A ‘historic’ donation of $40 million from Kibekor to UdeM

The University of Montreal has announced a “new chapter in its philanthropic history” thanks to a $40 million donation from the Québecourt Foundation and the Chopin-Pelado Foundation.

“It is a great day to celebrate and it is part of the great history book of UdeM. With the unprecedented donation announced today, we are together setting a stone on which UdeM will build a committed and responsible entrepreneurial culture for the Quebec of tomorrow,” Daniel Jutras, President of the University of Montreal, said Wednesday. .

He hopes that other philanthropists will follow in the footsteps of Mr. Pelado and in turn contribute to the impact of the university field, adding that he wants to open a new door. This, he says, is the largest donation made to a French-speaking university in the country.

We have about 14,000 annual donations from our alumni. The average donation is a few hundred dollars,” Mr. Jutras puts into perspective. The last major donation UdeM received was $12 million. He added beaming with this gesture: “$40 million is not only unprecedented, it is an order of magnitude that takes us out of our habits.” “.

Half of the money will go towards creating the Millennium Kibecourt program to train the next generation of entrepreneurs. This can be introduced as early as spring.

“By co-creating a networking venue and a new entrepreneurship programme, we are ensuring that we are doing everything we can to support and propel young talent,” said Pierre-Carl Bellado, President and CEO of Kibecourt Management, who noted that they wanted to honor his father’s memory with this donation.

The other part of the donation will be used to build a modern pavilion in the future, named in honor of Pierre Pillado, founder of Quebecour. The building, which is due to be completed within five years, will house the Millénium Québecor Program as well as the UdeM Center for Future Innovation.

“Education is a right today,” said Mr. Pelado, noting that it has not always been so. “These are like men [mon père]and many others of his time, who gave us the collective means to assert ourselves and control our destiny.”

He also pointed out that one of the most important teachings his father passed on to him was to contribute to society “to learn how to give back what we got.”