Initiatives
Ongoing — BBFF continues to be a lead actor in the Peace Network for Social Harmony, in partnership with an increasing number of philanthropic and corporate members.
Ongoing — BBFF provides support to Tools of Peace, an initiative in which a dozen Montreal-based NGOs work together to create a more powerful collective voice and to increase their own effectiveness in preventing violence.
Ongoing — BBFF has a central presence at the YMCA du Québec Peace Medal event, the most significant annual event for peace in the province. The Foundation acts as a sponsor for the event, and Brian Bronfman acts as its co-President and chair of the Selection Committee.
Ongoing — BBFF funds a scholarship at Pearson College for a Quebec student working on aspects of peacebuilding.
Ongoing — BBFF continues to support core organizations, including: Equitas, Ensemble for the Respect of Diversity, Institut Pacifique LOVE (Leave Out Violence), Centre de services de justice réparatrice, Centre de formation sociale Marie-Gérin-Lajoie, Centre de ressources sur la non-violence, Montreal City Mission, Kids Help Phone, the Montreal Holocaust Museum, Diversité Artistique Montréal, Initiatives et changement, Fédération des maisons d’hébergement pour femmes, Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale, Auberge Shalom, Maison d’Haïti, the Hagar School (Jewish-Arab education for equality in Beer Sheva), Pour 3 Points, Montreal Community Cares, ATSA-Cuisine ta Ville, Apathy Is Boring.
2020 & 2021 — BBFF supports Bout du monde by providing technical equipment and access to space and expertise for high-quality video creation, enabling Black youth from Montreal North to develop and master important skills for self-expression.
April 2021 — BBFF funds PAAL-Partageons le monde’s Inclusion Training, intended to create greater openness to inclusion in business and workplace settings.
2020 — BBFF makes special COVID-19 contributions to Federation CJA, Centraide, the Jewish General Hospital, and Resilience Montreal.
November 2020 — BBFF provides the funding necessary for the creation of an online version of Dorothy Williams’ “ABCs of Canadian Black History” educational program.
2019 & 2020 — BBFF sponsors appearances by YidLife Crisis at events intended to build bridges between Jewish and non-Jewish communities through humour and food.
November 2019 — BBFF supports Sacred Fire Productions’ “Women Are Sisters” project, geared to Indigenous storytelling and inter-cultural exchange through quilt-making.
May 2019 — BBFF supports the Karihwanoron restorative justice program in Kahnawake.
February 2018 – BBFF is a key sponsor and active partner in the Power of the Arts conference organized by the Michaëlle Jean Foundation, whose theme for the year is “the Arts as Tools for Peace.”
2017 – BBFF provides funding for the creation of an educational guide to be used in tandem with the documentary feature “In Pursuit of Peace,” allowing schools to teach the conflict resolution tools and ideas presented in the film.
September 19, 2016 – BBFF co-organizes and pays for the “Syrian Refugee Response: Your Questions Answered” event at Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom.
November 2015 – BBFF is a lead sponsor of Aime comme Montréal, a book and photo exhibition celebrating loving relationships between Montrealers of different religious and cultural backgrounds.
2015 & 2016 – BBFF funds the expansion, translation into English, and creation of an educational guide for QuébecoisEs, musulmanEs…et après?, a photo exhibit intended to demystify the province’s Muslim community by displaying ordinary people leading their lives, with accompanying explanatory text.
December 2012 – BBFF provides seed funding to Dawson College that leads to the creation of Dawson’s Peace Centre.
October 21, 2012 – Brian Bronfman receives the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for his contribution to the betterment of our society through the BBFF and the Peace Network for Social Harmony.
December 9, 2010 – Brian Bronfman provides the keynote address at the graduation ceremony for students in the Canadian Institute for Conflict Resolution’s Third Party Neutral program. At the event, he is awarded CICR’s Award of Merit for his “Outstanding contribution to the conflict resolution field.”
August 2009 – BBFF supports the Dalai Lama’s visit to Montreal through a stand-alone contribution to the planning and organizing of the visit. The BBFF was especially interested in the central theme of the visit, “ethics through education.” This visit included both a public talk at the Bell Centre entitled “Educating the Heart: The Power of Compassion,” and, most significantly, an event at which the Dalai Lama met with over 500 teachers-in-training, who will be instituting Quebec’s new Ethics and Religious Culture program in the coming years.
July 2006 – The Brian Bronfman Family Foundation, in conjunction with David Bronfman, helps to complete the final philanthropic project of the Edward Bronfman Family Foundation, predecessor to the BBFF. Through this endeavour, the Post Partum Unit of the Jewish General Hospital is restored, renovated, and renamed in loving memory of Edward Bronfman.