FEBRUARy 2018 BCBusiness 39
the
NOT-FOr-
PrOFIT
MOTIvE
Wondering what it takes to
start a charity? Here's what we learned
from people who've done it
philanthropy
Rick Hansen established a charity to
carry on what he'd started with his Man
in Motion World Tour to raise awareness
about people with disabilities. For AG
Hair co-founder Lotte Davis, a charitable
organization was the most e•ective way
to fund girls' education in Africa. The
Bosa family wanted to give back to the
communities in which they build housing
developments.
Most founders of non-pro€ts in British
Columbia are "people who have a really
good idea whose vision it is to do good in
the world," says Martha Rans, legal direc-
tor of the B.C. non-pro†it Paci†ic Legal
Education and Outreach Society. "[That's]
not to say that you have to incorporate as
a non-pro€t to do it or become a charity,
but rather to say it's not about the money,"
she explains.
Rans is a Vancouver-based lawyer who
advises non-pro€ts and charities. She also
founded Law for Nonpro€ts to o•er sup-
port and services to the non-pro€t sector
across B.C. on complying with the prov-
ince's new Societies Act by the November
2018 deadline.
"When you talk about non-pro†its,
you're talking about everything from the
daycare to the curling club to the —y €sh-
ers to the seniors centre," Rans says. "The
diversity is astonishing. There's groups of
model train enthusiasts that have incor-
porated as a society. You have organiza-
tions in the business community that are
non-pro€ts. The reality is they're just not
set up to make money." B.C. has more
than 26,000 non-pro€ts, and the sector
is larger than the province's €sheries and
mining industries combined, according to
StepUp BC, an HR resource for non-pro€t
organizations.
b y F E L i c i T y S T O N E
