BC's Top Employers (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 88
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BC’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2025)
Vancouver Foundation is building a culture of learning
I
n the last year, the
Vancouver Foundation
website for its neighbourhood small grants program
got a revamp that makes
it easier for people across the
province to apply for micro-grants
for community building and skillsharing activities – from block
parties and barbecues to sports
tournaments and art-making
events. For Mezzy Onye, a senior
manager of strategy and portfolio
management who played a key
role in launching the new website,
getting it up and running was a
real highlight during her three
years at the foundation.
“It’s a small dollar amount but
it can have a big positive impact
in the community,” Onye says.
“I think that’s one of the most
rewarding projects I’ve been a part
of.”
The Vancouver Foundation
provides grants to hundreds of
B.C. charities and non-profits
every year with funds from endowments it manages on behalf of
people, charities and businesses.
Onye says its mission of creating
“healthy, vibrant, equitable and
inclusive communities” struck
a chord with her, and was what
initially drew her to work for the
foundation.
“I wanted to be part of an
organization that aligned with
my values, and make a tangible
difference in peoples’ lives,” she
says. “Working here is being part
of community-building. We’re
always working on projects that
have significance, whether it’s addressing social issues or supporting marginalized communities
through the grants we provide to
charities.”
The foundation further invests
in B.C.’s charitable sector and
communities in a more indirect
way, says Chris Little, vicepresident of corporate services, by
supporting its employees’ learning
and professional development.
“It supports the organization
in a number of ways: it helps
to engage our employees and
support their personal and
professional growth. But it also
helps the charitable sector as a
whole,” she says. “We really see
the foundation being this base
where folks can learn and grow
their skills, and even if they move
on, they can bring those skills to
the broader charitable community.
It strengthens the sector.”
The organization hosts education sessions on broad topics
relevant to all employees, such as
learning about neurodiversity or
how to challenge power dynamics
in a healthy way. In 2024, the
foundation began allowing employees to access up to $2,500 per
year for job-related professional
development.
We’re always working
on projects that have
significance, whether it’s
addressing social issues or
supporting marginalized
communities through
the grants we provide to
charities.
— Mezzy Onye
Senior Manager of Strategy
and Portfolio Management
Employees at Vancouver Foundation celebrate after helping to organize a province-wide gathering for
community foundations across B.C.
It also added an annual $1,000
that employees can spend to learn
something unrelated to their
work, such as a new language,
which Little says speaks to its commitment to seeing staff as “whole
people – humans first, employees
second.” She used her own
allocation for a tai chi class. “It’s
fantastic – it’s been really calming
and helps me focus.”
Unused professional and
personal development funds go
into an education pool system that
