The Azrieli Foundation launched its Azrieli Music, Arts and Culture Centre (AMACC) in Montréal. According to the Foundation, « AMACC will be a catalyst, key funder and strategic partner in creating a resilient, impactful and connected arts sector. It will deepen the Foundation’s work to discover, elevate, and amplify creative voices and grant broader access to meaningful arts experiences. »
Fulfilling the philanthropic legacy of David J. Azrieli, the Azrieli Foundation’s mission is to improve the lives of present and future generations through education, research, healthcare and the arts.
The Foundation has focused its arts giving across six streams, most notably in arts education, emerging artist development and supporting artistic excellence. Since 2014, its support of music, arts and culture has grown exponentially, increasing by more than 2000%.
The Foundation has also grown its Azrieli Music Prizes into Canada’s largest competition that celebrates excellence in music composition, placing it among the most important competitions in the world. It has also collaborated on important sector-building initiatives, including CANVAS – a North American-wide funding collective that fuels a 21st-century Jewish cultural renaissance.
On the other hand, we learn that the Canadian Mécénat Musica program has distributed $10 million to 50 cultural organizations in Quebec since 2020 from funds administered by three partner community foundations: Foundation of Greater Montreal, the Jewish Community Foundation of Montreal and Fondation Québec Philanthrope. These distributions are from income generated by the Mécénat Musica cultural program that has created $92,000,000 of in perpetuity capital from donations from more than 600 Mécénat Musica individuals and families.
Mécénat Musica is a cultural program by donors for donors to keep culture healthy, in perpetuity, for generations to come. Mécénat Musica encourages individuals to make an in-perpetuity donation of $25,000 to a cultural organization that is important to them, and encourages philanthropic families to match these individuals’ donations with donations of $250,000 or $2,500,000. This is a major shift in cultural philanthropy.
An individual’s net cost of a $25,000 cash donation after personal tax credits is $6,750 B (or $5,425 B) and is due, with other credits, to an additional Revenue Quebec tax credit for one large cultural donation, which can only be claimed by the individual once in his or her lifetime. Also, the net cost to an individual of a $25,000 donation of public company shares (with large non-realized gains) can be as low as $7,521 C and can be done by the donor multiple times. Watch video Mécénat Musica in Perpetuity.
Mécénat Musica Condos for Culture© encourages donors to donate their condos, houses, chalets, or other personal use real estate hassle-free for in-perpetuity funds of cultural organizations important to the donor.
Mécénat Musica: Mini-Galas: duos of professional singers and instrumentalists deliver surprise thank you concerts with statuettes to Mécénat Musica donors, outside their door in gratitude.
Mécénat Musica has launched several health, culture and community initiatives since March 2020 including Mécénat Musica: 5NextGen, Prix HEC Artistes, Mini-Concerts Santé (Prix Opus Événement musical de l’année 2020), Mini-Opéras Santé, Mini-Galas, ArtChoral and Prix 3 Femmes dedicated to developing new contemporary operas by emerging female and non-binary Canadian creators.
