Desjardins
Submitted by Garry Cronan on October 15, 2007 - 1:41pm.
Desjardins Financial Corporation | Banking and Finance | Canada | Community | Principles/CSR | Development
The leading financial institution in Québec and the largest cooperative financial group in Canada.
Global 300 ranking:
31Number of members:
5,500,000Member Dividend:
USD $408,000Number of employees:
40,000Gender Diversity:
51% of employees are femaleTurnover:
USD $: 2,147,483,647Type of Co-operative:
Consortium and FederationDate founded:
1900Operating Countries:
Canada, USA.
Website:
Community
Healthcare Education: In order to assist in the fight against obesity, which is at the root of numerous diseases including hypertension, certain cardiovascular problems and diabetes, they offer CAD 500,000 in financial support to the Chair on obesity research and CAD 600,000 to the Bertrand-Fradet cardiology Chair at Université Laval.
Grand Tournée: In order to build bridges between the French-speaking, English-speaking and Mohawk communities in their region, the Châteauguay, Christ-Roi de Châteauguay, Kahnawake and Mercier – Saint-Isidore Desjardins caisses granted CAD 15,000 in financial aid to organize the Grande Tournée 2005 des jeunes de Châteauguay et de Kahnawake bike tour.
Mutual Assistance: Desjardins Mutual Assistance Funds, which originated from a collaborative effort between a group of caisses and various budget consulting organizations, help people in financial difficulty that have no access to credit by offering budget management advisory services and emergency loans, if needed.
The Desjardins Jeunes au travail program, started in 1996, consists of young people between 15 and 18 enjoying paid, supervised 180-hour summer internships in a business, including job search and interview training, in order to enhance their employability.
Development
Foundation: In the past year, Fondation Desjardins, a private foundation financially supported by the Desjardins caisses and subsidiaries, provided 367 bursaries and prizes totalling CAD 642,576, under a number of programs aimed at providing financial assistance to students, developing employability among young people, fostering entrepreneurship and increasing job creation.
Sponsorships, Donations and Student Bursaries by business segment 2005:
- Arts and culture CAD 4.3 million
- Regional economic development CAD 17.1 million
- Education CAD 10.5 million
- Mutual assistance and solidarity CAD 6.5 million
- Health and well-being CAD 13.4 million
- Sports and recreation CAD 6.4 million
- Microfinance: The Desjardins Microcredit for Business fund is the result of a partnership between a group of caisses and a Réseau québécois du crédit communautaire (RQCC – Québec Community Credit Network) member organization. The RQCC allows self-employed workers and microbusinesses that have trouble getting credit through the traditional networks to obtain financing and support in carrying out their business plans.
- Venture Capital: In 2005, Desjardins Venture Capital (DVC), their venture capital fund manager, invested a total of CAD 159 million in new commitments in 143 businesses and co-operatives from every region of Québec. DVC manages the assets of the six Desjardins regional investment funds and two other organizations: Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins (CRCD), a public fund with capitalization
expected to reach CAD 1.325 billion by 2011, and Desjardins – Innovatech S.E.C.
Co-operative Education:
Jeune COOP (Youth COOP) program: In conjunction with the Conseil de la coopération du Québec, they support the Jeune COOP (Youth COOP) program, which provides young students in the last two years of high school and their teachers with all the tools they need to start up a co-operative.
Fondation pour l’éducation à la coopération (FEC): In 2005, Fondation Desjardins signed a ten-year agreement with the Fondation pour l’éducation à la coopération (FEC) co-operative education foundation.
