School District 43 is setting up its own fundraising foundation in the hope it will be able to attract more donations than it currently receives.
Although SD43 is a not-for-profit organization and can issue tax receipts for donations, the district has decided to create the SD43 Education Foundation in the hope it will provide “a more visible vehicle to attract donations,” according to a report presented Tuesday to the board of education.
It said the move will allow staff to point potential donors to the foundation and designate money it gets from sources other than government into the foundation.
Amongst the foundation’s activities will be to support initiatives like extra-curricular activities, scholarships and prizes for students.
“There are situations where parents or individuals or corporations would like to make donations to the district and they’re not really aware we can make donations and hand out receipts,” board chair Barb Hobson told The Tri-City News Wednesday.
"We just felt a foundation would make it much clearer to provide information on how they can donate to a bursary or for equipment, or even to provide in-kind services.
"There are other school boards who have done similar things, including Langley, and we just felt it made it clearer to the public," said Hobson, a Coquitlam trustee.
It appears the only district in the region with a similar foundation is Langley. Patti Bacchus, former chair of the Vancouver School Board (VSB) and now an education columnist for the Georgia Straight newspaper, said VSB had a foundation for many years but closed it in 2009 because administration costs were too high.
Hobson said although most of the revenue the district gets comes from the province, the senior government has never supported bursaries or scholarships on a local level.
The foundation will be similar to those established by hospitals to raise funds; those bodies, such as Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation, typically have an executive director and full-time staff. But unlike them, Hobson said the district won’t be adding any staff to run its foundation.
Tuesday, the board confirmed the foundation’s registration with the province under the BC Societies Act and as a charity with Revenue Canada. It also adopted a constitution and bylaws. All money currently being held for district scholarship and bursary funds will be transferred to the foundation.
The SD43 report said a formal plan to promote fundraising for the foundation is in the works.
Hobson, Port Coquitlam Trustee Christine Pollock, district superintendent Patricia Gartland and secretary-treasurer Chris Nicolls are named as foundation directors in the documentation submitted to the province.
Information on the foundation and how to donate is available at sd43foundation.org or by emailing [email protected].
