Foundation Facts 2015
for BC Real Estate Boards
For 30 years, the Real Estate Foundation has been working to advance sustainable land use in British
Columbia. We provide grants to non-profit organizations working to improve BC communities through
responsible and informed land use, conservation and real estate practices.
Money Talk
Grants
Revenue
• Since 1988, the Foundation has
• How it works: The Foundation
approved 1851 grants totalling
over $69 million.
is governed by the Real Estate
Services Act. Our income is the
interest on pooled BC real estate
brokerage trust accounts. We
receive this income, invest it, and
give it back to the community for
non-profit real estate and land use
initiatives.
• In 2014 our Board of Governors
approved 50 grants totaling $4.06
million.
• The Foundation’s 2015 grants
budget is $3.5 million. Of that,
up to $525,000 (15%) has been
allocated for real estate industry
grants. The 2015 industry grants
will be announced in mid-April.
• Variations in trust account
balances and interest rates affect
the size of our grants program.
There has been much variation
over the past few years. (See table
at right.)
Another factor that affects our
income is the different rates of
return on trust account balances.
In 2014 the top five remitting
institutions, by dollar value,
were:
1. HSBC Bank Canada
2. Royal Bank of Canada
3. Bank of Montreal
4. Vancity Credit Union
5. TD Canada Trust
For us, a 0.25% change in the
prime rate translates to a
change of about $20,000 a
month in income
Industry Grants 2014
We earmark a portion of our yearly grants budget to help fund projects
put forward by the BC Real Estate Association, the Real Estate Council of
BC, the Real Estate Institute of BC and the regional real estate boards.
These are the organizations whose licensee members help generate the
Foundation’s stream of income, and the organizations that participated in
the Foundation’s creation back in the mid-1980s.
In 2014, our board approved six grants, totalling $332,179, to the following
organizations:
• BC Northern Real Estate Board
• BC Real Estate Association
• Vancouver Island Real Estate Board
• Kootenay Real Estate Board
• Real Estate Council of BC
• South Okanagan Real Estate
Board
Connect with us. www.refbc.com
Year
Trust
Income
Grants
2006
$6.75M
$5.10M
2007
$8.60M
$6.44M
2008
$4.28M
$6.12M
2009
$838.75K
$1.49M
2010
$1.25M
$1.77M
2011
$1.94M
$2.77M
2012
$1.77M
$2.34M
2013
$1.82M
$2.76M
2014
$2.26M
$4.06M
Grants and Trust Income 2014
Real Estate Board
Greater Vancouver
Trust
Income*
Grants*
$1,439,920
$2,360,793
$400,340
$49,788
Okanagan Mainline
$130,010
$69,450
Victoria
$105,440
$499,000
Vancouver Island
$69,970
$239,986
Chilliwack & District
$36,610
0
South Okanagan
$28,760
$89,300
BC Northern
$27,750
$281,323
Kootenay
$16,190
$478,560
Kamloops & District
$9,030
0
$230
0
Fraser Valley
Powell River Sunshine
Coast
About the Chart
This chart shows the trust account income generated
in each real estate board area, and the total grants
approved within those areas. The data is from
January to December 2014.
Note that grant projects often have influence outside
their area, and include multi-region or province-wide
benefits.
Our granting criteria includes scalability - so that
projects can be replicated in other communities, and
have a greater impact for all of BC.
Learn more at www.refbc.com/projects.
* Board-specific figures are rounded to the nearest $10.
The Land Awards
Our Land Awards recognize achievement
in sustainable land use in BC. Each year,
we present private, public and non-profit
sector awards, as well as an individual “Land
Champion” award.
The fifth Land Awards Gala was held at
Vancouver’s Fairmont Waterfront Hotel on
October 17, 2014, with keynote speaker Peter
Mansbridge. What a night! See more at refbc.com/land-awards
Board
of Governors
Scott Ullrich, 2014-2015 Chair
Real Estate Institute of BC appointee
(2012)
Gerry Martin, 2014-2015 Vice-Chair
Real Estate Council of BC appointee
(2013)
Kelly Lerigny
BC Real Estate Association appointee
(2010)
Jim Rempel
BC Minister of Finance appointee
(2013)
Anna Warwick Sears
BC Minister of Finance appointee
(2014)
Governors are appointed for threeyear terms and may serve up to six
years in a row.
Contact individual board members via
email at [email protected].
Jack Wong, Chief Executive Officer
604.343.2624
Toll free 1.866.912.6800 ext 104
[email protected]
Sign up for our eNewsletter: www.refbc.com