We are excited to share our news with you through our newsletter, Community Connections, and to highlight how the generous support of our donors and contributors has benefited the community of Bowen Island. If you have questions, comments, or ideas for our next newsletter, we invite you to get in touch with us!
2024, Fall
Donations are the lifeblood of the Foundation and, every year, the Bowen community humbles us with its philanthropic support. Last year was no exception. In 2023, the Bowen Island Community Foundation received a tremendous $312,117 in donations—a 31 percent increase over the $238,864 generously donated in 2022. This support from the community came despite rising living costs, a reminder of the deep commitment Bowen Island residents have to building a stronger future together.
For more, download the full newsletter here.
2023, Fall
On May 5, 2023, the Bowen Island Community Foundation (BICF) returned, at last, to its tradition of bringing the community together for the Foundation’s annual meeting. Donors, staff, volunteers, and board members came out to Cates Hill Chapel to celebrate this season’s grant recipients. It was a great evening. Our mission has always been to engage the community and inspire generosity to benefit Bowen Island for generations to come, and the slogan of our Annual Giving Campaign, “Community Grows Here,” seems well suited to the remarkable growth that has happened in the twenty years since the Foundation began. Thank you, Bowen, for your support.
For more, download the full newsletter here.
2022, Winter
Your Bowen Island Community Foundation has arrived! That’s right – we celebrate 20 years of giving, growing and granting at the end of this year. We’re grateful for the past 20 years of your support and collaboration. We genuinely owe it all to you as we couldn’t do any of it without you, our community.
Through your donations, we’ve given out $1,001,624 in grants and $367,350 in scholarships together over the past two decades.
Our slogan “Community Grows Here” is proving to be true!…
For more, see the full newsletter here.
2021, Winter
This year continued to test us. But Bowen Islanders’ resilience proved to be indomitable in the face of challenge. Kindness prevailed. Caring prevailed. Bowen prevailed.
Some things are just better together. Macaroni and cheese. Peanut butter and jam. Ferries and being at the front of the line. Thankfully, it doesn’t stop there!…
For more, see the full newsletter here.
2020, Summer
This newsletter is a departure from year’s past. But then again, so many things are different this year. Usually we give a satisfying update on our well-established Community Impact Grants awarded, along with an event synopsis of our AGM. While we do have all of that information in here, we delayed sending it out because we have many new and unprecedented initiatives for dealing with the impact and effects of the pandemic on life on Bowen Island.
For more, see the full newsletter here.
2019, Spring
Our Bowen Community
Bowen Island is truly a “Community Working Together,” the theme of our 2018 campaign. Through generous donations and support, the Foundation raised $187,856. The market value of our Endowment Funds invested at the Vancouver Foundation increased from $1,004,656 in 2017 to $1,037,925 in 2018. These Endowment Funds are akin to savings accounts for our Bowen community and through their income we can help address the Island’s priorities in perpetuity.
Over the years, through the work of Bowen individuals and charitable organizations, these funds have helped bring many visions to reality, from planting a community garden, to designing a seniors residence, to helping a neighbour through a personal emergency. Your Foundation helps build a resilient Bowen community.
The Foundation’s giving continues this year with $35,500 in grants awarded to projects addressing the priorities identified in the 2017 Vital Conversations report. This year’s projects will impact affordable housing on Bowen, our youth, diversity and inclusion, gathering places, and our environment.
For more, download the newsletter here.
2018, Fall
Community Working Together
Community is powerful. A community gives people a sense of shared identity. In a community there is a strong feeling of fellowship and caring. Community is where we find comfort in difficult times. When people care about each other, they develop trust. And trust unlocks collaboration, sharing, support, hope, safety and much more.
Communities have people of all ages and backgrounds who are skilled in different areas. You could have a neighbour with a skill that compliments yours in a way that could make our community a better place. We all have something to contribute. One may be an artist. Another may be a gardener. We are woodworkers, accountants, chefs, technologists, plumbers, therapists, a jack-of-all-trades. By working together, having old mentor young, young inspiring old, and strong helping vulnerable, we all participate and give more fully. Only together, as a community, can we give beyond our individual means. Participation is essential.
When we talk about building stronger, healthier communities, we mean the process of people working together to tackle what matters to them. This wouldn’t be possible without us all coming together.
This is where the magic of a community happens.
For more, download the newsletter here.
2018, Spring
From the Annual General Meeting, May 4, 2018
This past year has been eventful. We accomplished our goals identified in the Chair’s Report of 2016.
The Foundation completed a full restructuring of our By-laws and Constitution. This was precipitated by a new Societies Act. The Foundation is fully compliant and now has legal capacity to serve as a direct granting entity through the Helping Hand Fund.
We completed a strategic planning session which reinforced our core values and identified the course forward with an approved Action Plan.
The Foundation raised, through our “For Bowen, For Ever” 2017 campaign, approximately $250,000. Relative to our population, the generosity of our donors exceeds that of many Community Foundations across the country.
For more, download the newsletter here.
2017
From the Annual General Meeting, April 28, 2017
The Bowen Island Community Foundation came of age in 2016. Having completed and implemented structural and governance policies, our focus has emphasized the growth of our Funds, a diverse and accountable grants process and providing community leadership. Total donations were approximately $180,000.00 raised through our annual Giving Campaign “For Bowen For Ever”. Total grants issued in 2016 were $105,000.00. In addition, several legacy gifts have been committed over the past year.
For more, download the newsletter here.
2016
From the Annual General Meeting, April 21, 2016
2015 was a remarkably successful year. The Foundation continued in its efforts to match donors with community needs, taking a number of significant steps towards our ultimate goal of building a more caring community.
The year brought considerable growth in our financial assets and, as a result, in our capacity to grant. The current total of funds under administration has now reached $1.2 million and our capacity to provide grants to Bowen Island’s many non-profit organizations now sits at about $50,000 per year. We continue to rely upon the resources and expertise of the Vancouver Foundation to assist in the management and investment of our Funds. Their access to sophisticated tax and giving strategies, and their world class financial managers, continue to provide us with very sound returns on our investments.
For more, download the newsletter here.
2015
Your Community Foundation is pleased to announce our 2015 fundraising initiative: For Bowen, For Ever. The name of this year’s campaign says it all: proceeds raised will be invested on Bowen to support our community – today and into the future.
There are many worthy charities and we strive to earn your support as part of your charitable giving. We are the community’s charity, dedicated to giving back to Bowen by supporting local causes. Our goal this year is to exceed the $150,000 raised last year, and to broaden our current donor base of 300 by engaging additional supporters. The Foundation is administered by a volunteer Board and is committed to transparency, accountability and integrity. Your participation as a donor enables us to support a variety of grants and initiatives, such as those noted at left. We invite you to visit our website to review the full extent of our charitable history.
For more, download the newsletter here.
2014
During 2014 the Board updated and formalized the Foundation’s governance and structure; we merged our donor lists, revised our website and took steps to communicate more effectively and regularly with you – our donors and supporters. Three major themes emerged this year – community leadership, building our endowments, and providing strategic grants to the community.
For more, download the newsletter here.