Nonprofit Organizations in Vancouver

Italian Day on The Drive is a vibrant cultural street festival celebrating Italian culture, heritage and respective immigrant contributions in Vancouver.  Commercial Drive, also known as The Drive, is home to the annual festival which transforms the street into a lively 14 block, vehicle free, celebration and community festa. Since Italian Day’s return in 2010, the event has grown significantly.  Today, Italian Day on The Drive represents the largest one day cultural street festival in the city – and perhaps in Canada – drawing over 350,000 enthusiastic attendees of all cultures and ages.  It is a multi-cultural and community embrace under the Italian Day umbrella offering over 200 street participants comprised of: sponsors, merchants, retail booths, food vendors and restaurant patios, as well as stages with live music and theatre, street performers, classic cars, activities and displays, children’s amusement zones and more.

Located in Mission, BC, on 44 acres of pristine forested land on the shores of Stave Lake, Zajac Ranch for Children held its first summer camp in 2004. Zajac Ranch is a fully accessible facility that provides children and young adults with a variety of medical needs and disabilities invaluable camp experiences in a supportive, inclusive environment. Since welcoming our first campers more than ten years ago, over 4,000 children from throughout the province and beyond have enjoyed a camp experience that recognizes and appreciates the unique challenges they face. Our camps are designed to give participants the opportunity to have fun, make new friends and be part of our camp community that is caring, supportive and inclusive. Mission The mission of Zajac Ranch for Children is to develop and operate an accessible, innovative, and full-service facility that welcomes children and young adults with medical conditions and chronic illnesses. Zajac Ranch provides camp experiences that empower children of all abilities to participate, foster the development of life-long skills and independence and, create lasting opportunities for friendship and fulfillment.  

Vancouver Opera is the second largest opera company in Canada. It is regarded worldwide for its fine mainstage productions; for its country-leading education programs, which have reached more than 1.6 million children and their families in more than 40 years; for its innovative and award-winning community programs; and for forging groundbreaking cross-cultural creative partnerships that have brought opera to new generations of Canadians.

We are looking for mentors/tutors to volunteer at our after school tutoring program called "Say Yes!" It is a holistic and Christian program that includes meal, study, recreation, and story or craft. We work in the inner-city with elementary-aged students. If you are interested in cross-cultural experiences - many of our children are urban First Nations - education, and mentoring young people then send us an e-mail! This non-profit after school program runs Monday-Thursday and works best with a high volunteer to student ratio so the kids can get the support they need in the tutoring and other aspects of the program. Please call or send an e-mail for more information.

A non-profit organization representing the 9,000 businesses and properties of downtown Vancouver.

Greyhaven Exotic Bird Sanctuary is a registered non-profit society whose purpose is to protect and enhance the quality of life for exotic birds.

Disability Alliance BC (DABC) is a provincial not-for-profit, founded in 1977. DABC’s mandate is to support people with all disabilities, to live with dignity, independence and as equal and full participants in the community. Each year DABC helps hundreds of people with all disabilities living on very low incomes to access the supports they need. These supports include disability benefits and pensions, wheelchairs, and special diet allowances. Many of the people we help are homeless or at risk of being homeless. Since 2013 we’ve been hosting an annual fundraising gala called Swing Into Spring (#SwingIntoSpring). This year we have changed our fundraiser to the fall and it is called the Fall Fling. Here’s a link to information about our 2017 gala, our biggest yet, which featured CBC’s Stephen Quinn as our emcee and well-known entertainer David C. Jones. http://disabilityalliancebc.org/fall-fling/  

Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House empowers local residents in Hastings-Sunrise to improve our community together. We do this by providing ongoing programs and services to residents of all ages and by supporting various community development initiatives. Our mission is to play a leadership role in creating our community together by connecting people and strengthening their capacity to create change.

Vancouver’s public spaces – our plazas, squares, streets, laneways, pathways and waterfront – are where public life happens. These places and spaces are where we interact with the city on a daily basis, as we work, study, shop, dine, experience cultural events, and gather with family and friends. Public space is where we connect with the city and where we connect with each other – it’s where community is created. Downtown is the heart of our city. With its distinctive skyline, exceptional views, 24-hour cultural and shopping activities, and distinctive neighbourhoods, Downtown Vancouver has an authentically unique sense of place. That said however, the main attraction is the people. Vancouver’s Downtown is home to diverse and multicultural communities, a wide array of residents, businesses and employees, and attracts visitors from near and far. Currently, there is no comprehensive strategy that provides guidance on the planning and delivery of downtown public spaces. Starting summer 2017, the City of Vancouver is looking for your feedback on how to fostering exceptional, vibrant and memorable public spaces, places and experiences in the downtown peninsula. This area includes the Central Business District, Coal Harbour, West End, Downtown South, Yaletown, False Creek North and Northeast False Creek. Through Places for People | Downtown we hope to create the Downtown Places and Spaces Strategy, which will provide a strategic framework to shape a vibrant public space network and coordinate public space delivery in the downtown.

The Vancouver Police Museum and archives is an independent museum run by the Vancouver Police Historical Society, a registered charity. The museum’s foundations began in celebration of the Vancouver Police Department’s centennial anniversary in 1986 and have since expanded beyond the blue lens of local law enforcement to include the history of the Vancouver Coroner’s Services and the historic City Analyst Laboratory that houses the museum. All admission and donations support museum programming and exhibitions.

BC’s first AIDS WALK was held in Vancouver in 1986 at a time when people were dying from the disease. Thirty-one years later, deaths from AIDS in BC have nearly been eradicated thanks to advances in pharmaceutical treatments and ongoing community support. But that doesn’t mean life with HIV is always easy. The challenges are real: stigma, isolation, limited income, and the side effects of powerful medications depended on to stay alive. For too many PLHIV, living with HIV means hiding from discrimination. The Scotiabank AIDS WALK to tHrIVe and Music Fest, shows PLHIV that they are not alone in their struggle. WALK with us on September 16th, for strength, for health, and to THRIVE.

The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade is Western Canada's most active and influential business association. We accelerate business success through our advocacy and public policy initiatives, our four Signature Programs for professional development, and our 100+ events each year, which educate and connect our region's business community. We engage with decision-makers to develop Greater Vancouver as a vibrant hub for commerce, trade, travel, and free enterprise. And we've been doing it with tangible results, for more than 130 years. Some of our successes include: The Canada Line to YVR The Nexus pass that expedites passage between U.S. and Canadian borders Bringing many elite speakers to Vancouver, such as Sir Richard Branson, Hilary Rodham Clinton, and Justin Trudeau.