For North Shore Non-Profits
As a community foundation, the West Vancouver Community Foundation aims to foster peer learning, collaboration, and philanthropic growth for the creation of healthy, vibrant, and livable community. Part of this is done through offering Capacity Building opportunities to the non-profit organizations on the North Shore. Below are current opportunities.
Understanding Your Nonprofit and Charity Financial Statements - May 7
NEW Date: Wednesday May 20
Time: 4:00-5:30 pm
Format: Zoom, free
For board members, executive directors, and senior leaders of nonprofit organizations and charities, financial literacy isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s a governance responsibility.
Yet for many nonprofit leaders, the organization’s financial statements can feel like a foreign language. Numbers that should tell a clear story about your organization’s health, risks, and opportunities instead sit on the page, undeciphered and underused.
This hands-on 90-minute seminar is designed to change that. You’ll walk away with a practical, introductory understanding of how to read and interpret your organization’s key financial statements — including what to look for, what questions to ask, and what warning signs to watch for. Topics include the role financial statements play in strategic planning, building organizational capacity, and protecting your organization from fraud and financial mismanagement.
No accounting background is required. This session is designed specifically for leaders whose job is to use financial information, not prepare it.
Presented by Gordon Holley, CPA, CA, FCPB. Co-founder of Humanity Financial Management Inc. and the instructor behind Canada’s only made-in-Canada Certified Nonprofit Accounting Professional (CNAP) program — a role he has held since bringing the certification to Canadian nonprofits and charities in 2017.
A Chartered Professional Accountant since 1991, Gordon brings more than 30 years of hands-on experience supporting mission-driven organizations across Canada, including a deep commitment to Indigenous and First Nations communities.
Gordon’s sector leadership extends well beyond the classroom. He currently serves as Board Chair of Community Foundations of Canada, sits on the boards of PayPal Giving Fund Canada (Chair, Audit & Finance Committee), AFOA BC, B Local BC, and Vantage Point, and serves on the Audit & Finance Committee of AFOA Canada. He is a Past President and Director of the Institute of Professional Bookkeepers of Canada and was the first Canadian member of the Nonprofit CPAs. Gordon is also a former director of the West Vancouver Foundation.
Humanity Financial holds B Corp certifcation, Partnership Accreditation in Indigenous Relations (PAIR) certification, Prism certification from Imagine Canada, Great Place to Work certification, and carbon neutrality designation.
Leadership Grants - up to $1,000
As a community foundation, the West Vancouver Foundation aims to foster peer learning, collaboration, and philanthropic growth for the creation of healthy, vibrant, and livable community. Part of this is done through offering Capacity Building opportunities to the non-profit organizations on the North Shore. Leadership Grants can cover expenses such as courses, workshops, training for staff and/or volunteers. Preference will be given to North Shore based charities.