Montreal -
Morgan Stanley today announced the winning projects from the Firm’s 2025 Montreal Code to Give Hackathon, this year benefitting local nonprofit Shield of Athena.
The annual Code to Give Hackathon offers students the opportunity to collaborate with Morgan Stanley innovators and apply their tech skills to assist local nonprofits.
"Code to Give empowers the next generation of technologists to solve challenges for local nonprofits alongside experienced mentors from Morgan Stanley’s innovators," said David Cardon, Co-Head of Morgan Stanley Montreal. “We are fortunate to collaborate with Shield of Athena to deliver these prototypes, and excited for our technologists to work closely with the organization to refine the solutions into finished products.”
Teams were challenged to create a donation experience that conveys the real-world impact of the nonprofit’s influence and inspires donors to become long-term supporters. Nearly 100 university students worked alongside 35 Morgan Stanley technologists to deliver nine prototype applications for judging.
The winning solution is Athena Paths, a multilingual, modernized fundraising platform that personalizes the donor experience. It includes functionalities for donors to track the path of their donation with progress updates and outcomes. The team is comprised of students from McGill University, Polytechnique Montreal and the University of Montreal.
Morgan Stanley technologists will now turn the winning prototype into a finished application for Shield of Athena through the Firm’s Technology Changemakers program, a pro bono initiative where the firm’s technologists design solutions for nonprofits that help them scale their impact.
“The technical solutions pioneered by Code to Give participants have opened many doors that will help us better serve our supporters,” Melpa Kamateros, Executive Director, Shield of Athena said. “Together with Morgan Stanley, we’re driving innovations that strengthen community engagement and lay the foundation for long-term impact.”
More than 660 Morgan Stanley experts mentor hundreds of student participants annually through Code to Give in five global locations. Since 2021, the firm has supported eight Montreal nonprofits through Code to Give hackathons.
About Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in 42 countries, the Firm’s employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit morganstanley.com.
About Morgan Stanley Montréal
The firm's largest presence in Canada, Morgan Stanley Montreal is one of its most prominent technology hubs globally. Today, the office houses thousands of world-class IT professionals and engineers in areas such as application development, software development, cloud engineering, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and machine learning, as well as digital technologies. Morgan Stanley Montreal has also been recognized as an employer of choice and a strong participant in the local community.
See French translation here.