The Saputo Family Gift

The Saputo family has a long history of meaningful philanthropy, beginning with Lino and Mirella who co-founded their foundation in 1979. Both foundations have made major contributions to hospitals, health, communities and education in Quebec, Canada and beyond.

“Our family takes pride in supporting this transformative social project,” says Mirella Saputo, president of Mirella & Lino Saputo Foundation. “Our foundation supports several causes, including hospitals and health, yet a big part of our philanthropic focus is on education. We are proud that our gift will advance the next generation of Concordia students and community partners to develop, explore, achieve and contribute to the betterment of society.”

Both Lino Saputo Jr., BA 89, and his wife Amelia, BA 90, are Concordia graduates. They co-founded their foundation (Amelia serves as the president) to pursue their ambitious philanthropic goals. Amelia Saputo says the SHIFT Centre for Social Transformation will help Concordia students and researchers to contribute knowledge for a more equitable, sustainable society. “SHIFT will enable students to seek out other viewpoints and opinions so that they can work together with community groups towards the betterment of humanity,” she says.

Lino Saputo Jr. is chairman of the board and chief executive officer at Saputo Inc. and co-chair of the Campaign for Concordia: Next-Gen. Now. “The SHIFT Centre for Social Transformation will support tomorrow’s social entrepreneurs to solve critical issues, from the ground up, in partnership with community groups,” he says. “Marrying academia and entrepreneurship with grassroots social innovation at Concordia will go a long way to improving society.”

His father, Lino Saputo, served as the president of Saputo Inc. from 1969 to 2004 and remains the company’s chairperson. He received an honorary doctorate from Concordia in 2015.