Vancouver Foundation

Fall 2015

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The First Word . . . p a g e 2 I V a n c o u v e r F o u n d a t i o n l F a l l 2 0 1 5 Kevin McCort President and CEO Vancouver Foundation Changing perspectives Prior to joining Vancouver Foundation as president and CEO two years ago, I thought I knew a lot about the organization. But it turns out I had a lot more to learn. Over the last two years, I've had the opportunity to broaden my perspective on how we operate, and it has helped me to strengthen our Foundation's impact. Here are four interesting things I've learned: 1. Our donors advise the majority of our granting Vancouver Foundation grants $50 million per year to B.C. charities. But I always assumed the Foundation directed those funds. I've learned that it's our donors who direct 70 per cent of our granting through their Donor Advised Funds, and the remaining 30 per cent is directed by the Foundation. is realization has really changed the way I think about our role. To a large extent, we are stewards not only of funds but also of our donors, helping them to build endowments and support charities that align with their values and passions. With the 30 per cent we direct, we focus on helping charities build capacity by developing ideas, funding pilot projects and expanding into new areas. 2. Our investments are generating exceptional returns Before joining Vancouver Foundation, I had heard that our investments weren't performing very well. It turns out that's not true at all. We had a challenging year in 2008, along with everyone else, but our funds have generated a 10 per cent annual return over the last five years. Our distribution policy helps us wade through tough markets and provide a steady flow of income. 3. Our foundation was more diverse than I thought When I joined the Foundation, it was acting both as donor and as doer. In addition to funding charities and working with donors to fund projects, it was receiving government funding to run its own projects. at can be a tricky position to be in, so we decided to trim the projects to allow more focus on our core purpose. My philosophy is that we do our best work by helping B.C.'s 12,000 charities to be excellent at what they do. 4. Despite our name, our mandate is province-wide With a name like Vancouver Foundation, it's easy to see why people often think our work is citywide. But with a provincial mandate, as well as board members and volunteers across the province, I knew we should be reaching beyond city boundaries. One key aspect of my approach is to partner with community foundations throughout the province to build on our mutual strengths. One way we've started doing this is by helping them copy grassroots granting models that have worked in the Lower Mainland, like our Neighbourhood Small Grants program, which has funded everything from block parties to lending libraries to community gardens. Of course, not everything I thought about Vancouver Foundation turned out to be wrong! Notably, I had heard that the board, staff and volunteers were an exceptional group of people – and that, I can happily attest, is true. e 50 staff and 150 volunteers who devote their time to Vancouver Foundation are a key reason for our success. And working with them is one of the best parts of my job. I've been grateful for their support during my first two years here, and I'm looking forward to continuing our relationships, partnerships and granting work in the years to come.

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