With the launch of its Espace Collectif site, Desjardins hopes to develop the spirit of cooperation and support to benefit neighbourhoods and their communities.

Through its Espace Collectif site, Desjardins is offering an online public space where individuals, organizations and businesses can come together to carry out projects of benefit to their neighbourhoods. The site allows individuals to propose their projects to members of the community, and obtain assistance from local merchants as well as other neighbours interested in supporting a project by volunteering or offering their expertise for a fee. “Espace Collectif is an extension of our caisses’ day-to-day commitment to their communities. This platform is a way for us to give individuals more of the tools they need to make an even greater impact on society,” explained Martin Brunelle, head of Desjardins Group’s Strategy and Innovation Office.

While the beta version of this platform was launched only a few days ago, Espace Collectif already has approximately 100 users and 40 partners. Common among all projects is the desire to help make local communities more vibrant, and to strengthen this vibrancy by uniting people from different backgrounds around a shared purpose. For example, the École Eurêka project gives youth aged 15 to 18 the opportunity to make a wooden toy for a child in kindergarten or grade one with whom they have been paired. Students are supervised and assisted by a woodworking specialist throughout the process, from the initial design to the final product. “This is part of Desjardins Group’s philosophy of encouraging individuals to work together to make their communities stronger and better,” added Brunelle.

For now, Espace Collectif is a pilot project in the Greater Montreal area. “If it’s successful, our goal is to export the platform across Quebec and in Ontario.”

In the future, Espace Collectif could even expand its offer, for example, by offering a crowdfunding service through one of its partners, La Ruche, a crowdfunding specialist. “Le Grand Costumier is an excellent example of what our platform could be capable of in the future: a few months ago, they went looking for funding on La Ruche, but they’re also looking for volunteers – which they’ll be able to find on Espace Collectif.”