New foundation launches in Montreal to fund democracy and human rights

Author Sharlene Gandhi

Claire Trottier of the Trottier Family Foundation has launched a new philanthropic organization, focused on “strengthening democracy and advancing human rights in Canada.” 

Montreal-based, the Euphrosine Foundation will begin with an initial endowment of $60 million, 10 per cent of which is already promised to “community-led re-grantors already identified during its planning phase.”

The Euphrosine Foundation is time-bound over a 30-year period, “to ensure the Foundation has a meaningful impact in a single generation.” 

On the flip side, the Trottier Family Foundation – which focuses its giving almost exclusively on science and technology projects and education – has committed to a partial spend-down by 2030, giving $150 million to climate projects across Canada.

Lawyer and former executive director of Transparency International Canada, Niamh Leonard will be leading the new foundation. She will be joined by Rani Cruz and Noelle Sorbara, both of whom have worked at Welcome Collective, a refugee-serving charity in Montreal.

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  • Sharlene Gandhi is the Future of Good editorial fellow on digital transformation.

    Sharlene has been reporting on responsible business, environmental sustainability and technology in the UK and Canada since 2018. She has worked with various organizations during this time, including the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business at Lancaster University, AIGA Eye on Design, Social Enterprise UK and Nature is a Human Right. Sharlene moved to Toronto in early 2023 to join the Future of Good team, where she has been reporting at the intersections of technology, data and social purpose work. Her reporting has spanned several subject areas, including AI policy, cybersecurity, ethical data collection, and technology partnerships between the private, public and third sectors.

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