If you’re living in Montreal, or just curious about how major banks invest in the cities they operate in, there’s a good chance you’ve wondered whether BMO (Bank of Montreal) is actually “involved” in local community work — or if that’s just good PR. Having personally volunteered in local events and watched how BMO’s logo pops up in everything from jazz festivals to food banks, I wanted to see what’s real, what’s surface-level, and how these programs are run. In this article, I break down real-life examples (with stats and some funny mishaps from my own volunteering), share expert takes, and explain how BMO compares to others. If you want actionable answers and even want to get involved yourself, this is for you.
First, let’s clear up the jargon. “Community involvement” can mean a dozen different things depending on who you ask — from writing a cheque to rolling up your sleeves. So, I’ll outline what’s visible (public festivals, major sponsorships), what’s hands-on (volunteers and local programs), and what’s more behind-the-scenes (grants, partnerships you won’t spot unless you dig).
Walk through downtown Montreal in July, and you’ll probably bump into the Montreal Jazz Festival. BMO is a presenting sponsor, and their presence is everywhere: logos on banners, branded tents, and staffers in “BMO Volunteer” vests. This isn’t just a corporate logo slap. According to the official BMO Community Report, their investments go into funding free concerts, supporting emerging musicians, and even making events more accessible (like sign language translators at shows). During my own visit last year, there was a BMO “chill zone” with games and free lemonade; apparently, those are for anyone, not just BMO customers (good to know, since my debit card isn’t theirs).
Beyond music, BMO is known for supporting the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation and the city’s smaller hockey leagues — funding rinks, gear, or skate initiatives for low-income youth. They also back Montreal’s 375th Anniversary, which brought together dozens of free public events in 2017 and continues to inspire smaller “legacy” projects (think public art, park refurbishments).
Here’s something that surprised me: an interview with Céline Laramée, a local arts curator, said, “BMO support means we could pay every young artist minimum wage — without them, half these exhibitions just wouldn’t happen.” (Source: Le Devoir)
It’s easy to talk about money, but if you really want to know if a company cares, check if their people show up. BMO’s teams in Montreal have a visible presence on volunteering days; you’ll see the blue shirts at Moisson Montréal (the city’s largest food bank). I tried this in 2022, signing up through a BMO friend who helps coordinate logistics. The process? Chaotic but effective: bags of pasta, giant pallets of canned soup, and a bunch of us scrambling to beat last year’s numbers. Our group packed about 2,000 emergency food boxes in one afternoon — and, amusingly, I accidentally mislabeled half of mine before some saintly BMO staffer caught the mistake. No one was fired, but you could tell the regulars were used to rookies like me.
According to BMO’s own community volunteering page, employees are encouraged (sometimes even given paid time off) to participate in everything from tree-planting to financial literacy workshops for newcomers and underprivileged youth. Stories from employees (see the Glassdoor reviews) suggest there can be a competitive atmosphere, especially between teams in different boroughs — a quirky Montreal thing, apparently.
Here’s where things get less splashy but arguably more important. BMO runs a variety of grant programs supporting Indigenous-led initiatives, entrepreneurship for Black communities, and women-founded businesses — even if most of these don’t generate press. Montreal, with its diverse population, sees dedicated grant funding through programs like BMO for Women and the BlackNorth Initiative partnership. I once sat in on a funding pitch day (purely as a silent observer, not a participant), and was impressed by how the bank brought in local business mentors, not just bankers, to give feedback. Several of those businesses, like Basketique, thanked BMO publicly for helping them go from “surviving to thriving.”
For reference — and to know this isn’t just me talking — BMO’s 2023 Impact Report claims over $6 million has gone to local Quebec charities in the past three years, with Montreal getting a big slice. But it’s not always easy for smaller organizations to get in the door; some say the process is “dense,” and having an internal contact really helps (just a heads-up if you’re applying).
To put BMO’s involvement into context, I reached out (okay, I lurked on LinkedIn and emailed a couple people) to both nonprofit leaders and bank insiders. One, a Montreal-based nonprofit director, told me, “Compared to other banks, BMO is definitely present. But sometimes their bureaucracy for grant applications can be a headache. Still, their people show up.”
Very practically, Canada has guidelines from OSFI (the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions) and CRA charitable giving rules that shape how financial institutions run local philanthropy. But those are more about compliance than genuine involvement. In contrast, you sometimes see banks that “check the box” legally, but aren’t really visible in the streets. In Montreal, BMO is unusually visible.
Let me go into detail about my goof at Moisson Montréal, because it says a lot about real corporate volunteering. I’d misread three crate labels, swapping French and English descriptions, so we had ‘Tomates entières’ translated as ‘Chili Powder’ (don’t ask). The BMO staff didn’t get annoyed — instead, their team lead made an impromptu competition to correct boxes, and we ended up beating our packing record for the session. It’s small, but it shows that their culture genuinely encourages community work, versus some organizations where you just get “points” for showing up.
Just for fun (and because one bank isn’t a trend), I compared BMO’s activities to US, EU, and other Canadian banks. Here’s a quick table explaining how “verified trade” or similar community investment standards look internationally (borrowing from OECD and USTR sources):
| Country/Org | Verified Community Engagement | Legal Basis | Enforcement/Verification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada (BMO) | OSFI Guidelines; Voluntary Codes of Conduct | Guideline E-21; CRA policies | Self-reported; occasional audit |
| US (Major Banks) | Community Reinvestment Act | 12 USC 2901 | Federal review, public disclosure |
| EU | Corporate Social Responsibility standards | Directive 2014/95/EU | Annual reporting; country-level review |
| OECD | Multinational Guidelines for Responsible Business | OECD MNE Guidelines | Peer review; self-reporting |
Why the difference? US banks, for example, have to give public evidence of community support under the Community Reinvestment Act, backed by regulations. In Canada, banks like BMO report voluntarily and are mainly regulated for risk, not direct social impact. European standards (ESG and CSR) focus more on reporting, less on local visibility. It means that BMO’s Montreal operations choose where to be visible, not just where law tells them.
To quote François Gagnon, who’s managed community partnerships at several Canadian institutions: “The real impact is what’s visible on the ground. At BMO Montreal, you’ll see their teams at food banks, local festivals, hockey nights. Not every city gets that.”
After tracking BMO’s Montreal involvement from every angle — attending their events, making mistakes as a volunteer, emailing contacts, and doing more late-night reading than I’ll admit — the result is clear. BMO isn’t just ticking boxes for regulators; there’s a consistent, visible presence in Montreal life, from jazz to food security.
If you want to get involved, don’t just wait for a public call-out. Reach out to your local branch or connect with a BMO staffer (having a friend inside helps smooth the process for volunteering days). For organizations, the grants process can be a bit tricky — my advice is to network with a manager or staff member directly and be persistent.
In short, the answer isn’t just yes, BMO is involved — it’s that their approach is broader than you’d expect, even if it sometimes depends on the passion of the people working there rather than a top-down mandate. As with any big organization, results vary, but Montrealers definitely get more than just a logo on a billboard.
And if you end up packing the wrong food boxes too, just remember: at least you’ll have good company.