Provincial Employees Community Services Fund governing principles

PECSF (Community Fund) operates as a trust with the B.C. government as the trustee.

The government delegates leadership and oversight to the PECSF Board of Directors.

On this page

• Purpose
• Funding
• Charity eligibility
• Donor eligibility
• Allocation to charities
• Regional fund supported pools
• Disbursement of funds
• PECSF year-round

Purpose

The Community Fund involves as many employees as possible in a flexible, cost-effective way to support their favourite charities.

Funding

• For over 50 years, the B.C. government has absorbed all costs necessary to run the Community Fund
• This means 100% of employee-donated dollars go to the charities they choose to support
• If the money provided by the government is not enough to operate the fund, secondary funding comes from interest income
• The final funding source is PECSF's capital

Charity eligibility

To be eligible to receive money, a charity must be:

• Registered with the federal government as a charitable organization and have a valid registration number
• In good standing with the Canada Revenue Agency (not revoked or suspended)
• Actively operating (not dormant or closed)

Additional eligibility criteria may be established by the board or by regional PECSF committees.

A charity’s eligibility does not guarantee it'll receive funding.

Funding is governed by employee donation choices and distribution criteria established by the board.

Donor eligibility

All monetary donations to Community Fund charities must be made by individuals and not companies:

• All current BC Public Service employees may donate any amount they choose through cash, payroll deduction or other means offered by the fund
• All retired BC Public Service employees may make one-time cash/cheque donations each year
• Any non-public service employee may donate cash through fundraising or gaming events where individual donations are not tracked
• Charitable receipts will not be issued for donations made at fundraising or gaming events or for goods and services for fundraising events

Companies may donate goods or services for prizes or for supporting fundraising events, but they will not receive charitable donation receipts.

Allocation to charities

Funds are allocated to charities in 4 ways:

1. Through directed donations by individual employees
2. Through fundraising and gaming events for specific charities
3. Through donations to a regional fund supported pool
4. Through special allocations determined by the board

Regional fund supported pools

• Fundraising promotes giving in communities across the province
• Each area may establish a regional committee with the authority to establish a regional pool of charities
• The regional committee can determine charity eligibility criteria and what percentage of the pool is allocated to each charity
• The board oversees the rules that govern the regional committees and their decisions
• If an area does not have an active regional committee, the board manages the regional pool

Disbursement of funds

The board determines the timing of distribution of funds to charities and the minimum annual payout threshold (such as $5) per charity.

PECSF year-round

• The annual campaign is in the fall, but community fund staff work on all aspects of the PECSF program year-round
• Fundraising activities can take place at any time of the year
• Community fund staff do not work on non-fund initiatives without the approval of the board