Nonprofit Organizations in Vancouver

Our Story:

Created in 2006 by Carlie Smith and inspired by the famous art and design markets of Europe, Portobello West’s goal is to introduce Vancouver’s style conscious shoppers to the creative pool of artists and designers working here.

Now operating as a not-for-profit society, Portobello West is governed by a Board of Directors and a Marketing, Communications and Events Manager. Portobello West remains Vancouver’s premiere SHOP LOCAL market. Voted by the Georgia Straight readers as one of the Top 3 Artisan/Craft Fairs from 2010-2018, Portobello West features a high quality selection of carefully crafted goods worth gushing over.

Our Goal:

For over 12-years, Portobello West has sought and presented top-notch emerging and established local talent. Featuring up to 90-local artists and designers at a time, Portobello West’s seasonal markets offers up a curated selection of locally designed fashion, art, home decor, gourmet treats, wine & spirits, and more. Our hope is to foster a sense of support and community for local creatives living and working here.

We endeavor to inspire a legion of shoppers that are committed to purchasing one-of-a kind creations from our exquisite Pacific Northwest roster of artists and designers. An atmosphere of excitement and exploration awaits you during each of our seasonal signature events! We look forward to welcoming you!

Vancouver Fashion Week (VFW) is a one-of-a-kind event that continuously brings together buyers, media, celebrities, industry professionals and innovative designers from around the world to celebrate creativity and fashion. Diversity and multiculturalism are VFW's core values. This semi-annual event has been host to a range of collections from street wear to eco-friendly garments.

VFW has established itself as a highly successful and widely recognized event providing a forum to nurture and celebrate the fashion industry. In recent years, VFW has featured internationally acclaimed designers such as Ha Sang Beg, in addition to emerging designers such as Pauline van Dongen.

Vancouver Fashion Week is recruiting volunteers for the upcoming season that will be held at the Chinese Cultural Center of Greater Vancouver from September 19-25, 2016. With the addition of the Vancouver Kids Fashion Show, this season is going to be like nothing you have seen before!
We are currently looking for Hair Stylists! If you are interested, please fill out the corresponding form:

For Hair Stylists: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1PLkoCl9qtyGgsNHmxwN33BQT7aOddVV-KCGJlqlw66s/edit?usp=drive_web

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us!
We look forward to working with our local community to create an amazing Spring/Summer 2017 fashion week event.

We rescue perfectly viable food that is destined for our waste stream and get it into the hands of those who are hungry in our society.  We partner with food retailers, nonprofit organizations and volunteer food runners to bring food directly to those who are experiencing food insecurity.

The Vancouver Fringe is an 11-day theatre extravaganza, hosting over 800 shows from 90 different artists, and attracting upwards of 40,000 attendees.

VHF advances the appreciation and conservation of our city’s diverse heritage places and their stories. We raise awareness of the vital contribution that heritage makes to a vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable community.

Vancouver Heritage Foundation recognizes the diverse history and cultural heritage of Vancouver and that the city is located on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples.

The Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre (VHEC) is seeking qualified and enthusiastic individuals to join our dedicated team of docents – volunteers who share a passion for human rights and social justice, through Holocaust-based anti-racism education. Volunteering as a docent is a wonderful opportunity to share your dedication to the pursuit of a more just world, supporting programs the aim to empower students and the general public to become upstanders against antisemitism and other forms of racism.

About the VHEC

The VHEC is devoted to Holocaust-based anti-racism education and commemoration, reaching more than 25,000 students each year. The Centre produces thematic exhibitions as well as holds Western Canada's largest collection of Holocaust-related artefacts, testimonies and archival documents. The VHEC offers educational programs and supports educators through professional development, and access to resources, school programs and events. The VHEC also presents commemorative programs, book launches, film screenings, public programs and conferences for teachers. The VHEC’s teaching philosophy emphasizes an interactive approach, encouraging exchanges between docents and students/visitors, through exhibition tours, as well as educational workshops in schools and virtual platforms. For more about the VHEC visit www.vhec.org

VIBC produces a wide-range of events with the objective of increasing community engagement, artistic innovation and education. Through the joy of bhangra, we help build bridges and find inroads to establish new relationships across genres of performance and ethno-cultural boundaries.

VIBC accomplishes this by producing the 10-day City of Bhangra Festival in unique venues across Vancouver and Surrey, and by producing meaningful events throughout the year. We engage with communities, organizations, and artists year-round to help spread the art of bhangra.

Founded in 1982, The Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society is a not-for-profit cultural organization that operates the internationally acclaimed Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF), the annual VIFF Industry Conference and the year-round programming of the Vancity Theatre at the Vancouver International Film Centre.

Mandate

The Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society (“Society”) is a not-for-profit cultural society whose mandate is to:
1.Encourage understanding of the world’s cultures through the art of cinema, to foster the art of cinema, to facilitate the meeting in British Columbia of cinema professionals from around the world, and to stimulate the motion picture industry in British Columbia.
2.Operate an annual Vancouver International Film Festival, a public celebration bringing the best in contemporary Canadian and international cinema and retrospective programs to British Columbia.
3.Operate the Vancouver International Film Centre and Vancity Theatre, providing the public and film community with an excellent facility for the appreciation of cinema and related art forms throughout the year.

Vancouver International Film Festival

Both in terms of admissions and number of films screened (144,000 and 349 respectively in 2014) VIFF is among the five largest film festivals in North America. We screen films from more than 70 countries on nine screens, including the pick of the world’s top film fests and many undiscovered gems.

Three main programming platforms make our festival unique: we screen one of the largest selections of East Asian films outside of that region, we are one of the biggest showcases of Canadian film in the world and we have a large and vibrant nonfiction program.

Attracting a large, attentive and enthusiastic audience the festival remains accessible, friendly and culturally diverse. As the critics say, VIFF is very much a festival “designed for the benefit of people who love films and people who make them.”

The Vancouver International Marathon Society is a non-profit, volunteer-run organization. The Society relies on a dedicated group of over 4,000 invaluable support volunteers, with a single common thread – a love of wellness and the sport of long distance running.

The Vancouver International Marathon Society RUNVAN® is a non-profit, volunteer-run organization (Registration number S22985) maybe best known for organizing Canada’s largest Marathon race. RUNVAN® relies on a dedicated group of volunteer Board of Directors and nearly 4,000 volunteers to annually organize the First Half, BMO Vancouver Marathon, Granville Island Turkey Trot and Great Trek.

"Inspiring Musical Excellence"

Welcome to the Vancouver Kiwanis Music Festivals - dedicated to the encouragement, instruction and celebration of young musicians in Greater Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.

With an esteemed heritage dating back to the Knights of Pythias in 1923, and under the attentive stewardship of the Kiwanis Club of Vancouver since 1960, ours is now B.C.'s premier music festival, offering professional adjudication to some 7,500 students in high school bands and choirs, and in the private study of classical voice, music theatre, piano, strings, brass, woodwinds and chamber music. In recent years several solo instrument catetories have been added and include: classical guitar; harp and Chinese Ethnic instruments making ours a truly multi-cultural event. Especially gifted students can go on to compete at the Provincial and National levels.

In 2009, with continued support from the Vancouver Kiwanis Club, we became a separate Society. We also greatfully "acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia" for their award of a Community Gaming Grant.

We know helping to foster an appreciation for music, hard work and commitment in one child positively impacts not just their lives but the future of our community and our world. That's why even when we hear a song sung a little off-key or a few missed notes -- it's all music to our ears.