Nonprofit Organizations in Vancouver

Whether you like working with children, youth, adults or seniors, at cultural facilities, festivals and special events, or contributing as a member of a council-appointed group, there is a volunteer opportunity for you. Volunteering gives you the opportunity to contribute to your community and help establish a personal and professional network. You can also make new friends, practise English and develop leadership skills that can be transferable to a career. Please note: You do not need to be a West Vancouver resident to volunteer for most opportunities (although you do for some committees and working groups). Most volunteer positions have a minimum age requirement of 14 years. Some volunteer placements require a Police Information Check (PIC).

Diwali Fest originated in 2004 as the Vancouver Celebrates Diwali Festival, and has since evolved to become one of the largest Diwali- themed events in the Lower Mainland. What started as a one-day, volunteer-driven event has evolved to the point where we are a professionally-staffed festival that has become a destination event on the City’s cultural calendar. Throughout our history we have striven to balance several core competencies: showcasing the best and brightest South Asian talent, exhibiting artistic innovation through a myriad of forms, and engaging our wide community in as active and inclusive a role as possible.

BC's largest nonpartisan people-powered network that helps people organize to reclaim power over our environment and democracy.

Doors Open Vancouver (DOV) is a free public festival that offers special behind-the-scenes access to interesting and unusual buildings in Vancouver not normally open to the public. This unique experience connects residents with the buildings they know and love, invites them discover new ones, and encourages curiosity and conversation about Vancouver’s built form, history, heritage, and culture.

DCECEC Society is a non- profit organization dedicated to providing childcare services for children of Students, Staff and Faculty of Douglas College as well as Community Families. We operate two licensed childcare facilities, one at each Douglas College Campus; New Westminster Campus in New Westminster and the David Lam Campus in Coquitlam. The Society consists of approximately 55 members and employs 1 General Manager and 8 Early Childhood Educators. The Society is governed by its Constitution and Bylaws as well as its License agreements with the Fraser Health Authority. The Society operates with a volunteer Board of Directors consisting of a total of 7 parent and community members, 1 Early Childhood Education Faculty Member and 1 General Manager (non-voting).

We are a non-profit association promoting Birth and Postpartum Doula support for families in British Columbia, Canada. Our mission is to raise awareness about the role of Birth and Postpartum Doulas within BC, to provide a referral service to BC families, and to deliver continuing education to its members, health care professionals, and the public at large.

The mandate of the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House is to provide programming and educational, leadership, social and recreational opportunities to residents of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Our vision is to provide a dignified welcoming space that creates and supports an improved quality of life for the DTES community. Our mission is to provide opportunities for residents to meaningfully engage with and contribute to their community in an equitable atmosphere of sharing and learning. The secular, grassroots Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House (DTES NH) embraces people of all ancestries, genders, ages and descriptions; annually welcoming almost 9,000 DTES residents in a community where 70% of our neighbours have low‐incomes, 700 are homeless and 5,000 are under-housed. Our programming is community inspired and varied, a sampling of which has included a Chinese Elders Community Kitchen, Traditional Aboriginal Community Kitchen, Leadership Development, a Children’s Community Kitchen, Nutritional Outreach Activities (Mobile Smoothie Project and Banana Beat), The Healing Circle, Father’s for Thought, Table Talks project, Family Drop In: Families, Farming and Food, Community Drop-in and the production of a Right to Food Zine. Those who built the DTES NH put the Right to Food at the heart of our work, as nutritional vulnerability was a theme familiar to all. Our goal around the Right to Food is to reform the nutritional impact, quality, abundance and delivery of food in the DTES in consultation with residents, community food providers, non‐food community organizations, healthcare professionals, policy makers, growers/suppliers, food/beverage industry professionals and researchers.

Downtown New Westminster is home to over 600 businesses, enhancing community and economic growth. We support retail, hospitality, professional services, and creative sectors with resources like promotions, networking, and events. We host a six night street festival that is free and open to the public most Fridays nights in July and August. We need individuals that can help us setup and take down our event. 

The Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (DVBIA) supports, promotes and represents the shared interests of 8,000 businesses and property owners in the central 90-block area of Vancouver’s downtown core. We focus on priorities voiced by our members: programs and services in the areas of advocacy, accessibility, cleanliness, beautification, business support, marketing and mobility. We represent our members’ shared goals, drive creative solutions forward and take meaningful action to constantly improve the downtown Vancouver experience. We operate strategically at the intersection of downtown businesses, local policy-makers, non-profit organizations and all the people who make up Vancouver’s diverse neighbourhood communities.

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

Situated in the heart of Vancouver’s historic Chinatown, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden is a site of cultural heritage, learning, and reflection. Modeled after Ming Dynasty private scholar’s gardens in the city of Suzhou, China, it was the first authentic full-scale Chinese garden built outside of China (upon its completion in April 1986). Stunning architecture, winding paths and corridors, blooming plants and serene jade water ponds transport our visitors back to an ancient time and place.

Community, culture, and competition. All in one boat. The Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival Society (dba Dragon Boat BC) is the non-profit producer of North America’s flagship dragon boat festival, the Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival. This year, the Festival will feature a reimagined program celebrating our community, its cultures, and the spirit of competition. The Society also produces a series of races, cultural programming, and community initiatives centred around the traditional Chinese sport of dragon boat. Through our All Access and youth programs, supported by the Milton K. Wong Legacy Project, the Society makes paddling experiences accessible regardless of any barriers to participation.