Université de Montréal is a top-rated five-star charity and one of Canada's largest charities in terms of donations. As with most large universities, it has a high results reporting grade and is financially transparent. The charity has overhead spending within Ci's reasonable range. Its gross funding reserves, excluding donor endowments can cover six months of annual program costs.

Founded as the Université de Laval a Montréal in 1878, Université de Montréal is a public research university in Montreal, Québec. The university includes three schools: l’Université de Montréal (UdeM), l'École Polytechnique, and HEC Montréal.  The charity has 13 faculties and schools that offer 600 programs to students. The university’s main charitable programs are Education and Research for which it does not provide a spending breakdown.

A Charity Intelligence 2023 Top 100 Rated Charity

Université de Montréal reports that in fall 2023, it had 67,109 students enrolled, of which 44,173 were in UdeM, 13,128 in HEC Montréal, and 9,808 in Polytechnique Montréal. In 2023, Université de Montréal awarded 20,255 degrees, of which 13,553 were from Cycle One, 5,673 from Cycle Two, 654 from Cycle Three, and 375 from medical residency. According to the charity, full-time students make up 72% of the student body and part-time students make up 28%. Université de Montréal had 10,844 international students in fall 2023. 

The charity has 465 research units and is home to 146 Canada Research Chairs, four Canada Excellence Research Chairs, and one Canada 150 Research Chair. Université de Montréal also has two university-hospital research centres. The university reports that its library has 5 million books and documents.

In March 2023, Université de Montréal opened a new campus on Montreal’s South Shore. The new Brossard campus is 3,500 square-metres, has 12 classrooms and laboratories, and a 125-seat auditorium.

Université de Montréal is a Major 100 charity, one of Canada’s largest charities in terms of donations. In F2023, it received $102.9m in donations. The university received $901.1m in government funding (60% of total revenue) and $214.8m in student fees (14% of total revenue) during the year.

Université de Montréal earned $30.6m in investment income, representing a 6% annual return. Its average annual investment return from F2021 to F2023 is around 11%. The university’s portfolio is 15% composed of investments in hedge funds.

Administrative costs are 6% of total revenue excluding investment income. Fundraising costs are 12% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 17%. For every dollar donated to the charity, 83 cents are available for programs. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. In F2023, the charity spent $1.1 billion on its programs, which is 71% of its revenues. In F2023, the charity had an operating cashflow of $314.2m, which is 21% of its revenues. Université de Montréal spent $136.6m on capital projects.

Université de Montréal has ($141.0m) in net reserve funds ($879.7m in liquid assets less $1.0 billion in interest-bearing debts) resulting in a negative program cost coverage. Its liquid assets also include $363.8m in donor-endowed funds. The university’s gross reserve funds, excluding donor-endowed funds, can cover program costs for around six months.

­­This charity report is an update that has been sent to Université de Montréal for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on May 22, 2024 by Alessandra Castino.