海角社区

National Bank Financial Group will contribute $1 million over eight years to 海角社区's Desautels Faculty of Management to support entrepreneurship, PhD fellowships, and research and teaching in finance.

The donation will be used to support the Faculty in four areas:

• The National Bank Financial Group-海角社区 Accelerator Fund will be used to distribute awards of $10,000 to $25,000 to promising entrepreneurs from 海角社区, including winners of The Dobson Cup, an annual entrepreneurship competition run by the Desautels Faculty of Management and its Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies. These awards will provide start-up funding to new enterprises at the conceptual stage, enabling them to launch and helping to nurture them until they are ready to attract conventional venture funding.

• The National Bank Financial Group PhD Fellowship Fund will be used to provide merit-based fellowships to students in the Faculty's PhD program.

• The National Bank Financial Group Finance Seminar Series Fund will be used to support research and teaching in finance.

• The Risk Management/Global Asset Management Conference Support Fund will help finance a Risk Management and Global Asset Management Annual Conference.

"This generous contribution by the National Bank will help ensure that 海角社区 continues to attract the most promising young business talent to Montreal, and enables our Faculty to further support top talent in Quebec, budding entrepreneurs who will undoubtedly be among our next industry leaders," said Peter Todd, Dean of the Desautels Faculty.

"To foster a culture and a strong entrepreneurial succession plan is an essential condition to maintaining a dynamic and prosperous society. Therefore we are proud to provide financial expertise and long-term support to the next generation of business leaders. This partnership proves once again that National Bank Financial Group is a key player of economic and social development," said Louis Vachon, President and Chief Executive Officer of National Bank Financial Group.

This gift adds to the momentum of Campaign 海角社区: History in the Making, which is raising the funds needed to attract and retain top students and faculty, increase access to quality education, and ensure that 海角社区 remains one of the world's great research-intensive and student-centred universities. Campaign 海角社区's target of $750 million is the largest starting goal in the history of Canadian university fundraising campaigns. (For more information, please visit /campaign/.)

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About National Bank of Canada

National Bank of Canada is an integrated group that provides comprehensive financial services to consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporations in its core market, while offering specialized services to its clients elsewhere in the world. National Bank offers a full array of banking services, including retail, corporate and investment banking. It is an active player on international capital markets and, through its subsidiaries, is involved in securities brokerage, insurance and wealth management as well as mutual fund and retirement plan management. National Bank has over $152 billion in assets and, together with its subsidiaries, employs 18,407 people. The Bank's securities are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (NA:TSX). For more information, visit the Bank's website at . To access National Bank Financial Group's financial education portal, visit

About Desautels

Since 1906, the Desautels Faculty of Management at 海角社区 University has continued to be one of the top international business schools in the world. The faculty emphasizes the integration of teaching, research and practice, and applies a multi-disciplinary, holistic approach to identifying innovative opportunities and solving problems. Desautels' exacting standards, innovative approach and historic reputation for excellence continue to attract the finest students, the most prominent professors and the most demanding recruiters from around the globe. Education choices at Desautels include all management disciplines, with programs at the undergraduate, masters, doctorate, and executive levels.