The de Gaspé Beaubien family Foundation is known for its devoted commitment to the field of water, namely through its AquaHacking initiative. Pioneers of supporting families in business around the world, the de Gaspé Beaubien family has been involved in many important philanthropic endeavors over the last decades; some less publicized but just as noteworthy.
Here are two interesting things that you may not know about the de Gaspé Beaubien family Foundation:
A commitment to Harvard Business School
Did you know that the de Gaspé Beaubien Reading Room is at Harvard Business School?
The Room received this name in honor of the family’s 10 million dollars donation to the Historical Collections of the School’s Baker Library. This donation made it possible to completely renovate the Library in 2004, as well as preserve and add the most extensive collection of business history in the world. It is a key resource for scholars, researchers, and students.
The collection includes thousands of articles, business files, newspapers, correspondence, research documents, rare books, ephemeral documents, and visual documents. These works provide documentary evidence which allows university students to study the theories, researchers, organizations, and important movements related to the field of business first hand.
With the goal of pursuing their mission with families in business around the world, this donation made it possible to invest in this field of study and provide better tools and support to people who want to reach their entrepreneurial objectives of building a strong business and a strong family.
The de Gaspé Beaubien family has had a privileged relationship with Harvard Business School for several generations. Mr. de Gaspé Beaubien and the couple’s three children, Philippe III, Francois, and Nanon are all HBS graduates. Wishing to honor the family tradition of giving back to their higher education establishment, Nan-B and Philippe provided this generous gift. Additionally, they both served on the Dean’s Advisory Board from 1995-2000, and Mr. de Gaspé Beaubien was also a member of the Council of Canadians.
A “Health for All” Community Program
Did you know that the de Gaspé Beaubien Family Foundation has been very involved in the healthcare sector?
The de Gaspé Beaubien Foundation invested close to 3 million dollars and many countless hours of dedicated time into a pilot project with the CSSS Sainte-Agathe-Des-Monts: the “health for all” community program.
This initiative’s objective was to improve the relationship between the leaders of the healthcare system and the doctors. Through this involvement with a local establishment, the Foundation wished to closely support the development of the particularly complex environment of a local healthcare system. Its involvement consisted of targeting actions leading to the improvement of the daily operation of the establishment by using co-gestion principles. Improving human resource processes and the patients’ positioning were at the heart of the actions put into place for this community program.
The de Gaspé Beaubien Foundation had established a program in several phases which involved coaching activities, co-development between medical and administrative management directors, consolidating the welcome and integration of the doctors in the CSSS, an introduction to the co-gestion model, as well as workshops for doctors in positions of leadership. The global objective consisted of mobilizing the care teams through the implementation of the various phases of a brand-new co-gestion model.
This partnership provided the public establishment with the Foundation’s well-established expertise in management and the help of experts from the professional and academic fields.
Unfortunately, the pilot project never came to term; everything had to be stopped when CSSS’s became CISSS’s. The structure of the project was based on a CSSS principle and the change would mean restarting the entire process from the beginning.
With its renowned expertise in the business and entrepreneurial fields, the de Gaspé Beaubien family contributes to supporting initiatives that favor sustainable social development. By keeping their values at heart and encouraging entrepreneurial philanthropy, they contribute to the longevity of the projects they get involved with.