10 Years of Victoria Circle

In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Victoria Foundation in 2011, we created the Victoria Circle – our way of recognizing and giving thanks to the donors who make legacy gifts.

The Circle welcomes and celebrates the thoughtful individuals and families who help support the future of our community and the causes that matter the most to them.

Gifts such as a bequest in a will, life insurance, or retirement savings plans are held in perpetuity within our endowment, with the annual grants provided to the donor’s chosen charitable organizations. If the donor prefers, their legacy gift may be distributed immediately to their chosen charities. Either way, it is our honour to carry out their wishes.

Over 80 individuals joined the Circle as founding members. On the invitation of The Honourable Steven Point, former Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, many of them attended the inaugural event held at Government House in April 2011.

Ten years later, current membership in the Circle is close to 300.

We also acknowledge the many members of the Circle we have lost during this time – and thank them for their thoughtful gifts for the future of our community.

Through their generosity, these donors have helped injured and orphaned wild animals being released back into their habitat, offered bereavement and counselling support after the death of a loved one, provided urgently needed food for hungry families, protected and restored the biological diversity in our region for present and future generations to enjoy, enriched the lives in our community through the shared experience of extraordinary music, and provided opportunities for children and youth to attend summer camps to allow them to belong, grow, thrive, and lead.

Donors join the Victoria Circle for a wide variety of reasons, including to perpetuate a lifelong passion, to inspire greater giving, to fuel the dreams of generations to come, to involve their families in charitable giving, or to thank a community that has enriched their lives.

It is with the support of our Victoria Circle members that we can turn philanthropic passions into meaningful impact as we create a vibrant, caring community for all.