Fondation Desjardins is a 2-star charity with a below average results reporting grade. Its funding reserves are outside Ci’s reasonable range and can cover nearly twenty-three years of annual program costs. For every dollar donated to Fondation Desjardins, 99 cents are available to go to the cause, which is outside Ci’s reasonable range.

Founded in 1970 by Desjardins Group, Fondation Desjardins supports youth education and aims to help young people succeed in school and pursue their education. The foundation notes that some young people are working longer hours at the expense of their studies, which can reduce their motivation and desire to stay in school. The charity aims to help youth through funding distributed through its four programs: Scholarships, Fondation Desjardins Prizes, Support for Organizations, and Desjardins Philanthropic Funds. The foundation granted $9.6m in 2025.

Scholarships provide financial assistance to students pursuing post-secondary education. The charity aims to recognize young people for their dedication beyond academic achievement. In 2025, Fondation Desjardins awarded 1,679 scholarships.

Fondation Desjardins Prizes provides up to $3,000 to fund initiatives that create meaningful experiences for kindergarten, elementary and high school students. For example, one funded project in F2025 at Wilfrid-Léger High School in Waterloo, ON allowed students with additional support needs to build their own skateboards from scratch, helping them develop practical skills and confidence. In 2025, prizes supported 848 projects, giving nearly 194,000 students experiences designed to encourage them to stay in school.

Support for Organizations provides funding to more than 20 organizations working to promote academic perseverance. Supported organizations include Pathways to Education, Alloprof, Young Musicians of the World, and Fondation des Auberges du Coeur. 

Desjardins Philanthropic Funds helps Desjardins members create personalized charitable funds to support the organizations and causes they care about. Fondation Desjardins provides guidance on planning donations and managing contributions so donors can direct funding to their recommended charities. Since 2015, 353 funds have been created, benefiting 337 organizations.

Fondation Desjardins had total revenues of $120.0m in 2025, a 325% increase from $28.2m in 2024. The significant increase appears to be largely related to a major donation, although the nature and source of this donation are not reported on. The charity received $109.1m in donations in 2025, representing 91% of revenue. Investment income was $10.8m, accounting for the remaining 9% of revenue.

The charity spent $9.6m on grants, which is 8% of its revenue. It recorded a surplus of $110.0m in 2025, equal to 91% of its revenue.

Administrative and fundraising costs were $696k, representing less than 1% of revenue (excluding investment income). Total overhead spending was less than 1%. For every dollar donated to Fondation Desjardins, 99 cents are available to go to the cause. This is outside Ci’s reasonable range.

The charity did not report any employees in its employee compensation section on its T3010 filing with the CRA.    

Fondation Desjardins held $218.5m in reserve funds (cash and investments) in 2025. These reserves can cover 2271% or twenty-two years and eight months of annual granting activity. This is outside Ci’s reasonable range, as the charity has been for the past eight years.

This is a charity update that has been sent to Fondation Desjardins by Neela Jalilian on August 13, 2026.