The West Point Grey Academy Foundation (the “Foundation”) is incorporated under the Society Act of British Columbia and is a tax-exempt, registered charitable organization and public foundation under the Income Tax Act of Canada. An entity separate from the School Society, the Foundation holds funds contributed through donations and other fundraising activities managed by the Parent Volunteer Group (“PVG”) and is responsible for the stewardship of those funds.
The mission of the Foundation is to promote, foster and facilitate a high quality of education at West Point Grey Academy by supporting a culture of philanthropy, participation in school events and responsible stewardship of gifts and endowments.
The Foundation governance structure includes directors with professional expertise in law, finance, governance, accounting and education. The Chair and the Treasurer of the PVG serve as directors of the Foundation, given the important capital contribution the PVG makes to the Foundation every year.
The Board believes that good governance practices are essential for an effectively managed Foundation. We have continued to enhance our governance framework with the addition of new policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the applicable legislation and laws, and we adopted a certification process to monitor compliance with our Statement of Investment Policy. The Board has a process to identify and monitor significant risk to the Foundation, and conducts an annual evaluation of the effectiveness of the Chair and the Foundation Board.
The Foundation has developed an investment policy that details how the Foundation’s investment portfolio is to be managed. The policy has been designed to structure an investment portfolio that delivers long-term growth and income generation for current needs yet has adequate diversification to reduce risk.
We are extremely grateful for the generous support from the West Point Grey Academy community, and will continue to monitor best practices for the governance and stewardship of the Foundation to ensure we meet the objectives of the Foundation for the benefit of our community.
Sincerely,
Neil Watson
Chair, West Point Grey Academy Foundation
Adam '23, Alessia '23