Madame Prend Congé

What Madame Prend Congé does

Madame Prend Congé is a feminist women's community center (centre de femmes) founded in 1978 in the Pointe-Saint-Charles neighborhood of Montréal, Quebec. It operates as a non-profit organization providing a safe women-only space for residents of the neighborhood, offering free membership, educational workshops and activities (covering health, housing, violence, financial difficulties, and social issues), confidential accompaniment in individual and collective démarches, community meals, and democratic participation through an Annual General Meeting. The organization is governed participatively by an eight-member volunteer Board of Directors (chaired by Sylvie Coulombe) and a small staff team of seven, including a General Coordinator (Hind Es-Sadiqi), community organizer, life-environment intervener, community thrift-store worker, and accounting clerk; service recipients are women of Pointe-Saint-Charles, with additional targeted programming for women experiencing homelessness (notably a postal-box project).

The organization runs two physical locations on rue Grand Trunk in Montréal: the Centre at 1950 (open Monday–Thursday 9h30–15h30, closed in July–August) and the Friperie MPC thrift store at 1900 (open Tuesday–Friday during summer hours), launched in 1996 to generate supplementary revenue and support labor-market insertion for women. The underlying technology is minimal — a Webnode-hosted website (madameprendconge.com) and standard social media presence on Facebook and Instagram — with no proprietary software, app, or platform. Member communications are delivered through an email newsletter, paper notices at the centre, and community events.

Revenue is generated through a hybrid model: Centraide (United Way) grant funding (in place since 1979), individual donations processed via the Zeffy platform, Friperie MPC thrift sales, and an evolving mix of free and paid activities. Pricing is freemium at the membership level (free and mandatory) with some activities now payante (cash-only, no refunds, payable in one or two installments). Go-to-market is community-led — word-of-mouth, local feminist action committees, social media, and participation in events such as the Marche Mondiale des Femmes and International Women's Day marches — rather than traditional sales channels.

Name

Madame Prend Congé

Legal name

Madame Prend Congé

Website

https://madameprendconge.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Madame Prend Congé is a non-profit feminist women's community center founded in 1978 in Pointe-Saint-Charles, Montréal, offering free membership, educational workshops, accompaniment, and democratic governance to neighborhood women, supplemented by the Friperie MPC thrift store and Centraide funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (8134)

SIC

Retail-Family Clothing Stores (5651)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAFAD

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights Advocacy

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Civil Rights, Advocacy & Public Policy Organizations

SECONDARYBPAGABAF

Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/International Development & Poverty Alleviation

Keywords

• Feminist community center
• Women's support services
• Popular education
• Community thrift store
• Social accompaniment

Headquarters

HQ city

Montréal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Community Services and Activities: Free community center services for women including activities, workshops, accompaniment in individual and collective démarches. Some activities are now payante (paid).
2. Friperie (Thrift Shop) Operations: Non-profit thrift store selling donated clothing, accessories, household items, books, vinyl, and DVDs at low costs. Revenue supports center activities and fights poverty by reselling donated items.
3. Donations: Accepts donations through Zeffy platform (Zeffy.com/fr-CA/donation-form/aider-une-femme-cest-construire-le-futur).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Madame Prend Congé operates a feminist women's community center (Centre de femmes) in Pointe-Saint-Charles, Montreal, providing a safe women-only space for educational workshops, courses, community activities, and individual/collective accompaniment on issues such as health, housing, violence, and financial difficulties. The organization also runs La Friperie MPC, a non-profit thrift store selling donated clothing and household items at low cost to fund center activities and support women's labor market integration. Free mandatory membership provides access to activities, voting rights, and discounts.

Product overview

Madame Prend Congé operates as a feminist women's community center offering a unified range of services. The core offering is the Centre de femmes, a safe gathering space providing educational workshops, support services, and resources. This is complemented by La Friperie MPC, a non-profit thrift store. Membership is free and mandatory for participating in activities and the organization's democratic life.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Centre de femmes (Women's Center) A feminist community center providing a safe women-only space for women to gather, access resources, participate in educational activities, receive accompaniment, and engage in democratic decision-making. Open Monday to Thursday from 9h30 to 15h30, located at 1950 rue Grand Trunk #110, Montreal.
• La Friperie MPC A non-profit community thrift store selling donated clothing, accessories, household items, books, vinyl records, and DVDs at low cost. Supports center activities and provides adapted workplace and learning opportunities for women in difficulty. Located at 1900 rue Grand Trunk, Montreal.
• Programming and Activities Educational workshops, courses, and collective activities covering health, housing, violence, financial difficulties, and social issues. Some activities are paid (payante), with payment in cash only, in one or two installments. No refunds for absences or cancellations.
• Membership Card Free mandatory membership card that provides access to activities, discounts on courses and events, and voting rights at the Annual General Meeting. Required to participate in the organization's democratic life.

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Carrefour d'éducation populairecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with Madame Prend Congé on the Comité d'actions féministes de la Pointe. Hosted a pizza event for MPC team during March 8, 2026 activities.
• Clinique communautaire de Pointe-Saint-CharlescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the Comité d'actions féministes de la Pointe. Collaborates on feminist actions and community mobilization.
• Action-GardiencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization that participated with MPC in March 8, 2026 march and Marche Mondiale des Femmes 2025 trip to Quebec.
• Centre des femmes de VerdunminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAccompanied MPC on the 2025 Marche Mondiale des Femmes trip to Quebec.
• Centre des femmes d'AnjouminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrepared meals for participants during the Marche Mondiale des Femmes 2025.
• La Petite Maison sur LaprairiecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor community building project initiated April 2025. MPC is one of four community groups (Madame Prend Congé, Club populaire des consommateurs, RIL, Familles en action) working together on this affordable housing/community services project after four years of mobilization.
• RIL (Regroupement d'information et de référence)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of four community groups in La Petite Maison sur Laprairie project. Participated in community marches and events with MPC.
• Club populaire des consommateurs de Pointe-Saint-CharlescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of four community groups in La Petite Maison sur Laprairie project.
• Familles en actioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of four community groups in La Petite Maison sur Laprairie project.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• YWCA Montreal: A much larger established women's services organization in Montreal offering housing, employment programs, and advocacy. Comparable thematic focus on women's empowerment but operates at significantly greater scale and across a broader service portfolio than MPC.
• L'R des centres de femmes du Québec: The regional regrouping of Quebec women's centers, of which MPC is implicitly a member. Provides shared advocacy, training, and funding representation to dozens of neighborhood-level centers with the same feminist education populaire model.
• Fédération des femmes du Québec (FFQ): Quebec's leading feminist advocacy federation coordinating women's rights policy and mobilizing member organizations across the province. Comparable feminist mission and march participation; operates at federation rather than neighborhood scale.

Direct peers

• Chez Doris: A Montreal day center for women in difficult situations, including those experiencing homelessness, poverty, and violence. Directly comparable target population and accompaniment-style services to MPC's homeless women's postal box project and feminist community center programming.
• Carrefour d'éducation populaire: A Pointe-Saint-Charles community education organization that partners with MPC in the Comité d'actions féministes de la Pointe. Directly comparable community-based popular-education approach and geographic catchment.
• Action-Gardien: A Pointe-Saint-Charles community organization partnered with MPC on feminist marches and the Marche Mondiale des Femmes. Operates in the same neighborhood with overlapping community-mobilization goals.
• Native Women's Shelter of Montreal (NWSM): An Indigenous-led women's shelter in Montreal providing emergency housing, counseling, and community programming. Comparable feminist, women-only community support model targeting women in vulnerable situations, though with an explicit Indigenous cultural lens.
• Centre des femmes de Verdun: A feminist women's center in the Verdun borough of Montreal offering community activities, accompaniment, and advocacy on similar issues. Already an active partner of Madame Prend Congé in the Marche Mondiale des Femmes 2025, making it the most directly comparable peer.
• Centre des femmes d'Anjou: A neighborhood-level feminist women's center in Anjou (Montreal) providing education populaire, activities, and accompaniment. Directly comparable mission, model, and scale; partnered with MPC to prepare meals during the 2025 Marche Mondiale des Femmes.

Regional players

• Centre de femmes de Rivière-du-Loup: A regional feminist women's center in Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec, providing comparable education populaire and accompaniment services. Comparable model and mission but serves a different geography outside the Montreal region.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/MadamePrendCongeCentreDeFemmesDePointeSaintCharles
• Instagraminstagram.com/centredefemmes_mpc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/madame-prend-cong%C3%A9

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Madame Prend Congé