For 80 years, the name Red Feather was synonymous with charity and philanthropy in Montreal. Under the Red Feather banner, generations of Montrealers dedicated their time, their resources and their imagination to helping the less fortunate in the city’s English-speaking community. The charitable institutions they established and served have made – and continue to make—a major contribution to the well-being of the city.
The fund-raising activities of United Red Feather Services, established in 1922, were the major support of welfare and social services for the city’s Protestant and non-sectarian communities for over 50 years. At one point over 100 social agencies were being funded under its umbrella. In 1974, Red Feather co-founded Centraide of Greater Montreal, turning over its vast network of agencies to this new fund-raising organization. At that time, a foundation was created to manage the endowment funds and investment portfolio for which Red Feather was responsible; its annual investment income was turned over to Centraide for the next 28 years. On March 19, 2002, the Red Feather Foundation was dissolved and merged with that of the Centraide of Greater Montreal Foundation. This was the last step in a long and fruitful history.
A history of Red Feather in Montreal, which was published in 1996, traces the Red Feather story up to the 1974 landmark agreement that created Centraide. In 2015, an epilogue was added to follow the final days of Red Feather to its closure, in 2002. It is the last chapter in a long and fruitful history.
Click here to read Red Feather in Montreal (1.6mb PDF), a history of Red Feather.