A huge thank you to everyone who sent a Vancity eCard over the holidays!

We raised more than $5000!

I was so thrilled this past week to receive a cheque from funds collected by sending holiday eCards.  From my take, working at Vancity Community Foundation is pretty much the coolest job around.   My favourite part is connecting people who really care about making a difference with other people who are actively working to make a difference in the community.  There is just so much going on. The eCards that William Azaroff and his team created were a great example of how Vancity members can more directly engage in supporting the amazing work out there.  We really hope that this card program represents just the first year, and is part of ongoing process that will grow and create more opportunities for connection between Vancity members. 

The money raised by sending these cards will directly contribute to reducing homelessness, improving access to local healthy food,  and supporting social enterprise.

Based on the choices people made (more than 5000 of you) $1 per card will be allocated to the following organizations within the 3 issue areas chosen.

$ 3019: Affordable Housing  & Homelessness – in support of Surrey Homelessness & Housing Fund, a donor advised fund which last year helped support Maxxine Wright Place, a new health centre, daycare and 36 housing  units for high risk pregnant women currently under construction in Surrey.

$ 1344: Food Systems and the Environment –  in support of Farm Folk / City Folk, who last year worked with Vancouver Farmer’s Markets to help generate more than $4 million in the local food economy and protect 3500 acres of farmland.

$  714: Non profit Social Enterprise –  in support of United We Can, a downtown eastside recycling enterprise, who last year generated more than $2 million in revenues, created 150 jobs and diverted 20 million containers from landfill.  

Each of these organizations were recently profiled in a series of short videos we compiled for the 20th Anniversary of Vancity Community Foundation - I encourage you to learn more about the organizations by checking out their websites or viewing our videos.

I’m often as inspired by the organizations we support through our grants as I am by the people who choose to show their support, donate their money or volunteer their time.  Our foundation is kind of like the philanthropic version of a credit union.  Just as Vancity provides a vehicle for members to pool their money and invest in each other, we provide a way for donors to come together and pool their charitable giving  through a Foundation that complements and strengthens Vancity’s granting and community investments.  Our Foundation’s tagline is Together, More Becomes Possible.  Vancity’s vision is Redefining Wealth.  They fit together so well.

The Credit Union has a long track record of giving back to the communities from its profits (30% goes back each year) and that’s a big part of why I keep my money there,  but did you know that there are other ways to get involved in supporting the community through the Foundation as well?

Did you know that you can donate your Vancity Visa Rewards points through our Foundation ?  We’ll even issue you a tax receipt for the gift.

Did you know that as a Public Foundation rather than a Corporate Foundation, we have already helped establish over 100 different donor advised funds, established by individuals, families, and different groups to develop more strategic ways to give money to charity or create a permanent legacy as part of an estate?

Did you know that Vancity Foundation screens all of our invested endowment assets according to environmental, social and governance (ESG)  parameters, and that we participate in shareholder engagement efforts and even make direct investments in charitable organizations through loans as well as grants?

Learn more about us, or make a donation at www.vancity.com/vcf