How are you? And where is your final report?

It’s been a tough week for all of us. We can only imagine the questions and considerations you’re grappling with at home and work.

And if your first worry is not your final report? Good.

We know you’ve got lots on your mind, but if you need to reach us, the team at the Real Estate Foundation of BC wants to be as helpful as we can.

Right now, our priorities are to maintain support and accessibility for our grantees, partners, and community; to care for the health of our staff members and their families; and to do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Here’s an update on what’s happening at REFBC right now. Given the rapid pace of change happening in BC, these practices may change in the coming days and weeks.

Grantmaking as usual – from a distance

Our staff team will continue to process grant payments, respond to questions about our grants program, and listen to feedback on how our community is coping with this pandemic.

Starting on March 16, our staff team will be working remotely and can be reached by email or voicemail. (Here’s a link to our staff contact page.) As we adjust to new routines, there may be some slight delays in response times.

We understand that many non-profits have urgent concerns about fundraising, events, and the sustainability of their programs. Here’s how we’re helping:

• We will not be withdrawing support for events we have sponsored or funded, even if they have been postponed or canceled.
• We will be flexible on deadlines for reports, reviews, and correspondence. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
• With a conversation, we will be able to relax funding conditions on project grants for organizations that need to attend to core priorities.
• As we monitor medium-term financial trends and developments, we will be open to releasing final grant installments early if organizations are facing cash flow concerns.
• We will be connecting with philanthropic and government partners to identify opportunities for offering shared leadership.
• We are postponing in-person meetings which, while valuable, come with increased risk at this time. We are happy to “meet” by phone, conference call, or video chat.

As with any disruption, communication is key. We want to support you – please tell us what you need.

Supporting our staff team

Our staff members do the important work of connecting non-profits to grant funding, representing our organization within the community, and stewarding our finances and investments. To be resilient in a crisis, we need to prioritize the health and safety of our staff members and their families.

As an employer, here’s how we’re working to support our staff team:

• Staff members are working from home and doing their social distancing best.
• We’re taking breaks with virtual coffee breaks together (let’s see how that goes).
• We’ve adopted an “unlimited sick time” policy for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Connecting to community

The Province and local governments are taking significant steps to increase social distancing and slow the transmission of COVID-19. While necessary, we know that measures like closing community spaces, restricting gatherings, and reducing public services have a disproportionate impact on people who are already vulnerable or marginalized.

In communities across the province, people are stepping up to help one another. Here are examples of ways we’re seeing community members support one another:

• Participating in online communities that connect “helpers” to people needing assistance with errands, pet care, and technology.
• Making donations to organizations that serve vulnerable populations. (Services like CanadaHelps.org can make this easier.)
• Connecting with family members and neighbours over the phone, by video call, or from a distance.
• Sharing information from public health authorities, like the BC Provincial Health Officer, the BC Centre for Disease Control, and the World Health Organization.

We know the public health situation will continue to change. Our team is doing our very best to adapt in ways that help us continue to protect our shared environment and promote resilient, healthy communities.

If you have feedback or suggestions for us, feel free to drop a note to our CEO, Mark Gifford: mark@refbc.com.