Provincial Employees Community Services Fund governing principles

The Provincial Employees Community Services Fund (PECSF), also known as the Community Fund, operates as a trust with the B.C. government as the trustee.

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

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

Funding

• For 60 years, the BC Public Service has absorbed all costs necessary to run the program
• This means 100 percent of employee-donated dollars go to the charities they choose to support
• If the money provided by the BC Public Service 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 PECSF 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 PECSF
• All retired BC Public Service employees may make one-time cash/cheque donations each year
• Any non-BC Public Service employee may donate cash through fundraising or gaming events where individual donations are not tracked (if gaming is being offered that year)
• Charitable receipts are not 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 throughout 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 the PECSF team supports all aspects of the program year-round
• Fundraising activities can take place at any time of the year
• The PECSF team does not work on non-fund initiatives without the approval of the Board of Directors