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Greater Victoria charities top performers

Heath-care organizations recognized for efficiency, service

Victoria Hospice Society and the B.C. Cancer Foundation are on a list of top performers among successful charities in Canada.

A report released this week by charity watchdog Charity Intelligence Canada placed the two organizations on its Top Picks list for 2012, not only for their effective and efficient use of donor money, but their outcomes for the people they serve.

“As a not-for-profit organization our donors are absolutely vital to being able to do the work we do in caring for people,” said Wendy Wainwright, interim executive director of Victoria Hospice.

Engendering confidence in people who both donate and whose loved ones are cared for at Hospice is important, she adds.

“It really does speak to something that is very important to us, and that is honouring their wishes.”

Being recognized by an independent agency for the way it not only stewards donated money, but makes a difference in people’s lives is significant, Wainwright said.

“This is someone else saying ‘you’re doing what you’re saying you’re going to do.’”

The B.C. Cancer Foundation funds the B.C. Cancer Agency’s research and patient care activities around the province, including the Deeley Research Centre in Victoria. It had about 110,000 donors at last count, according to foundation president and CEO, Douglas Nelson.

“We are honoured to have been selected as a Top Pick,” he said in a statement. “This is validation for all of our efforts to ensure effective management of donor dollars.”

The ratings are based on performance in such areas as transparency, ratio of funding reserves to program costs, fundraising costs and salary information. Charity Intelligence is an organization that analyzes the financial picture of charities across Canada to help donors determine where their donations would be best used.

For a full list of Top Picks, visit charityintelligence.ca.

Greater Victorians lead online donor list

Online charity donation facilitator CanadaHelps.org has rated communities across the country for their level of giving through its website.

On that list, Greater Victoria ranked first for most donations per capita, with 7.9 donations per 100 people, well ahead of Vancouver, which came in second at 2.1 donations per 100 residents.

Provincially, B.C. ranked second for total donations with 49,707 and third in total raised with $6.2 million.

editor@vicnews.com