Our communities

Through our Charitable Donations Program, we provide financial donations to charitable organizations where our employees demonstrate ongoing involvement as volunteers.

Our Donation Matching Program matches donations made by employees and supports many needs such as support for Indigenous communities, COVID-19 relief, disaster relief (forest fire, flood, extreme weather), and international humanitarian aid.

Each fall, EDC participates in the Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign, which supports the United Way/Centraide, Healthpartners and many charitable organizations across Canada. The campaign is run entirely by volunteers who donate their time and energy, organizing awareness activities and raising funds that benefit our communities. EDC raises more than $100,000 in employee donations each year.

Every spring, EDC partners with Volunteer Ottawa and other organizations across Canada to provide meaningful opportunities for our employees to give back to their communities. Employees offer their time to support a variety of community groups such as youth experiencing housing insecurity, parents, seniors, children, vulnerable families, new Canadians and rescue animals.

EDC offers permanent employees up to two working days off to volunteer at a registered Canadian charity.

EDC has had a long-standing partnership with CARE Canada, spanning over 12 years to help expand economic opportunities in emerging markets. This joint global community investment initiative strengthens CARE’s enterprise, women empowerment and economic development projects through the transfer of EDC’s expertise.

EDC is committed to honouring residential school survivors and their families. On Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30, 2024, EDC, in collaboration with our Indigenous Employee Resource Group, honoured the survivors of residential schools and the children who never returned home, by hosting a cultural awareness workshop and encouraging employees to sign a Truth and Reconciliation pledge. EDC is committed to supporting our employees and their steps towards reconciliation, while working with Indigenous charitable organizations to understand and meet the needs of the community. 

Each year, EDC awards scholarships to the next generation of business leaders pursuing education in international business and sustainability. Since 2000, EDC has awarded over 600 scholarships to students enrolled in colleges and universities across Canada.

AIESEC is a global youth leadership organization that provides students with international experience opportunities. We have been a supporter of AIESEC’s global exchange program for 24 years, and actively participate in their annual Youth to Business Forum.

Student learning opportunities are at the core of our youth education program, with the sponsorship of case competitions allowing us to support students in their gained experience, networking and mentorship opportunities. One of our longest standing case competitions is the Concordia University John Molson School of Business MBA International Case Competition, which brings together students from 25 universities around the world.