serve.
   
   
10. Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre, Iqaluit (Nunavut)
    
    A donation will support our food access and education programs, including: Community Meal, our weekly produce box and country food box programs and Inuit Women's Circle. We aim to support individuals experiencing food insecurity in Iqaluit, NU. Despite this small community, last year we served 66,000 meals. Indicating the dire need for food security initiatives in the community.
    
    
11. Greater Moncton YMCA, Moncton (New Brunswick)
    
    A donation will strengthen and extend our reach in preventing and diverting homelessness with YMCA ReConnect. These funds will enhance our street and encampment outreach services, enabling us to provide immediate assistance such as food, clothing, hygiene products and harm reduction supplies. Additionally, we will expand our efforts to address long-term solutions through a housing-first approach, helping individuals secure essential documentation, overcome housing barriers and access critical community resources. The funding will allow us to offer more trauma-informed support, ensuring that we reach more individuals at risk, ultimately reducing homelessness and fostering stability in our community.
    
    
12. Easter Seals Nova Scotia, Dartmouth (Nova Scotia)
    
    A donation would go toward The Next Step—a supported employment program for youth with disabilities—which would benefit tremendously from this donation and would give us the capacity to grow this program outside of Halifax and into other parts of the province. The Next Step works with recent high-school graduates with disabilities to help them find their place in the workforce. Without this program to assist them, these young adults often describe their lives as graduating to the couch. The short-term goals for the program are to assist each participant in finding meaningful, paid employment in the community. The long-term goal is to establish a network of inclusive employers, not only in Halifax but other parts of the province as well.

Our sustainability ambition

To be a company that contributes to sustainable growth and the wellbeing of its clients, employees, partners, investors and communities, iA Financial Group makes sustainability a priority. To guide our day-to-day achievements, we integrate environmental, social and governance factors.

About iA financial group

iA Financial Group is one of the largest insurance and wealth management groups in Canada, with operations in the United States. Founded in 1892, it is an important Canadian public company and is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IAG (common shares).

iA Financial Group is a business name and trademark of iA Financial Corporation Inc. and Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc.

SOURCE iA Financial Group