A B.C. group will lead the development of formal non-profit network in the province to help organizations better support their communities.
Vantage Point, which serves other non-profits, got a $650,000 boost from the province Friday (Feb. 9), announced B.C.’s Community Development and Non-profits Parliamentary Secretary Megan Dykeman. She said non-profits are vital to people and communities in the province.
Vantage Point will lead the development of a provincewide non-profit network to help other non-profit organizations “strengthen their potential and improve their ability to support and advocate for the people and communities they serve.”
The funding is meant to support research, planning and data sharing about the state of the non-profit sector, and Vantage Point will develop a steering committee of sector leaders that will set a governance model and strategic priorities for a formal B.C. non-profit network. The network will then meet regularly to collaborate and advance work that addresses issues affecting all non-profit organizations in the sector.
Vantage Point CEO Zahra Esmail says non-profits are not optional, but instead essential.
“This investment in a provincial network will help to elevate non-profits in B.C. through improved co-ordination, research, visibility and ability to advocate. These efforts will contribute to a stronger, more sustainable and even more effective sector, all of which will make the lives of B.C. residents better.”
A release from the Social Development Ministry says that non-profit organizations help the government deliver on its priorities, including affordable and supportive housing, addressing homelessness and strengthening food security.
In B.C., there are more than 31,000 non-profit organizations employing about 335,000 people, with women making up 74 per cent of employees in the sector. Non-profit organizations make an economic contribution of $28 billion to the provinces gross domestic product.
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