JOCELYN THÉMENS
Consultant in philanthropy
Serving life
At age 15, Jocelyn wrote an article for L’Écho du Nord, the newspaper in his Laurentian hometown of Saint-Jérôme. The following summer, he was offered a position as disc jockey for a music program on the local radio station. For more than 20 years, building on a sense of dedication inherited from his parents and grandparents, Jocelyn worked as a journalist, including positions on the radio and in public relations.
For Jocelyn, today shapes tomorrow, and so every move, every word, every action is meaningful here and now. Realizing the importance of philanthropy in his life, Jocelyn decided to let philanthropy guide his career choices. For 15 years, he occupied various positions at the Quebec branch of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (now known as Heart&Stroke). As regional development director for 10 regions, including the La Capitale regional office in Québec, Jocelyn was no stranger to fundraising in the order of $80 million. He likes to say that working for heart health all those years goes to show that he has a heart!
The symbolism and the strength of the word “heart” continued to appeal to Jocelyn, who next took an executive position with the Fondation de la Maison Michel-Sarrazin, the world’s first French-language palliative care home. In conducting a major campaign to raise $25 million for the facility’s 25th anniversary, Jocelyn came to know plenty of people whose hearts are in the right place!
LIVING PHILANTHROPY MEANS
learning every day, growing with others, and giving without counting the cost.
Following a sabbatical year to enjoy travelling and reconnect with family in the Eastern Townships, Jocelyn joined BNP Philanthropic Performance in 2018. Since that time he has put his listening skills and life expertise at the service of organizations, so that each person involved can optimize their options and envisage progress. Jocelyn considers that life, with all its joys and sorrows, is worth celebrating; in 2014, he became a lay officiant and celebrant, a capacity that allows him to share and serve life with presence, discretion, respect and humility.
Jocelyn likes to learn new ways of doing things, to be innovative while respecting donor preferences, and to bring expertise together to make a better world. Challenges spur him on, and he points out that the increasing number of professionals in not for profit organizations (NPOs) raises donor confidence. His trinity of values – philanthropy, communication and human capital – go with him wherever he goes.
Every good cause finds a place in Jocelyn’s heart. He is grateful for older people whose philosophy and wisdom make them life coaches without realizing it, and believes wholeheartedly in young people, the wise ones of the future. Jocelyn is convinced that life has presented him with right causes and right people at right times, allowing him to maintain balance in making personal and family dreams come true as well.
For four years, Jocelyn was active as vice-president and board member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). He fondly remembers those years as a time of strong teamwork that helped philanthropy progress and professionalize.
Want to travel fast? Travel alone. Want to travel far? Travel together!
Jocelyn’s three ways to a better world:
- Give without expecting anything in return. With its own logic, life will do the rest.
- Consistently cultivate a sense of compassion and authenticity; otherwise your work will be detached from reality.
- Believe that, because you are a good person, your cause will be a good cause. Self-doubt is the only thing that can stop you from becoming the person you are meant to be.
His expertises
- Communication
- Philanthropic strategy
- Mentoring
- Human resources
His sectors
- Health
- Community
- Education