Q: What is an agency fund and who can establish one?
A: Any registered Canadian charity can establish an Agency Fund with Vancouver Foundation. The capital in an "agency" fund is held for the long-term and invested. The income of the fund is distributed back to support the work of the charity.

Q: How many agency funds does Vancouver Foundation currently administer?
A: Vancouver Foundation manages more than 500 agency funds of all sizes, across a broad spectrum of work ranging from the arts, environment, education, children, seniors, etc.)

Click here for a listing of all our Agency Endowment Funds.

Q: What are the benefits of having Vancouver Foundation administer our agency's fund?
A: There are numerous benefits to entrusting your fund to Vancouver Foundation. An endowment fund will help fulfill your organization's mission well into the future. It will help your organization's security, stability, and long-range financial planning. It can also compliment your planned giving program.

Click here for more information on the services we provide Agency Endowment Fundholders.

Q: What is the minimum amount required to start an agency endowment fund?
A: The minimum amount to establish an agency endowment fund is $10,000.

Q: What money managers does Vancouver Foundation use to manage its investment funds?
A: The Foundation employs several investment firms to manage the funds in our care. By spreading our funds over several firms we can select money managers based on their areas of expertise, and help reduce the risks associated with putting too many of our funds with one money manager.

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Q: How much can I expect to receive as a distribution payment from my endowment fund each year?
A: Our Investment Committee and Board of Directors review the distribution rate at least annually, taking into account distributions from the previous year, inflation protection, and the funds current market value. The distribution rate is expressed as a dividend - a fixed amount of money for each unit that your fund holds.

Vancouver Foundation's current dividend rate for the Consolidated Trust Fund is $0.612/unit which is the equivalent to a distribution rate of 4.07%. For the Socially Responsible Investment Fund the dividend rate is $0.40 which is equivalent to a distribution rate of 2.54%. Our Distribution Policy can be viewed here.

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Q: What are Vancouver Foundation's fees?
A: As a not-for-profit organization, Vancouver Foundation's fees are only designed to recover our actual costs - whether it be our operating/administration costs or our investment services costs.

Creating a fund with Vancouver Foundation is considerably less expensive than starting a private foundation. We handle daily administration, file annual tax returns and process grants.

We have two services for which we recover costs.

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Q: Can our agency still apply for a grant if Vancouver Foundation manages our agency endowment fund?
A: Yes. Having an endowment fund with Vancouver Foundation does not effect an application through our Grants and Community Initiatives program.