Chair's Message
by Calvin Ross
The Real Estate Foundation is directed
by a powerful mission: To support sustainable real estate and
land use practices for the benefit of British Columbians. As the
only funder in BC with a “real estate mandate”, we take
an active role in addressing issues related to the sustainable
use and conservation of land.
Foundation governors and staff interact with a diverse array of
organizations in real estate and land use fields. This provides
an informal education that helps us to understand the needs and
perspectives of the many people who, literally, shape our environment.
From property developers to local housing societies; from land
use planners to community groups; from business improvement associations
to environmental protection organizations—the Real Estate
Foundation seeks to understand so we can support those projects
that will have the most impact.
Over the past year we initiated a number of changes to the Foundation’s
grant making strategy. One major change is the launch of the Communities
in Transition program. So far, twenty-two partner organizations—each
with member groups that deal with land management, planning, and
governance—have agreed to collaborate with one another, sharing
expertise that will contribute to sustainable planning in BC communities.
Other initiatives which got underway in 2004 include the Green
Building Grant Program, in partnership with Vancity Credit Union;
funding agreements with the BC Real Estate Association, Real Estate
Council of BC, and Real Estate Institute of BC; and new funding
criteria, which focus on the Foundation’s legislated purposes
of research, education, law reform and other real estate related
projects.
For the Real Estate Foundation to be an effective grant maker,
governors and staff must be committed to real estate and land
use issues in BC, as well as to the organizations that are involved
in the practical work of “getting it done”. I would
like to take this opportunity to thank the governors, past and
present, who have been so committed to the Foundation’s work.
I would also like to thank those people who are involved in the
projects that the Real Estate Foundation is privileged to support.
You are helping make our communities better places.