Initiatives

Ongoing - BBFF provides major funding for the continued development of Tools of Peace, an important and very exciting initiative generating collaborative action among Quebec-based grassroots peace organizations.

Ongoing - BBFF is a primary partner in the creation of the Canadian Peace Service, which--through the Communities@Peace program and the Civilian Peace Service--aim to establish Canada as the world leader in "pragmatic peace," i.e. in the implementation of practical peace initiatives (spec. those that have a concrete impact, resulting in the creation of a more non-violent, harmonious, emotionally intelligent, and otherwise peaceful society).

January 2012 - BBFF continues its support of Community Advocacy Lod, an effort to empower a highly underprivileged Israeli community, while building bridges between its ethnically diverse population. Community Advocacy is an important element of the McGill Middle East Program in Civil Society and Peacebuilding.

December 2011 - BBFF funds the the second year of the Brian Bronfman Scholarship in Conflict Resolution at UQAM's Chaire Raoul-Dandurand en études stratégiques et diplomatiques. This project was undertaken in light of the department's excellent work, appropriate mandate in peace and conflict resolution, and efforts to bridge academic research and real-world application.

November 2011 - BBFF has a central presence at the YMCA Peace Medal event, the most significant annual event for peace in the province. The Foundation supports the event by funding the monetary prizes awarded to the five medal recipients. In addition, Brian Bronfman acts as co-President of the event and chair of the Selection Committee.

November 2011 - BBFF acts as a central sponsor of Equitas' 5th anniversary celebration of its award-winning Play It Fair Toolkit.

Fall 2011 - BBFF underwrites the implementation of the Zone de paix program in a Montreal-area school. The program uses the principles of non-violent communication as a basis for developing emotional intelligence, empathy, and conflict resolution abilities among primary school aged children. Brian Bronfman also personally works for the expansion of the program to other schools and to an online presence.

April 2011 - BBFF provides funding to the Living Together project, an exciting intercultural initiative in Saint-Laurent, Quebec that is a model for bridge-building among youth of different backgrounds. The funds help pay for the publication of a children's book on celebrating differences, entitled "The Story of the Potato and the Sweet Potato."

April 2011 - BBFF funds a "Compassionate Listening" training for the Montreal Dialogue Group, as they work to improve their own abilities in the tools of structured dialogue--an important conflict management approach that can help in situations of polarized, identity-based conflict.

December 9, 2010 - Brian Bronfman provides the keynote address at the graduation ceremony for students in the Canadian Institute of 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."

June 2010 - The Canadian Peace Grantmakers Network decides to concentrate its efforts on Quebec, and renames itself the Quebec Peace Grantmakers Network. BBFF continues to be the driving force behind this donor collaborative.

November 18, 2009 -­ BBFF hosts a Peace Soirée, attended by over 200 people, that both acts as the launch event for the Canadian Peace Grantmakers Network, and serves to develop a network around constructive peace and non-violence initiatives.

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.

Summer/Fall 2009 - BBFF creates the Canadian Peace Grantmakers Network, in order to lay the groundwork for peace initiatives — defined as positive, practical and productive efforts to create a more non-violent society — to be a more effective and more widely recognized and supported area of philanthropy.

July 2007 – The Brian Bronfman Family Foundation provides the funding needed to move the Montreal office of Leave Out Violence (LOVE) to a bigger, brighter and more centralized locale at 460 St. Paul East in Old Montreal. The office's Gallery is dedicated to the memory of LOVE co-founder and BBFF original board member Harry Hopmeyer.

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, successor to the BBFF. Through this endeavour, the Post Partum Unit of the Jewish General Hospital is restored, renovated, and renamed in Edward Bronfman’s memory.