SYC Brings $600,000 Bequest to Quebec City

Claude Gauvreau was a long-time Bank of Montreal client and a cancer survivor who wanted to make a difference. He knew he wanted to leave money to at least two charities, but hadn’t worked out the details. Then Michel Lamarre mentioned the Supporting Your Community program. Lamarre was the client’s investment advisor for 5 years.

“My client wanted to give money to the local Heart & Stroke Foundation,” says Lamarre. “When he found out that the money could keep on giving long after he was gone, and that the community foundation would oversee the gift, he knew this was the right option for him.”

This was Lamarre’s second experience to the Fondation communautaire du Grand Québec and he was pleased with the relationship they have started to build together. “We began to work together two years ago, and I see a lot of potential in the foundation, and the SYC program, for my clients.”

Nataly Rae, the Foundation’s Executive Director, appreciates the opportunity to introduce community foundations to a new audience. “The community foundation movement in Quebec City is starting to gain momentum,” says Rae. “The SYC program is a great way to spread the word about what community foundations have to offer advisors and their clients.”

Lamarre already has other clients who are interested in starting their own charitable fund. “They were also planning to put this in their will, but they are considering starting the fund now instead. They like the idea that they can name the fund and be involved in the grantmaking now, while they’re still alive.”

With this donation, SYC in Quebec City reaches the one-million-dollar mark!