Le Fonds d’initiatives locales (FIL) Village

A Collaborative Approach Serving the Village

In June 2022, the Ville-Marie borough launched the citizen consultations of the Village Forum, a large-scale participatory initiative aimed at mobilizing residents of the Village as well as stakeholders from the institutional, community and economic sectors. The issues and needs identified through this process were carefully analyzed and documented in the Collective Action Strategy for the Village.

The FIL was made possible through financial contributions from the Economic Development Department (SDÉ) of the City of Montréal, the Ville-Marie borough, and PME MTL Centre-Ville. PME MTL Centre-Ville will also leverage its expertise in advisory services and financing, as well as its network, to accelerate the implementation of promising projects and support the mobilization of socioeconomic partners in the community.

Financial Contributions

As with the two previous editions, the final edition of the FIL Village will support projects led by nonprofit organizations or cooperatives. Several grants of up to $50,000 will be awarded.

This year, a new component has been added to the call for projects: the Nonprofit Entrepreneurship Component. This component offers a grant of up to $100,000 to an established organization wishing to develop a locative initiative.

The jury reserves the right not to award the full amount of the grants available if the initiatives submitted do not meet all of the eligibility criteria of the call for projects, and to carry forward the remaining funds to the following call for projects.

The amount awarded to each selected project is at the discretion of the evaluation committee, subject to available funding.
 

Application Period

September 30 to November 30, 2026 (11:59 p.m.)

Key Dates

• September 30, 2026: Call for projects launch and opening of applications
• October 26, 2026: Public information session (webinar)
• November 30, 2026 (11:59 p.m.): Application deadline
• February 2027: Project evaluation committee
• April 2027: Announcement of selected projects

Eligible Area

For this call for projects, the eligible area is located between Saint-Hubert Street and De Lorimier Avenue, and between René-Lévesque Boulevard East and Sherbrooke Street East, as shown on the map below.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for the FIL Village, an initiative must meet the general conditions below, in addition to the specific requirements of the component under which it is submitted.

General Conditions — Applicable to Both Components

• Be a legally incorporated nonprofit organization or cooperative;
• Propose an initiative that will be carried out within the FIL Village territory. The organization leading the project may be located outside this territory;
• Propose an initiative that aligns with the vision of the Collective Action Strategy for the Village;
• Carry out the initiative in a collaborative manner;
• Contribute to improving quality of life and fostering social cohesion in the Village;
• Comply with all applicable municipal, provincial and federal regulations.

A project may receive support from the FIL Village while also being eligible for financial support from the Ville-Marie borough.

Component 2 — Nonprofit Entrepreneurship Projects

This component aims to support well-established nonprofits or cooperatives working in the economic or social economy sectors that wish to develop an entrepreneurial initiative with tangible benefits for the Village.

To be eligible, the organization must:

• Be a well-established nonprofit organization or cooperative working in the economic or social economy sector;
• Demonstrate sufficient organizational and financial capacity to ensure the implementation and long-term sustainability of the project;
• Propose an entrepreneurial project that addresses a community need and generates positive benefits for the territory;
• The component is particularly open to organizations that operate a socially oriented business and wish to establish a new location in the Village.

The project must be carried out within the FIL Village territory.

Ineligible Initiatives

The following initiatives are not eligible:

• Initiatives that do not address a local need;
• Initiatives whose activities create market distortion in the sector;
• Initiatives of a sexual, political and/or religious nature;
• Initiatives that do not comply with applicable municipal, provincial or federal regulations.

Ineligible Expenses

The following expenses are not eligible:

• The organization's regular operating expenses, including staff costs related to regular operations;
• In-kind service sponsorships and service exchanges received by the organization;
• Expenses incurred to repay a deficit incurred by the organization or, where applicable, by the project's implementation partner.

Application Evaluation

The selection of successful initiatives will be determined by a jury composed, among others, of representatives from PME MTL Centre-Ville, the Ville-Marie borough and the City of Montréal.

The jury will evaluate eligible projects based on the project evaluation criteria and their respective weighting factors presented below.

Component 1 — Local Initiative Projects

Component 2 — Nonprofit Entrepreneurship Projects