Vancouver Foundation

Vancouver Foundation
Founded incorporated 1943 (established by act of the Provincial legislature, 1950)
Founder Alice G. McKay
Focus Community foundation
Location
  • Vancouver, BC, Canada
Area served
 British Columbia
Method Donations and Grants
Key people
 Chair of Board of Directors, Gord MacDougall
Endowment Can$735 million
Employees
 65
Slogan Mission Statement: to harness the gifts of energy, ideas, time, and money to make meaningful and lasting impacts in communities.
Website

Vancouver Foundation is the largest of Canada's 180 community foundations and was founded in 1943.

History

Vancouver Foundation started in 1943 with one person. Alice MacKay had saved $1,000 from her secretarial job and wanted to help homeless women trapped in a cycle of poverty.

At the same time, local industrialist and philanthropist Whitford Julian VanDusen knew the potential of building a permanent endowment that could benefit many charitable activities. As Director of the Vancouver Welfare Federation (now the United Way of the Lower Mainland) and Chair of its Endowment Committee, he had studied models of community foundations for several years. By 1943, he had overseen the establishment and incorporation of Vancouver Foundation. However, at the time, it was nothing more than a legal entity with virtually no capital.

Inspired by MacKay's generosity, VanDusen added $10,000 to her endowment and encouraged nine friends to match his own gift. The nine other founding families were:

The $101,000 dollars has now grown into a major charitable force with an endowment of roughly $1 billion.[1]

Activities

Vancouver Foundation is Canada’s largest community foundation, administering over 1,600 funds and assets totaling $930 million, on behalf of individuals, families, corporations and charities.

Each year, Vancouver Foundation makes more than 5,300 grants, totaling approximately $50 million to registered charities across Canada.

Since it was founded in 1943, Vancouver Foundation, in partnership with its donors, has distributed more than $1 billion to thousands of community projects and programs.

Grant recipients range from social services to medical research groups, to organizations devoted to arts and culture, the environment, education, children and families, disability supports for employment, youth issues and animal welfare.[2]

Incorporation and registration

In 1950 the Foundation was incorporated by the Legislature of British Columbia in a Special Act. It is registered as a public Charity with Revenue Canada with charity number 119281640-RR0001.

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Vancouver Foundation | Magazine 2014 - Reaching $1 Billion, page 7
  2. ↑ Vancouver Foundation | Recognition

External links